The Chinese Christian Church of Greater Washington DC (CCCGW) held its annual summer retreat from July 11-13, 2025, at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, PA. This year's event centered on the theme "Rooted and Grounded in Love," based on biblical principles and led by guest speakers Reverend Lambert Lee (Chinese speaker) and Reverend Keith McLaughlin (English speaker). The retreat provided an opportunity for brothers and sisters to strengthen their faith and connect with each other.

Reverend Lee delivered several sermons over the weekend, exploring key biblical passages from many books of the Bible, including Ephesians, Matthew, Romans, and Proverbs, to guide attendees on how to prepare spiritually for challenging times. The focus of his Sunday sermon was on preparing for "the famine," encouraging brothers and sisters to strengthen their faith and deepen their knowledge of scripture to prepare for “the harvest” to come.

Reverend McLaughlin delivered messages on love, including love as our expectation, love as our experience, love as our essence, love as our elixir, and love as our expression. In his workshop, titled “Unwrapping the Gift of Grief,” attendees experienced the power of healing prayer through an experiment together.

“The workshop experiment was pretty impressive,” said Joshua Zhao, who graduated from the children's class and joined the English session for the first time. “We were told to open our arms, put our palms in front of us, and imagine all the burdens added to our hands. Then we were told to imagine that God took all these burdens away from us. I immediately felt my hands and arms were much lighter. It was a very cool experience.”

“I really enjoyed the fellowship of hanging out with my Church brothers and sisters in a different setting, but I got the most out of Rev. Keith’s series of workshops on finding and receiving Christ’s love,” said Brother Joel deJesus. “They reaffirmed what Pastor Rim has been teaching us all year and were well received by regular church goers and people who are still seeking.”

The retreat blended spiritual enrichment with recreational activities and fellowship. Brothers and sisters enjoyed the games on Family Night and refreshments on both Friday and Saturday evenings. Those who have July birthdays were celebrated with multiple birthday cakes and wishes during the fellowship time.

The summer retreat is a key event of the CCCGW community, offering a dedicated time away from the distractions of daily life for spiritual rejuvenation. The success of the 2025 summer retreat highlights the church's ongoing commitment to building a church family that is rooted and grounded in love.