“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”

Going into the 2016 Kairos Weekend in Glasgow, I was feeling a bit nervous. For the first time the majority of the conference was split with the guys and girls being in separate locations and having different content. As this was the first time the weekend was formatted in such a way, I was unsure what to expect and whether or not the new style would work or whether it would descend into formulaic teaching for women that we’d all heard a hundred times before. I was also looking forward to going to Glasgow for several reasons. It presented a chance to get to know my friends and sisters in the Lord from other outreaches on a deeper level and engage with them in a freer way, separated from the men.

In spite of my nerves, I really enjoyed and got a lot from the 2016 Kairos Weekend. Heather Semple gave most of the teaching, which I really appreciated and much of it was new and fresh to me. Heather managed to pick out areas all the women could relate to. Her main talk was on the story of Leah and Rachel from the Book of Genesis and she broke it down to reveal an important underlying message which we could connect to on a personal level. I was also able to connect well with the other women at the conference and be more open due to the relaxed and intimate environment. I appreciated the space to be able to focus on the father-daughter relationship we have with God as well as the comfortable environment which allowed us to be more emotional and vulnerable.

The Holy Spirit was also moving powerfully in our worship time, confirming what the Lord had already been speaking to me previously and inspiring an incredible closing time of worship which had all the men and women together.

One of the things that really struck was quote from one of Heather’s talk: “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”

For me, to come back after a year away and see some people who I haven’t seen in two years was great and to catch up with sisters throughout the region was fantastic. Also, the women’s entertainment led by Mhairi and Eilidh was hilarious and was a particular highlight.

Overall, I had a fantastic time at the weekend and I’m definitely looking forward to the 2017 Kairos Weekend in Portugal.

[Elisa Turner is a first year of student of Social Anthropology at SOAS University in London and has been a core member of Koinonia this year.Elisa is also a member of Antioch Community in London, UK]