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Resource people for the conference were Cliff and Joyce Penner, co-authors of The Gift of Sex, Restoring the Pleasure, and Sex Facts for the Family. Their 20 years of experience as sex therapists and their own vibrant relationship with each other and with God, brought a power and punch to their seven presentations. The ground they covered--from the biblical view of sex, to explicit and detailed helpful information on the sexual process, beginning with desire, initiation, pleasuring, and all the way to resolution and affirmation--was amazingly comprehensive. Cliff's dry wit, however, together with the couple's sincere and humble helping attitude, kept their audience rivetted.
The Penners were sensitive to the fact that most people felt awkward about being in a sex seminar. They put everyone at ease when they shared, with a lot of humour, frankness and an accepting attitude, their own sexual development. This counteracted the message most baby boomers had received from their parents: "You don't talk about IT.' The central message of the weekend was that sex should be talked about. In all the sessions participants were given opportunity to write out their own sexual history, patterns of sexual response and changes they would like to see. Immediate opportunity was given to share these items with their spouse and to talk, as a couple, about their sexual experiences.
Was this seminar necessary? Judging from the questions that surfaced and the responses to the survey questions, the seminar filled very definite needs. Was the seminar beneficial? For some participants, the conference provided some tools to enhance an already good sexual relationship. For others, it provided the building blocks needed to lay a foundation for establishing one.
Ken Wellington
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