Lois Schmiesing- In Memoriam

Lois Ann Schmiesing

July 02, 1927 - February 16, 2018

Lois Ann Schmiesing of Severna Park, MD joined her heavenly family on February 16, 2018. Lois was born July 2, 1927 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Louis and Leone (Reetz) Vogl. Lois grew up in Milwaukee and attended Mt. Olive Lutheran Church where she taught Sunday School and was active in Walther League. Lois graduated from Washington High School in 1945.She attended Milwaukee Downer College before marrying Rev. Earl Schmiesing in 1946.

Lois was a supportive wife in Earl’s ministry. They worked in the mission field in Oklahoma and served at churches in Oklahoma, Kansas, New York and Maryland.

The door was always open to hosting visitors in their home. The house was a frequent place for youth group gatherings and Bible classes. Lois was a member of Lutheran Women’s Missionary League for 71 years. She embraced the enthusiasm for mission work completed through these small groups of women both locally and internationally.

Lois’ interests included any activity in which her children or grandchildren were involved. This included Boy and Girl Scouts, Baseball, Softball, Football, Lacrosse, Basketball, Soccer, Dance, Band, Musicals, Cross Country and Track. She was an avid fan of the Oklahoma Sooners, Green Bay Packers,  Baltimore Ravens and the Baltimore Orioles.

Lois is survived by three sons, Robert (Diana) of Fairfax, VA, John (Melody) of Tempe, AZ, Richard (Tracey) of Las Vegas, NV, a daughter, Beth Phillips (Kurt) of Arnold, MD, a daughter-in-law Valerie of Attleboro, MA. 10 grandchildren; Joshua Schmiesing, Nicholas Schmiesing, Christina Patton, Joseph Schmiesing, Melissa Schmiesing, Jason Schmiesing, Kimberly Gloss, Kathryn Phillips, Timothy Schmiesing, and Kelly Snook,    5 great-grandchildren, 2 nieces and a nephew.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Earl, her son, Paul, and a niece.

A memorial service will be held March 24, 2018 at 10:00am at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 308 Oak Manor Drive Glen Burnie, MD 21061

In lieu of flowers, please make memorial contributions to the Chesapeake District LWML

1131 Old Stone Lane, Arnold, MD 21012

A Personal Note-

Sometimes it is a challenging road

 to live life as a pastor's wife.

In the early years in ministry,

 I was deeply impacted by her friendship,

 kind words, and always an encouraging heart 

when ever I was blessed to be around Lois.

She instilled in me the great need 

to bless the wife of a pastor

 with gracious words and a smile.

She leaves a grand legacy of living as a 

daughter of the King to her family, 

and in the ministry settings where she served.

She also modeled ways to lift up 

and bring words of hope

 to all of the women who serve

in the Kingdom.

I give thanks that our paths 

crossed on this side of eternity.

Connie Denninger

A Visual Lenten Journey

So what does a LENTEN journey look like?

I have been doing this practice for 7 years now 

and it is always amazing to me

 to see the Ash Wednesday to Easter

 list of words, terms, 

and prayer prompts for this reflective time.

Once again we are doing this 
personal meditation time

 and sharing in community as folks choose.

You can download either 

of these journaling calendar templates here:
Visual Faith Ministry-Seasonal Resources

You may use any devotional book

 that your church gives out for Lent

 or one you already have.

We suggest choosing 4 colored pencils

 and a Fine-point non-bleeding Sharpie pen

 or Micron pen.

(then you don't have to deal with smearing ink)

The LENT WORDS 2018 can be found here:
lent-words-2018

Join any of the 14 Visual Faith Facebook groups
 to share your Visual Lenten journey with all of us.
Here are a few:
Visual Faith DC METRO

Visual Faith DELMARVA

Visual Faith North Carolina

It is about a prayer time focus
 in God's Word-
 and that is just a great way
 to move forward in Lent.

Lenten Labyrinth

Lenten Labyrinth

Natalie Hartwig shares some thoughts 
for a devotional practice 
that you might consider for Lent this year.

"In this contemplative season the Spirit leads us quietly

 to walk more closely in God’s love. 

One way to do this is to follow a labyrinth while singing.

 A finger labyrinth coupled with a liturgical chant

 or a hymn from the Taize’ Community 

can open your heart and mind to God’s loving care.

This link will take you to a printable finger labyrinth.

Chartres Labyrinth

(There are many more options online.)

The labyrinth formed by concentric lines 

around a heart is my personal choice.

 You can modify most labyrinth designs
 by adding a straight line drawing

 of a cross in the center.
That keeps our focus on Jesus
 as the center of our Lent meditations.

  I also plan to work a labyrinth design 

either with yarn or with fabric paint on canvas 

to create a raised shape that I can trace-
 even with eyes closed.

I suggest starting your chants with the Agnus Dei

 from the communion liturgy. 

Other chants that are favorites of mine are:

 “O Lord, Hear My Prayer”; “Lead Me, Lord”;

 “Jesus Remember Me”; “Eat this Bread”;

 “Open Our Eyes”; “Lord Be Glorified”; 

and “Father, I Adore You.” 

It is advisable to use only one chant per week,

 but if the Spirit moves you
 to use multiple chants- LISTEN.

The Taize’ hymns are not easy to find in 

Lutheran hymn books, 

but some searching on You Tube 

will help you find free downloads of recordings. 

Another source is your own memory 

of music used at retreats, or worship. 

I look forward to using “Allelu!” on Easter Sunday

 while I follow the labyrinth."

Thanks to Natalie Hartwig- a featured contributor
 to the Journey of Faith blog for sharing 

a doable, practical Lenten prayer focus.

This is a great combination of visual and kinesthetic
  movement that may help us to
 keep our focus and deal with distractions.

Visual Faith Gathering- Rehoboth Beach, DE

Visual Faith Coach- 

Melinda Ransdell tells a bit of this story:

 "It was a wonderful Visual Faith

 gathering on Saturday, February 10, 2018,

 at Lutheran Church of Our Savior

 in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

 The participants were very receptive

 and eager to learn and practice.

They even put up with a bit of
 my sniffles and coughs in presenting. 

 We walked through a small introduction 

that included the what and why of Visual Faith. 

We talked about how both praying in color

 and Bible Journaling enhance

 and bring a slower pace and greater retention

 to devotional time.

I find the best way to teach

 is to jump right in and do it.

  We practiced using some simple worksheets.

A favorite part is how quiet the room got

 as thirty ladies dove right in

 with their colored pencils, 

prayers and reflections.

The reactions were very insightful 

and included feelings of peace,

 connecting the flow of thoughts,

 interaction and deeper meaning. 

The value of the discipline

 is experienced right away."

Deaconess Deb Lennox 

shares some insights 

in preparing for and hosting a 

Visual Faith gathering:

"People were at first hesitant to sign up.

 "I don't need to start another project."

 "I'm not an artist."

 "I wouldn't know what to do or say."

Those that took the leap, however,

 were quite surprised 

at all of the options presented.

 There isn't a "one size fits all" approach

The creativity and artistry 

of many of the group was evident-

 even if they hadn't thought 

they possessed that gift!

Door prizes were given to start

 to build a base of supplies, ideas,

 and encouragement.

There was much enthusiasm from a few

 to begin a small group Bible study.

  We would be in the Word

 and then people could practice.

 They could either do journaling,

 praying in color, 

or actual writing in their Bibles.

  I hope to get this started post-Lent.

As a result, I decided to

 hand out coloring pages

 at each of the Adult Bible classes

 during Lent.

  We are studying the psalms,

 and people can make 

their own devotional or journal.

We were also blessed by the presence

 of two guests

 from another church.

  Another person who has been 

visiting our church 

has now has expressed 

interest in joining!

Even I - as a reluctant 
and non-artistic person,

 who does not see a 
gift of creativity in myself,

 is committing to giving it a try!"

A very special thank- you
 to Melinda and Deb
 for sharing the story of this
 Visual Faith workshop event.

Welcome to the SED- the Lohman Family

Rev. Scott Lohman 

was installed as pastor of 

Advent Lutheran Church 

in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

 on January 21, 2018.

Pastor Scott and and his wife, Gina,

 are looking forward to their ministry

 in North Carolina.

Rev. John Denninger, SED President,

with Pastor Scott and Gina Lohman.

Welcome to the Southeastern District-

May the Lord bless your ministry!