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Winter Retreat 2017 IDENTITY: YOU DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE UNTIL YOU KNOW WHOSE YOU ARE! Winter Retreat, ACV’s biennial spiritual emphasis event took place in March. The event drew Village members and guests from near and far. The Florida Conference of Advent Christian Churches (FCACC) held its meetings in Dowling Park just prior to Winter Retreat. On Thursday, it hosted the Camp Suwannee Golf Tournament — an 18-hole, two-man scramble fundraiser at Madison Country Club in Madison, Florida. The proceeds went to Camp Suwannee. Winter Retreat began on a lighthearted note Friday with an Italian buffet and a comedy concert by humorist and impersonator Dennis Swanberg. Guests of all ages laughed along with “America’s Minister of Encouragement” as he drew from his “40 years of wit coupled with a lifetime of wisdom.” On Saturday, an old-fashioned picnic lunch at Harmony Center set the stage for an afternoon of fellowship and games. Cornhole, ladderball and closest-to-the-pin golf competitions flanked the basketball court where a pickleball exhibition was held. Throughout the weekend, speaker Dr. Donna Petter delivered three messages focused on identity, based on Old Testament texts — “Identifying Identity,” “Identity Loss” and “Identity Restored” — in response to the idea, “You don’t know who you are until you know whose you are.” An expert in Old Testament studies, Dr. Petter is a teacher, a speaker and an author; she wrote the study notes on the book of Ezekiel for the New International Version Zondervan Study Bible (NIVZSB). The entire event was a time of enrichment and renewal. Dr. Donna Petter delivered messages focused on identity during Winter Retreat 2017. A pickleball exhibition was held during Winter Retreat 2017. Winter Retreat began with a hilarious comedy concert by Dr. Dennis Swanberg. An old-fashioned picnic with food and games was held during Winter Retreat. Sisters-in-law Brenda and Charlene Reas engage in a friendly game of ladderball. Facebook.com/ACVillage Village Life 9


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