The Salvation Army in Horsham and Crawley

LIBERATED. Jackie Fisher writes the following after her weekend at the London South East Divisional Retreat for women.

A group of us spent a fantastic weekend at ‘Liberate’, the Salvation Army Ladies Retreat at Sunbury Court, Sunbury-on-Thames. Picture the scene: 70 ladies from various SA Corps in the South East of England coming together for a weekend of fun, fellowship and food. We were in for a real treat!


The theme this year was ‘Who Do You Think You Are’. We looked at the story of Ruth. This is an amazing story about an amazing woman, and we were encouraged to think about her characteristics, those we admired, those we could see in ourselves and those we wished we had.

The weekend was a mix of Bible study, eating, workshops, testimony, chatting, more eating and lots of laughter. There was even a masked ball – a great opportunity for us ladies to dress up and feel glamorous. Everything was very laid back, no pressure and you could get involved in as much or as little as you wanted to. Some even found time for a walk to explore the area.

The workshops on Saturday afternoon were Gospel Singing, Craft, Makeovers, Assertiveness and Sacred Dance. I chose the dance. 8 of us set about learning a dance to a Christian song, depicting the words in movement and were able to perform it in the worship service on the Sunday. It was very nerve-wracking for many of us especially those who had never attempted anything like this before. But everyone was so encouraging just wanting to get the best from everybody and helping them to develop skills and feel good about their achievement.

What did I get from the weekend? An opportunity to rest, relax and have fun and make new friends. But also a time to spend in God’s presence, listening to Him and learning more of His plan for my life. I came away feeling refreshed in every sense.

We had such a great time we’re already planning to book again for next year. So come on girls, how about joining us? And don’t worry gents, no need for you to miss out, they run a similar event for men too!