Comments from Pastoral Refreshment Conference 2009:
This is the only time I have felt valued as the spouse of a church minister. It was great to have it recognised that I need the spiritual refreshment as much as my husband does.
I’ve been encouraging friends to come next year, saying “go, go next year, take my car!
This has helped me look forward to my new parish and expect to lead with forgiveness and love
It really refreshed my sense of purpose as I look forward to ministry this
year.
Pastoral Refreshment
The annual Pastoral Refreshment Conference aims to provide a place for sustenance of heart and family life, for developing intimacy with the Lord and close bonds of fellowship with others in leadership.
The conference provides a setting for leaders, pastors and partners to seek God together for the on-going refreshment of life and ministry. There is a lot of prayer and worship , inspiring preaching and a safe environment in which to be yourself. Seminar subjects in recent years have included: Grace, Marriage and Ministry; Looking after your Spiritual Life; How to Love Your Church and Leading with a Forgiving Heart. All with a strong ethos of experiencing the grace of God together.
Publicity is available below for Pastoral Refreshment Conference 2010, which will take place from 1-3 February, with Dick Dowsett speaking.
Pastoral Refreshment Conference 2010 - Publicity
(PDF, 1.1mb)
Pastoral Refreshment Conference 2010 - Booking Form
(PDF, 81kb)
Visit the download section for a selection of main talks from previous years.
Press release comments
Colin Bowden:
A must for all Ministers
I have just returned from Hothorpe Hall in Leicestershire having just attended the Pastoral Refreshment Conference organised by Living Leadership. Living Leadership is a group of Evangelical Leaders who have a passion for training and sustaining Christian leaders.
This conference is like no other I have ever been on, it is quite unique. It is not just aimed at ministers but spouses are very welcome and are ministered to as much as the minister/leader. You are not told who the speakers will be (deliberately), but the emphasis in the main session and seminars are very much about spiritual refreshment and encouragement. The exposition of Mark’s Gospel by Andrew Page was excellent, and the rest of the conference sessions were equally fulfilling and very helpful. The conference is designed to wash over you, allowing God’s love, grace, forgiveness and healing to permeate your soul in a very gentle way leaving you refreshed. It is incredibly relaxed. Every conference I have ever been to I have been bombarded with the need to learn, or how I can do things better. I often come away burdened with more things to do, or guilt, or pressure. Not so with the Pastoral Refreshment Conference, is does “what it says on the tin”. It is held in early February, an ideal time (except for the snow, and even that was fun). For Sue and me this was our second conference together, and we came away feeling refreshed, strengthened and encouraged in the Lord, I only wish they were 6 monthly. Why not suggest now to your Deacons you would like to attend the 2010 conference, with your spouse, that gives them plenty of time to budget (and it is not expensive), and time for arrangements for someone to preach on the Sunday after the conference.
Dave Burke:
Like most gospel workers I have developed my own ways of dealing with the stresses of my job. Until recently, I would never have dreamed of attending a conference to help me do this! But the Pastoral Refreshment Conference has changed that, I have been to the first two and I am a convert - as long as it continues I shall be there. Let me tell you why. It is the only event I attend where I can relax and talk about all the things I can't mention to anyone in my church. There is excellent worship and word ministry, as well as practical seminars, but this is the only conference I know where you are encouraged to skip the sessions if you would rather have quietness. So I get a two-day menu from which I can choose what I need to re-energise and nourish my soul. To this add the friendliness and openness of the people who attend, and the pleasure of meeting old friends and making new ones … see what I mean?
Julian Hardyman:
This year's Pastoral Refreshment Conference was notable for an atmosphere of personal openness and mutual encouragement. Leaders from a wide variety of backgrounds were nurtured by highly relevant messages from 2 Corinthians and by a real sense of entering a community of supportive love.
Download the Pastoral Refreshment Conference brochure
(739 Kb PDF)