Visual Faith Retreat- Fredericksburg, VA

Visual Faith Show and Tell.

The tables are ready for a gathering on

Saturday, November 9, 2019.

Redeemer Lutheran Church 

in Fredericksburg, Virginia

was the gracious host for the

 Walking with the Lord event.

Vintage photos were passed out to all the attendees.

They were tasked with "telling" the story

 of their "new-found great, or great, great grandmother."

There were some very funny photos- and stories.

But, what is the story, or even the 

FAITH STORY of our own relatives?

Here are photos of Connie Denninger's grandmother,

  great grandmother and great, great grandmother.

Though there is a bit of the story of these women of faith-

most of the story remains untold.

After the death of her mother, Katherine, in August 2004, 

as she was sifting through the shoe boxes of paper clippings, 

she almost missed this clipping of the death of her great grandmother.

The impactful sentence was:

 "...she was a devoted mother

 to her children she was mindful 

not only of their bodily 

but also and especially of their spiritual welfare."

That changed some priorities

 and rearranged some intentional life choices.

This song- Find Us Faithful sums up this 

Keep the Faith Milestone project.

What are some of the events, connections, 

and legacy of YOUR OWN story of faith?

Is it in a format for future generations

 to know your story of faith?

Those gathered for this event learned about some 

Visual Faith practices and learned about some basic 

faith story-telling resources.

After a wonderful lunch, 

those gathered began 

to create their own Walking with the Lord 

accordion book.

Before their arrival, the attendees had been emailed

 the worksheet for the project 

to collect and fill out the information.
walking-with-the-lord-worksheet

 Lea finished her project when 
she got home from the retreat.
 A printable resource that can be used for either 
an accordion book or paper bag journal
 is found here:
walking-with-the-lord-additional resources

We are also very excited about joining 

with Lutheran Hour Ministry 
to help spread the word about knowing
 our story to tell our story.

 We want to help all people be

 eager conversationalists about their faith.

Telling the Story of God's Faithfulness.

Visual Faith Coaches Connie Denninger 

and Fran Kassouf teamed to bring this event

to Central Virginia.

They are blessed to partner

 in their efforts to bring 

faith enriching tools and resources

 to all in their ministry paths.

Check out the resources on the 

Visual Faith Ministry website- 

where there are more than 1,000 

Free resources to download 

and use for personal, 

school and church ministry purposes.

visualfaithmin.org/visual-faith-resources

A Doorways into Prayer Retreat

These women of Living Savior Lutheran Church

 from Fairfax Station, Virginia 

gathered for their Women's Retreat 

on May 4-6, 2019.

                                                                                                       photo by Rose Kasperson

They gathered at the Rosyln Retreat Center

 in Richmond, Virginia.

Spring beckoned and delighted all around.

Friday evening Bible Study looked 

at the Resurrection power

 that is the gift to all believers

 because Jesus is alive.

We are blessed to have the Holy Spirit 

alive in each of us that is bringing 

this new creation to fulfillment.

Saturday morning was the teaching time

 to learn about Doors into Prayer.

As Christians we live in a 

spiritual warfare battle.

But, we are blessed to have a 

personal relationship with the

 conqueror of death- Jesus Christ.
How does prayer intricately unite us
 to the power that rose Jesus from the dead?
Can prayer lives be "resurrected"?

The afternoon included time to make

 and process the learning in a paper bag journal.

They were started and ready

 to go for each attendee.

The creative times serves as a 

"modern day quilting bee".

Time to make and create

 as well as share life and hear the heart

 of another sister in faith.

 A selection of some covers

 for the Doors into Prayer

 paper bag journals.

This is the journal of Jean-Marie- 

who also shared some wonderful tools 

and techniques with her Art background.

Some took afternoon time

 for a walk or a nap.

Others just kept right in the creative flow.

Saturday evening included some planning

 for next year and time to plan 

the Sunday morning worship experience.

On Sunday we finished up worship details

 and gathered to worship together.

Worship ended with a 

blessing and sending.

Until next year---

we head into the reconnecting of life with 

some new prayer tools for our own lives

 and many ideas of how to bless others.

Refreshing respite.

Till next year!

Retreat was facilitated by Connie Denninger

 and the head of the Retreat Team

 was Wendy McGraw.
Thank you to all who contributed
 photos for this post.

A Visual Faith Gathering- Resurrection, Cary, NC

A beautiful day for the gathering 

for a Visual Faith event

 at Resurrection Lutheran Church

 in Cary, North Carolina

on Saturday, October, 6, 2018.

Show and Tell and the Stories

 Calligrapher Dara shared 
basic lettering hints and tips

 Educators and friends joined for the day.

Hope Grows Here-
Encouragement for our 
Spiritual Formation Journey. 

RLC member and Visual Faith Coach -
 James Thieme was the organizer for the event.
Great job and thank you!

The Visual Faith Coach Team-
 Left to Right- Connie Denninger, Jamee Thieme, 
Belinda Bost, and Karen Field
Kneeling- Megan Daub
What a blessing to all be together 
for sharing and encouragement.

Visual Faith Practices 

and Faith Milestone Projects

Smash Journals, Mixed Media Projects, 

Bible Journaling 

Visual Prayer Cards

Portals of Prayer Scripture Doodles

The Visual Church Year Project

Lectionary B for 2018

Gratitude-Counting Gifts Journals

 and Prayers by the Month

The Visual Church Year Project 

that serves as- Worship into the Week.

 Done by Visual Faith Coach- Jamee Thieme

Family Faith Statements

Lent and Easter Words

Walking With the Lord Accordion Books

Visual Prayers

One-Page Psalm Summaries

Advent and Lent Calendars

Prayers for My Children

Living Life as Prayer

A Thanksgiving Garland, Church Year Binder 

and Visual Faith Coach Belinda Bost 

demonstrated using Watercolor Pencils.

Time to Pray, Visit, Share, 
Listen and Bless.
What a wonderful gathering-
 in Community. 
  There were many faith backgrounds from 
Virginia to North Carolina 
learning together-that Hope Grows Here.
God is great and faithful.

What to learn more about Visual Faith Ministry?
visualfaithmin.org

Join our Facebook groups:

visualfaithministry

Visual Faith Community- North Carolina

Follow us on Instagram-
visualfaithministry

Follow us on Pinterest-
pinterest

Hope Grows Here- Women's Retreat

St. Andrew Lutheran Church,

 in Silver Spring, Maryland 

hosted the Wellspring Women's Retreat event 

on Saturday,

April 14, 2018.

 About 125 women gathered to 

be encouraged, learn together,

sing and worship,

and make connections.

Keynote Speaker- Connie Denninger

shared the struggle for "meaningful and reliable"

prayer time, as well as time in God's Word. 

Visual Faith Ministry brings together 

some of the tools and resources 

that have changed the story.

 We talked about some of the fears 

that steal JOY and rob us of hope.

We have a Vision Problem.

We don't keep our eyes on Jesus.

We have a spiritual amnesia problem.

We forget God's faithfulness to us.

When the Lord is 

my LIGHT and SALVATION-

whom shall I fear?

And when fear takes a back seat-

there is HOPE.

 Morning sessions included 

a variety of topics and choices.

Visual Prayer packets were take-home 

encouragement to help us remember-

FAITH OVER FEAR.

 HOPE GROWS HERE

because of what Jesus 

has already done in our lives.

Thank you to the planning team and the 

WELLSPRING ministry

 for offering this wonderful event for women.