Tacoma, Washington—The sixth annual Tacoma Men’s Weekend was held once again at the Seabeck Conference Center, on the beautiful shoreline of Hood Canal in northwest Washington. From Friday through Sunday, June 24-26, a group of 33 men enjoyed a great weekend together, with the theme “Strengthen Your Brethren.” Among those attending there were four pastors, six other elders, and men from eight church circuits. The beautiful new lodge building provided an excellent setting for inspiring meetings, great fellowship and comfortable lodging.

The weekend began with a buffet dinner on Friday evening in the spacious dining hall on campus, where we enjoyed each meal during the three days we were there. Then the gathering moved to the lodge, where we welcomed the Sabbath with a wonderful wine and cheese social, enjoying the opportunity to renew old acquaintances and meet new friends.

Building on the theme of strengthening our brethren, there were six interactive sessions during the weekend. With the approach being on either strengthening those with whom we serve, or strengthening those whom God has entrusted to our care, the topics covered a broad spectrum. On the morning of the Sabbath, the host pastor, Roc Corbett, solicited input about successful mentoring that has helped us grow and enabled the passing on of the truth of God from one faithful person to another, from one generation to another. Ben Light drew lessons from Peter’s writings, showing how he was able to strengthen the brethren in the first-century Church, and how those lessons are relevant for us today.

The Sabbath service was webcast to all the ladies and families in the church circuit and made available to the congregations of the other pastors who were attending the Men’s Weekend. Daniel Porteous gave the sermonette, “Establish the Work of Our Hands.” Mark Welch’s sermon, “Loving God and Loving His Way of Life” focused on helping us to make sure that the guiding force in our lives is godly love. There were 90 individual connections to the Sabbath webcast, representing members in eight church circuits.

Later in the afternoon of the Sabbath Paul Moody led a discussion about “being all things to all men,” showing how we can strengthen the people God sends us to serve by “meeting them where they are.”

On Sabbath evening our guest speaker, Mark Welch, led an informative discussion titled, “The Pursuit of Sexual Purity.” This open discussion reminded us of how important it is to live godly lives as men. Daniel Porteous led a Sunday morning discussion about being aware of various learning styles so that we can become better teachers. Our final interactive session was led by David Jones, with the focus of putting our hearts into becoming strong in our faith and in our roles as husbands, fathers, and servants in the Church.

In our exit survey, looking forward to next year, nearly every man attending said he would like to be able to come back next year, and to build on the experience and blessing of this year’s Tacoma Men’s Weekend. The dates for next year will be June 23 to 25.