Stacey D. Wheeler | Director of Communications and Church Planting Support
It’s been one week since the 2025 Friends Women Retreat wrapped up on September 19-21, and I’m still reflecting on the many beautiful ways God revealed his love over the retreat weekend. Held at the Drury Broadview Plaza in Wichita, Kansas, the retreat was attended by over 200 women with the theme “Chosen, Holy, Beloved.” Sitting at 21 round tables with 10 chairs each in a hotel ballroom, we laughed, listened, prayed, worshiped, and enjoyed the fellowship of friends and family.
DeAnna Linville headed the retreat committee which included her daughter, Savannah Waller, daughter-in-law, Cara Linville, Sheila McIntyre, Crystal Setzkorn, and Tina Hawkins and provided a program with Cindy Aufrance as speaker, Constance Hall as the banquet night comedian, and Stacey Wheeler as the worship leader. The committee did the best job this year creating a beautiful space where we could learn, fellowship, worship, grow, heal, and have a bit of a getaway weekend.
Cindy Aufrance, a missionary in Hong Kong for 45 years, was the main speaker and helped us understand our identity in Christ. On Friday night she taught about being Chosen and loved by God. She also shared about the opposite of feeling chosen as feeling rejected. When we feel rejected, we want to reject others first to protect our hearts. This broken cycle is the opposite of finding healing in Christ and learning that we are dearly loved by our Father who is our creator. On Saturday morning she taught on being Holy, with the opposite being unholy or unrighteous. She reminded us that the word “Holy” means separate and set apart. God is Holy. Through Christ and his blood shed for us, we can be set apart to be holy as well. On Sunday morning she explored the concept of being “Beloved.” We are cherished and loved by a holy Father who sees us, knows us, and loves us. Shame can overwhelm us until we believe the truth, that we are God’s daughters who are beloved by him. These three concepts of being chosen, holy, and beloved are our identity in God as we live here on earth—not rejection, sin, and shame. We are thankful Cindy shared her time, teachings, and truth with us.
For our banquet night on Saturday evening, it was a Garden Party theme, and many dressed up in flowery dresses and skirts and wore fun hats. Connie Hall, a comedian from Topeka, brought laughter and joy as she shared about her husband, children, and mother in a fun and appropriate way. Hilarious! According to the Friends Women website, “Connie is a gifted storyteller who draws from her humorous perspective on everyday observations and experiences as a wife in an ‘opposites attract’ marriage. Connie enjoys connecting with women by leading Bible studies, and she is a rabid Chiefs fan. But her current delight is found in holding her grandbabies and being called ‘Grammie’” (www.friendswomen.com). A beautiful dinner with cheesecake for dessert provided by the hotel rounded out a memorable night.
Honored and blessed to lead worship for each of the three main sessions from an electric piano and sing along with my two daughters, Adele Brown and Audrey Skinner, we loved having our friend Stefania Losada on cajon and guitar.
After having prayed over the worship sets for months and after carefully choosing the songs, nine days before the retreat, Charlie Kirk was assassinated. It is rare for me to change a song once I’ve sent it out to my team, but I felt God place a song on my heart to sing at the retreat, added at the last minute: Christ Be Magnified by Cody Carnes. We sang it on Saturday morning after I shared that the enemy wants us to live in fear and division; instead, let us lift up the name of Christ and let him alone be magnified in our lives, lives full of love, faith, and hope. The bridge of the song and the chorus powerfully express this heart cry:
I won’t bow to idols, I’ll stand strong and worship You
And if it puts me in the fire, I’ll rejoice ’cause You’re there too
I won’t be formed by feelings, I hold fast to what is true
If the cross brings transformation then I’ll be crucified with You
‘Cause death is just the doorway into resurrection life
And if I join You in Your suffering, then I’ll join You when You rise
And when You return in glory with all the angels and the saints
My heart will still be singing, my song will be the same
Oh! Christ be magnified
Let His praise arise
Christ be magnified in me
Oh! Christ be magnified
From the altar of my life
Christ be magnified in me
Friends Women Fellowship Mid-America exists to connect women across the Mid-America region as they seek to pray, give and work for missions. The Friends Women Retreat is an important part of Friends Women Fellowship. The silent auction items from the 2025 Friends Women Retreat raised $6,500 for missions projects through EFM with the projects still being decided. Until next year’s women’s retreat in Kansas City, Christ Be Magnified.
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