Okay, I was a Tall Timber newbie. I heard all the hype and the praise for past retreats, but still I was anxious. I mean, what if my presence as this new pastor with some new ideas just changed the format too much and what if my hopes for the time in worship together just fell flat? The good news is that the recent EFPC Tall Timber Retreat was in God’s hands. And it was AWESOME!

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First, Tall Timber Ranch is located in a beautiful location and is easy to find. Words cannot describe how blessed we are to have a retreat center with denominational ties so close to us here in Everett. Of course, the vision and foresight of those on the Tall Timber board have developed a great center for over 53 years. In a setting like Tall Timber, it is easy to get out of the city and enjoy the majesty of God’s creation. Add wonderful food from the Tall Timber kitchen and let’s just say if you went home hungry or lost weight over the weekend, something was wrong. Those pumpkin scones on Saturday for breakfast were great, with the spice frosting; I could have just eaten them all day!

Second, as we studied 1 Corinthians 13 with the theme “The Greatest of These is Love”, how could we go wrong? As we dove into the God’s Word and opened our hearts to learn about God’s love, the Spirit was present and we were blessed. With our developing “band” we celebrated God’s love in song, were led through practical and fun “stations” on the practice of love, and with a great group from our congregation, we shared stories of God’s love and grew as disciples of Christ. Personally, I had a great time sharing some thoughts on God’s agape love throughout the weekend and was blessed to end our time together with communion.

Thirdly, the prayers, the detailed planning, the leadership, and the foresight by the retreat planning committee allowed for a smooth and fun weekend. Thank you to Renee and Jim, Leslie and Rob, Peggy, Clark, Raylene, Linda, and Dana for guiding us before, during, and after this weekend! Yes, it rained, but outside of the weather, the weekend went smoothly, was creative, invited all to participate, and count me in for next year.

Lastly, I hope that you join us next year. We are already starting to pray and think about our time together in 2011 at Tall Timber. A visual reminder from 2010 will be a mosaic we worked on that will be added to the Calvin lounge. This is a great way to get to know your neighbors here at EFPC and take a moment to break away from our daily norm for a time of reflection on Jesus.

Peace, Alan

PS - Whoever came up with the idea of a snack table was a genius!