South Slavic Women Come Together

From December 1-3, 2023, South Slavic (former Yugoslavia) women from the Middle Rhine, Baden-Württemberg, and Bavarian Conferences came together for a women’s weekend retreat for the first time at the conference center in Hesselberg, under the direction of Women’s Ministries leaders Daniela Piroski (MRV) Piroski (MRV) and Lydia Lukic (BYV). Full of expectation and great joy, almost 50 women met to experience a weekend together. Despite the onset of heavy winter weather and frost, the women traveled from various directions and did not let themselves be deterred by the slippery road conditions or long distances.
Of course, all were excited about the topic "A Dress Made of Fig Leaves" with the speaker, pastor Dorothea Relic Macedo, who came all the way from Croatia for the weekend. The theme was divided into four different parts - four dresses - "The glorious dress", "The dress made of fur", "The dress of fig leaves" and "The white dress". The aim was to recognize how shame makes us see ourselves, how God sees us, what clothes we wear, and that we can be who we are and not have to pretend. With her loving manner, Dorothea deeply impressed us, warmed our hearts, and awakened our emotions.
Our get-together was characterized by warmth, joy, new friendships, experiences, and the awareness that we need each other. The beautiful snowy landscape, the good food, the swimming pool, the lovingly designed candy bar, and the fun games night all helped to make it an all-around successful and richly blessed weekend. With "batteries" charged, grateful hearts the women drove home, looking forward to another meeting next year.
As reported by Lydia Lukic, Women’s Ministries director, Bavarian Conference, Germany