by Scott Rossiter, Assistant Director of Guest Services
and Sarah Karstetter, Marketing Associate

How time flies! Our 2008 Women’s Weekends have come and gone, and we are already accepting church group early bird reservations for 2009!

Over 600 women, from 35 different churches attended our Women’s Weekends this past month. Churches came from cities around the Northwest, including those from I-5/405 corridor cities of Arlington, Stanwood, Lynnwood, Everett, Marysville, Bothell, Mukilteo, Edmonds, Seattle, Burien, Renton, Auburn, Tacoma, and Olympia. They also came from further north (Mt. Vernon, Sedro Woolley, Shaw Island, Bellingham, Ferndale), further south (Olympia, Centralia), further east (Leavenworth, Wenatchee), and further west (Poulsbo, Port Angeles). Even sisters from north of the border joined us from Victoria, Kelowna, and Agassiz, British Columbia.

A growing number of churches have discovered that, rather than holding their own retreats for the women of their churches, they can bring their ladies to Warm Beach’s Women’s Weekend and accomplish their goals without all the hassles of planning and arranging for their own event. It’s like having a retreat within a retreat!

Next year, we are truly blessed to have internationally known author and speaker Thelma Wells as our keynote speaker.

Overcoming a childhood of abuse and poverty, Thelma Wells has become an incredibly successful, confident and powerful author, speaker, and ministry leader. Thelma has become a trailblazer for black women, organizing her own speaking company, receiving a master’s degree and honorary doctorate, and becoming a well-known author and speaker on the Women of Faith tour. With over 25 years of experience traveling and speaking globally, Thelma specializes in the art of motivating, inspiring, and equipping people to “be their best.”

Thelma’s ministry, A Woman of God ministries, seeks to provide a place of comfort and support for those who have been hurt by the world and show them that with Christ, you can be the best! In March of 2008, Thelma made her final appearance as a Women of Faith speaker. After twelve years, she felt God calling her to lean on Him in new areas of ministry and opportunity. With her overwhelming passion to minister to hurting souls and her disarming, folksy manner, “Mama T,” as she is affectionately called, looks to the future with anticipation and continues to charm audiences across the country.

Women’s Weekends are scheduled for April 24th thru 26th and May 1st thru 3rd, 2009. Anticipating a large response to Thelma Wells’ appearances, we have already opened our church group reservations process. Churches can call now to reserve overnight rooms for their ladies, and have until February 13th, 2009, to pay for registrations at discounted group prices.

All full-time overnight packages include two nights’ accommodations and six delicious meals. Overnight reservation requests are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Commuter packages are also available.

To reserve space for next year’s Women’s Weekends, call our head registrar at (360) 652-7575 or (800) 228-6724, toll free in WA. You may also e-mail the Registration Department or visit the Camp’s website for more information.