We have received a couple questions regarding the Fall Ladies Retreat that we would like to help address:
Q: I am a nursing mother and don’t feel comfortable being away from my child overnight. OR, I am a new mom and don’t feel comfortable away from my baby overnight, seeing as he/she still doesn’t sleep through the night. Are there any options for me so that I can still attend the retreat?
A: Of course! Our goal for this event is to bring the women of IDC together to share in genuine fellowship and community as we seek the Lord wholeheartedly. That being said, we desire to provide all the ladies of IDC the support that they need in order to attend. Mothers, if you do not feel comfortable being apart from your babies for Friday night we have a couple of options for you.
1. The men/fathers of IDC have been encouraged to take the lead here and coordinate possibilities and assistance so their wives may attend the event while their children are well taken care of. We understand that some fathers work on Saturdays, and in this case, our growth groups have also been encouraged to help families out in coordinating. If your issue cannot be solved in this way please let us know and we will attempt to find other assistance for your family.
2. You have the option of bringing your child to stay the night with you, or stay with you as long as you feel necessary. However, we DO want to encourage and challenge the wonderful moms of IDC to trust their husbands here and use the support being presented, so that they too, may experience a day of rest and focus on our Savior and the community that he has provided us with.
3. Your husbands may opt to stay at the hotel as well, share a room with other fathers for support, etc. so that they are close by and can get you if necessary.
4. The beauty of this retreat as well, is the convenience of staying in the RDU area. You may request to room with other moms and notify them that your husband may bring the child to nurse, etc.
5. You may also decide to come to the retreat without staying the night. This is definitely an option. However, we will not have an estimate on how much it would cost to attend without staying the night until we have completed most of the registration. Please register and indicate that you will not be staying overnight and we will email you around September 1st with the cost.
6. If you do not have someone that you feel you can ask to assist you with childcare please let us know! Our growth groups will be extremely helpful here in caring for the women of IDC and their little ones, and we will find support for you!
In any case, please do not let childcare prevent you from registering for this retreat! When you register, please indicate that you will need help with childcare and we will seek to accommodate you.
Q: I would love to attend the retreat but the cost simply doesn’t fit in my budget right now. What can I do?
A: We encourage you, please do not let the cost of the retreat be the reason that you can’t attend. Again, our desire is to provide the ladies of IDC with the support that they need in order to attend. So, please sign up for the event and indicate that you will be needing financial assistance! We will pool our resources together to see how we can support you!
Q: I have extra money in our monthly budget and would love to contribute the funds to allow another woman to attend this event. How can I do so?
A: Praise the Lord! We are so grateful for you. When signing up for the event you may specify the extra amount that you will be contributing towards supporting other attendees on the registration form. If you pay online with Elixio, please indicate that the payment is for you and that you are also contributing towards the Retreat Support funds. You can write this in the ‘Notes’ box. If you feel led to contribute here, we encourage you to do so! It is certainly a need that has been recognized and will allow us to further support the women in our church body.
Q: I was going to come but I am looking to become a member, and membership class is that Saturday. Can I do both?
A: Yes! This is an unfortunate conflict that has come up, but please do not miss out on our retreat for this reason! We are so excited that you are taking the steps toward membership, but we can completely support you here! Please register for the retreat and then you can send an email to Nate Akin (nate@idcraleigh.com) and let him know that you will be attending the women’s retreat. He will get the membership information that you need to you!
Q: Due to a conflict (work, previous plans, etc.) I can only come for Friday night or Saturday during the day. Is that an option for me?
A: The answer again is yes! We are still in the process of registration, but come September 1st we will have a reliable idea of what the cost would be for partial attendance. Please write on the registration form what part of the retreat you would be able to attend and we will email you with cost information in September!
Please let us know if there are any questions that we failed to identify here! We are eagerly anticipating this sweet time of community and fellowship.
-The Ladies Fall Retreat Planning Team