“It takes a Village” 2024 seminar review
by Ruth Baker
I love Christian conferences. It’s the chance to focus on interesting and important topics and create space in my mind and heart to quiet the world and learn from God’s word.
I especially love Christian women’s conferences. There is something profound and special about thinking through those important topics as a woman, and as a Christian woman. The pinnacle of those for me is the Mothers Union Sydney annual seminar which speak to me as a woman, a Christian woman and as a mother.
This year was no exception. The theme was “It takes a village: Stronger together in the family of God”. The three talks wove together wonderfully, each building on the previous one. The first speaker was Tim Clemens who is senior minister at Grace City Anglican Church in Waterloo, right in the heart of Sydney. He spoke to us from 1 Corinthians 12 showing how our “village” as Christian community is the body of Christ in which we need the body, and the body needs us. This is the beauty of the church and cannot be built outside of Christ as Tim reminded us. If we try to build this outside the church, it would not be beautiful. It is the task of the body to build each other up in love and in Christ. While it takes a village to raise a child, it takes the body of Christ to raise Christian children – and parents and grandparents!
Next came Dani Treweek who has a PhD on a theology of singleness and is a founding member of the Single Minded Ministry. That might sound out of place in a conference about parenthood! But Dani’s work actually has a focus on church as the family of God. She reminded us that the relationship at the heart of Scripture is actually brother and sister in Christ, which has become so ubiquitous over the years that in many ways we have domesticated it to the level of polite platitude. But the answers to relational disconnection is seeing each other as we really are: Brothers and sisters bound to each other in the blood of Christ. We are not called to play at family, we are called to live as a family.
At this point we stopped for morning tea provided by the Mothers Union branches of the Southern Highlands (which is ah-mazing!! If you have a chance to attend the seminar in person to taste these culinary delicacies – do it!). We also got time to shop at the book stall curated by The Wandering Bookseller.
Book recommendations from our speakers included Gathered Together by Karl Deenick, Unmissable Church by Richard Sweatman and Antony Barraclough, Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and No Greater Love by Rebecca McLaughlin.
These are all available online at The Wandering Booksellers website
The last talk of the seminar was from Jocelyn Loane, mother of 5 and Moore College chaplain. She brought us practical wisdom that built on biblical foundation brought by Tim and the theological application provided by Dani. Jocelyn opened with the reminder that an online social media parents group is good, but it is not the same as being connected within a God-given family. And we all need our church village. There can be a danger that our kids see church as just another activity so we need to teach them that it is different, it is significant and that it is a family not an activity. And church attendance can be tricky. After all, we all get busy. But it was a useful reminder that we shouldn’t let the good things crowd out the best things.
It was a beautiful day, full of godly wisdom and biblical truth, focused on topics so close to the hearts of parents and carers. There were around 230 women at the cathedral and another 630 online.
Together as a village, joined from New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland and Singapore, under God. Our cups were filled.
Talks from the Mothers Union Sydney Seminars are available here: