Retreats & Evening Seminars » 2008 Retreats

2008 Retreats

Helen Funnell, President of Dove Catholic Fellowship for Women led the 2008 retreats where Dove's own "Women of God", past National presidents, Mary-Rose Webb, Helen Reinen, Shaaron Arnold and Carleen Walshe, encouraged, inspired and challenged all the women who came, to arise and become the women God created them to be. Each speaker shared their own life experiences and the faithfulness of Jesus as He walks daily with them.

Mary Rose, Helen, Shaaron and Carleen have answered and continue to answer Jesus’ call to lead others to a deeper relationship with Him, growing in His Love, and living that Love in their families, parishes, workplaces and communities. They are Catholic women who have a passion for Jesus and that passion is inspirational.

 

 

 

Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength: They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

 

Arise Women of God

Willow Park Auckland

By Bridget Watson

South Auckland Fellowship

 

I have to admit that each year as the Dove National Retreat time approaches I am like a child who eagerly anticipated Christmas day and the gifts received. Each Dove retreat is a unique and wonderful experience and this year’s retreat at Willow Park was no exception.


A very foggy Friday morning in Auckland, transformed into a glorious autumn day and we were blessed with this beautiful weather for the entire weekend.


As the women began to arrive in the late afternoon they were joyfully greeted by women from the South Auckland and North Shore fellowships brightly adorned with garlands of flowers. The women were warmly welcomed, many willing hands helped with luggage and each woman received a flower clip to wear in her hair.


The guest speakers for this year’s retreats were our own “women of God”, past national Presidents of Dove Catholic Fellowship; Mary Rose Webb (1984-91), Helen Reinen (1991-96), Shaaron Arnold (1997-2000) and Carleen Walshe (2001-2006).


The scripture which we had to focus upon for the weekend was Isaiah 40: 31.


“Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not be faint.”
The retreat opened on Friday evening with a huge welcome from our current National President Helen Funnell. This was followed with a time of praise and worship led by Keryn Hewitt and Theresa Goulding.


The first speaker was Dove’s founding president Mary Rose Webb. Through the wonders of modern technology, and with the aid of a beautiful DVD presentation, Mary Rose, ably assisted by her good friend Rita Petersen, shared her remarkable testimony with us.


Mary Rose shared with us the amazing depth of her personal relationship with Jesus. How he gave her strength and courage from an early age and blessed her richly with the gifts of compassion and love. Mary Rose’s passion to help women to bond together in the power of the Holy Spirit and develop personal and ongoing relationships with Jesus, lead to the founding of Dove Catholic Fellowship. She told us what joy it gives her to see the women who attend the fellowships grow in confidence and blossom in the loving environment of Dove.


Despite a serious stroke several years ago Mary Rose’s strength of spirit has always remained. This exceptional woman of God shared with us how she had experienced Jesus’ love surround her after the stroke. The dramatic changes brought about in her physical health and lifestyle lead her to a still and quiet place where she trusted and waited for the Lord to renew her strength.


Mary Rose shared with us her love of laughter and the power to be had in the “Joy of the Lord” As all ladies who have attended Dove will know, laughter has always played an important part! With her beautiful smile and twinkling eyes Mary Rose’s testimony concluded with a strong encouragement to us all never to be afraid but to trust always in the Lord.


On Saturday morning we were all up early to celebrate mass at 7.30 with Fr Frank Eggleton from Hamilton who was our Chaplin for the weekend. After breakfast it was back to the hall for praise and worship and our second speaker, Carleen Walshe.


Carleen is an amazing woman of faith. Through her testimony she shared with us her life’s journey, its joys and challenges. She is a truly inspiring, uplifting and courageous woman. She reminded us all that God does not always call the equipped but he equips those he calls. And she shared with us how her life has been blessed by answering Gods call and stepping out in faith. With Jesus as our constant companion, our minds aligned with his and hearts filled with peace and love, we can soar like eagles above the troubles of life. Carleen said that the world desperately needs “eagle Christians” and her wonderful testimony was a powerful motivation to us to be just that.


After lunch Shaaron Arnold shared her very moving testimony with us. Shaaron, another amazing woman of faith, shared how the Lord had equipped her when she was called to be Doves National President and reminded us that, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.


Shaaron’s faith was an inner reservoir of courage and trust when she tragically lost her son. She shared that Jesus’ love was present in a very real way during her terrible journey of grief and heartache. Jesus was her light in the darkness and His enduring love nourished her soul. Shaaron shared these beautiful words on faith with us; “Faith is a bird that feels the light and starts to sing while it is still dark.”  (Rabindranath Tagore)


Prayer ministry was available for the women on Saturday afternoon and during this special time there was a powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit. The prayer room, which had been prepared by the women of the Northland Fellowship, was a beautiful space to reflect and spend time with the Lord.
 After dinner we gathered again in the hall to praise and worship our awesome God.


In a perfect conclusion to the day we were further encouraged to arise and claim the promises of this special retreat time.
Sunday morning arrived with many heard to say, “Is it really Sunday already?”


Our final speaker of the weekend was Helen Reinen. Helen’s very entertaining and motivational testimony is a true inspiration to those of us who might feel a bit shy about sharing with others what Jesus has done for us. She encouraged us to be prepared to tell the stories from our lives which give glory to God, and to tell them with enthusiasm! She empowered us with a selection of great scriptures to tuck under our belts and she challenged us to live life in abundance.
The retreat closed on Sunday afternoon with a joyful celebration of the Eucharist.


The weekend was a wonderful opportunity for old friends to catch up and for new friendships to be made and true to the Dove tradition there was a lot of laughter and love in the air.


The wonderful folks at Willow Park did a superb job of taking care of us with their excellent hospitality and ever delicious meals.


 As always a huge amount of prayer, planning and preparation goes into each retreat. Many people work diligently and selflessly to achieve the final result and so many women are richly blessed in the process. I offer my heartfelt thanks to all those involved and pray that you are richly blessed for your efforts.

Impressions of a First Timer

Dove Fellowship Retreat Weekend

St Bede's Christchurch

 

‘Yahweh is an everlasting God
He created the boundaries of the earth
He does not grow tired or weary
His understanding is beyond fathoming.
He gives strength to the wearied,
He strengthens the powerless.
Young men may grow tired and weary
Youths may stumble
But those who hope in Yahweh renew their strength,
They put out wings like eagles.
They run and do not grow weary,
Walk and never tire.’
Isaiah 40:   28 – 31.

The theme of the weekend was based on the above Scripture from Isaiah 40 and each speaker took an aspect of it and built on the previous one.
Friday 23rd

As soon as I walked into the Auditorium I felt right at home, warmth and acceptance from those there. The Praise songs were unfamiliar, but it didn’t take too long to sing along to the catchy tunes.


National President Helen Funnell welcomed us all and introduced the First Speaker – Mary Rose Webb, a foundation member of the Dove Fellowship For Catholic Women which was formed in 1984, along the lines of the ‘Aglow’ Fellowships which I had attended in the late ‘70’s.


It became immediately obvious that Mary Rose had suffered a stroke, which left her with less mobility and slower speech, but it certainly hadn’t stopped her! After the introduction we were shown a DVD of a recent interview with Mary Rose. What an innovative way to present her, I thought!


It was apparent that Mary Rose was totally comfortable with what had happened to her, that she had no regrets, and was delighted to have to rely on God - she shared that since her stroke she felt such compassion for people who were hurting, that it was almost physical!  In the middle of the presentation was a video clip of her speaking at a meeting in former days, so we were able to see and hear how she was then.  What a wonderful example of acceptance of God’s latest plan for her life!
Saturday 24th - first off we had Mass in the St Bede’s Chapel, with the two Chaplains, Fr Merv McGettigan from Mosgiel and Fr Jack O’Connor from Christchurch.
Then after a time of Praise & Worship back in the Auditorium, Carleen Walshe was the first speaker.


I remember Carleen from Sacred Heart College Christchurch, we were in the same class through secondary school, so I learnt what had happened to her in the 50 odd years since then!  She had come to a deeper faith in Christ by doing a ‘Life in the Spirit’ Seminar in her Parish in Auckland, even though she’d thought she would just ‘sit down the back and observe’ what all this was about.  And then her subsequent participation in the Dove Fellowship, resulting eventually in her being chosen by the Holy Spirit as President for a term.  She said ‘if the Lord calls you to do something for Him, he equips you to do it, -‘He gives strength to the wearied, He strengthens the powerless’ as it says in Isaiah 40.


Then Morning Tea, followed by a time of Reflection to prepare us for going to Reconciliation. Most of us took that opportunity over in the Chapel with the 4 Priests available.

 Lunch in the Dining Room, a chance to talk things over and meet some of the others on the Retreat..

In the Afternoon Sharon Arnold followed on from Carleen’s theme, her topic also   ‘Whoever the Lord calls, He also equips’! 

Sharon, like Carleen discovered that she could ‘do all things through Christ who strengthens me’, not only in her term as President, but also during that same time when he son died suddenly in the UK on his OE!  She chose to go through the pain and grief at the time, rather than bury it and have it surface at some later date.  One scripture that helped Sharon was from Romans 8 – ‘I am convinced that neither death nor life …nor anything else in all creation, can separate us from the love of God made visible in Jesus Christ our Lord’.  All this was food for thought, as our daughter Robyn had also died suddenly, but eventually I realized that it had been totally different for me in that the Lord had transformed Robyn’s life 3 months earlier, prepared her, and then us, for her death as a 13yr old in 1980.


After Afternoon Tea we all had an opportunity to be prayed with for anything in our own lives that needed healing,- physical, mental or emotional, that might hold us back in our relationship with God, and this was a blessed time, very well organised by the Dove National Team. 

In the evening we were given our ‘Angel Cards’, like a bookmark with a certain Dove Retreatant’s name, address & phone no. on the back, we were to pray for her daily, and also to bless her by sending anonymous cards, etc as led.  They told us that many tricks had been resorted to in order to not let you know who your ‘Angel’ was, like posting stuff from anywhere but your town etc
 
Sunday  25th

We were notified of a change of Mass Time, - earlier than stated as Fr Merv had a plane to catch!

But in the morning we had Helen Reinen speak to us.  Helen was ‘a class act’ in my view, her talk involved not only her testimony which had us crying with laughter, but also good instructions and an evaluation for us to consider after the Retreat.

It is wonderful to hear someone who can joke in their second language – Helen had a very droll deadpan wit as she told of her faith journey, firstly in Holland and then later when they came to Auckland, ‘running away from God’ as she put it, and finally letting Him catch up with her, and then gave examples of how God can raise us up on eagle’s wings, so we can run and not be weary or faint.  An amazing incident of how she had been totally exhausted after ministering with Jan Heath in Uganda at meetings, and at the last session had been asked to pray over each person lined up for prayer.  She was thinking ‘how on earth am I going to cope praying for all these people, I’ve got nothing left to give’!  She obeyed though, and put her hand out to pray for the first one in the line, when the whole lot fell over, slain in the Spirit, so she didn’t need to pray anymore, the Holy Spirit had it in hand!  She said the most important thing in life is to let God be in charge, and go from there!

Her evaluation questions were:
What were the 3 most important things over the weekend?
What inspired me into action, what changes will I make as a result of this weekend?
How has the Retreat helped my relationship with God?
Consider these words and their different meanings as to where they apply to you, and if necessary get prayer -
Weary:  tired, worn out, annoyed, bored, timid, sleepy, drained, fatigued, overworked, intolerant, exhausted.
Faint:  dim, weak, dizzy, faded, fuzzy, timid, vague, feeble, distant, pass out, blackout, delicate, listless, sluggish.
What in my lifestyle shows that I believe in Jesus Christ?
What could God be asking of me?

Mass was wonderful, a great time of praise and worship to our God, with Fr Jack and Fr Merv presiding again.

Fr Merv confessed to putting aside his homily notes, as God had told him to tell us how much He loved us, that He had plans for each one of us.  He had to leave pronto afterwards, so someone running after him with those notes ‘in case he needs them somewhere else’ was a bit of a giggle!

A ‘commissioning’ time was held, where each person was asked individually if they would follow and obey God, and then prayer to help us achieve this.

Then a tidy up session, thanking all the people who had helped the Retreat to run so successfully, namely the Christchurch & Wellington Teams, the Priests, the National Dove Team, and the musicians, who had been on their feet almost non-stop throughout the whole weekend.

The church is in good heart if this Retreat is anything to go by, plenty of holy women committed to serving God in their Parishes, and through this gentle ministry to other women!

I’d thoroughly recommend the Dove Fellowships throughout New Zealand!

Arise Women of God

25th-27th April 2008

Lake Taupo Christian Camp

By Monique Leaper, Hamilton

There was plenty of excitement as the ladies commenced to arrive and register on Friday afternoon. They were soon shown to their accommodation and the first session of the weekend commenced at 7pm with the current National President of Dove, Helen Funnell, welcoming us and she spoke about our Amazing God and how the love of God reaches us all.

This was followed by a time of praise and worship led by Keryn Hewitt, ex national team member from Whangarei, and Theresa Goulding, ex Hamilton team member. We learnt some lovely new songs which were repeated enthusiastically throughout the weekend.

Our speaker for the evening was Mary Rose Webb. She, like all our speakers for the weekend, was a past president of the Dove national team, but Mary Rose was also the founding president of Dove, which was formed in 1984. She told how she had found a new life in the Spirit after having a stroke. We were told a little of her faith journey and her work helping women gain confidence with public speaking. She went overnight, from being a very articulate and beautiful speaker, to someone who could not talk. Since having her stroke, she has been physically, but never spiritually, tired. She said she is totally in God’s hands and has never questioned why she had the stroke. There are scriptures from the Bible that have spoken to Mary Rose, that she has treasured and reflected on over the years and they continue to give her strength, consolation and much joy.

Mary Rose knows she will see God’s face, either in this world or the next. She waits patiently on the Lord and the initiative always comes from him. Her final words on the DVD were “Never be afraid” and quoted Psalm 147:10-11 “His pleasure is not in strong horses, nor his delight in brave soldiers; but he takes pleasure in those who honour him, in those who trust in his constant love”.

Saturday morning commenced with Mass at 7.30 am, celebrated by Fr Tom Sherry. In his homily he spoke about pondering on the words of God, as Mary had done.
After a great praise and worship session, we had the privilege of hearing our next speaker, Carleen Walshe, who was the fourth national president of Dove. Carleen also spoke about her family life and faith journey. Carleen had never been eased into any of her roles gently; instead she was put in the deep end, so to speak. Carleen struggled with the thought that she had been chosen, as she felt very inadequate. She told us that God does not call the equipped, but equips the called. She has had to step out in faith many times and learnt to wait on the Lord and trust in him. Many blessings have come since finishing as national team president.


We were told to be “Eagle Christians” - aloft and on high, to answer the call, trust in God and be borne aloft. Also to hand over sickness, frailness etc. to God and to be patient and God will honour you with every blessing. Faith pleases God, so step out in faith. Waiting on the Lord is like gardening; you plant the seed and then have to wait.

Before lunch, Margaret Rabone, from the present national team, spoke to us about forgiveness, followed by a quiet prayer time and an opportunity for reconciliation.
After lunch our speaker was Shaaron Arnold, who had been the third national president of Dove. Shaaron also told us that when God calls, he equips. Although Shaaron was shy and would have preferred to remain in the background, she offered to lead praise and worship at Dove. When you say yes to God, he helps.
Jeremiah 29:11 “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for”.

Shaaron came onto the national team in 1993 and during this time they were praying for the formation of six new fellowships. During a discernment of the Wanganui group she was given Jeremiah 13:15-17 as a word of knowledge. After this she learnt of the death of her son in Scotland. Shaaron spoke of the questions, agony and the pain of the loss and all the while continued as president. Eventually she hit rock bottom and again recalled Jeremiah 29:11. Surrounded by friends, she was helped to work through the pain to restoration and spoke of Psalm 23 - God restores our soul.

Life is always changing and we need to lose something in order to gain something else. Death is not an end but a beginning of a new life.

Shaaron and her husband have re-evaluated their lives and made changes, which include more time with family. Those who wait for the Lord will be renewed. God used her ‘yes’ to bring about his plans for Dove. God heals us for harvest and to go on. We are in his hands.

In the afternoon we had a time of prayer ministry or another opportunity to go to reconciliation.

After dinner we had a very special session led by Helen Funnell. We started with praise and worship followed by a time where Helen led us on a path of discovery to the throne room of Jesus. A very blessed and anointed time.

On Sunday morning we started with praise and worship. This was again a very special and holy time with the Lord.

Our speaker for the morning was Helen Reinen. Helen spoke of her early life in Holland and the rules and regulations that were very much a part of Catholic life in Holland at that time. After coming to New Zealand with her family, she met people who had a personal relationship with God. She attended a charismatic Mass and felt that what the people were doing was not right and battled with the call to follow Jesus. However, after attending a Life in the Spirit Seminar, she surrendered to the Holy Spirit and made a decision to follow God. Helen had a priest pray for her to come to know and have a personal relationship with God. She knew she belonged to God, which is the most important thing in her life. She received a prophecy about speaking to others. Her faith journey continued and she came into the Dove fellowship starting with writing out the minutes and eventually became president.

Helen and her husband were invited to go and speak about marriage in Uganda. After lots of prayer, they accepted and put their trust in God. They then had another three trips to Africa and the Congo, where they received many blessings. The trips have helped keep life in New Zealand in perspective. The people there have so little in their lives but have such an enormous faith. When opportunities present themselves, Helen always asks “It is you Lord, or some ones good idea?” Always trust in God.
We then looked at our own lives and thought about which stories of my life will I be telling to give Glory to God. We shared a small story, relating to our faith journey, with the person next to us. We also worked through steps to make plans for the future and plans for change.

Helen told us to be eager for what the day has, to be great news to people and to have joy and rejoice. She said “What is God asking of you?” and hopes we will meet at the retreat next year and share the story of the changes in our lives.

Lastly and by no means least, Fr Tom Sherry again celebrated Mass with us. He also shared a little of his life and said he was very blessed to be with us over the weekend.

This was my fifth Dove retreat that I have had the pleasure of going to and they just keep getting better! Somehow I think that maybe a reflection on where I am in my faith journey, as opposed to the speakers, but you just receive so many blessings. It is great to see and catch up with all the lovely ladies that attend each year and they keep coming back, which is a testimony to all the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes to make these weekends so special and successful. Thanks to the national team for their ‘yes’ and look forward to the changes in my life and lives of others, in the year to come. God Bless.