Alice Hedt- Observations of the March for Our Lives

 Rev. Fred and Alice Hedt 

and members of Ascension Lutheran Church

 in Landover, Maryland.
Alice shares with us some gleanings
 from participating in this historic March.

          Choosing to attend the March for Our Lives-

I attended the rally because I am shaken by the Parkland and other school shootings, and by the gun violence in so many communities in this country. I also wanted to support youth from Ascension who share these concerns. 

Observations while at the March for Our Lives-

      Headed towards the rally, I was filled with thankfulness     

      for this country that allows each of us to express our 

      opinions. How wonderful to see young people, and we  

      oldsters, sharing our grief, our fears, and our vision for a 

      less violent society! Standing with Ascension youth, 

      I was filled with hope listening to the articulate focused  

      young speakers. And I learned a lot! 180,000 children 

      have observed a school shooting and 40 percent of 

      these children have post traumatic stress disorder. 

Reflections after the March for Our Lives-

I personally believe that these young leaders are a gift from God to our society. Too many adults, myself included, have grown to accept violence in cities and schools. We have normalized and ignored children living in fear. These young people are pushing our society to identify and implement solutions in our individual actions and in public policy.  I am grateful. 

Thank you Alice for reporting

 from live in the ministry fields!

In Memoriam - Vivi Diefenthaler

Helene "Vivi" Provine Diefenthaler
of Columbia, MD,

 passed away on March 21, 2018. 

She was born on December 4, 1943, 

to Joseph Vona and Helene Gregory Vona. 

She was a member of
 Our Savior Lutheran Church,

 Laurel, MD.
As a young girl, 
Vivi was quite the horsewoman, 
winning many ribbons and trophies. 
A natural athlete, 
she ran many triathlons and marathons
 and also qualified 
and ran the Boston Marathon.

She enjoyed the running and working out 

to keep herself physically fit. Dancing, 

reading, singing in her church choir, 

and travel overseas were also great loves. 
She retired from the 
Howard County, Maryland Offices on Aging
as director of an adult day-care center.
Recently, she spent countless hours
 working with her husband 
for Lutheran World Relief.

She is survived by her husband,
Dr. Jon Diefenthaler, 

daughter Kimberly Lourenco (Thomas)

 of Olney, MD, 

and son Robert William Provine (Lena)

 of Los Angeles, CA, 
grandchildren Sarah, Isabelle, and James;

 Step-son Col. Andrew Diefenthaler (Beth)
 of Richmond, VA, 

step-daughers Kathryn Wiltse (Eric)
 of Sanford, FL,

 Lisa Woodson (Tracy) of Richmond, VA,

 and Heidi Bernardi (Sam) of Valparaiso, IN, 

and their children William, Henry, Luke, Chloe, 

Grace, Erin, TJ, Sammy, and Sydney. 

She was preceded in death by her parents-

 Joseph and Helene Vona.

Recently, I was blessed to spend 

a bit of time with Vivi 

at the Best Practices Conference in Phoenix.

Former Council of President wives
 and those serving now

gathered around a table for Visual Prayer.

We gathered for this fun photo too.

Here are some recent comments

 from our group:

"I am thankful that I had the pleasure

 of seeing Vivi recently 

and in my last sight of her

 she was joyfully dancing.

 I’m thankful for the joy of the Lord

 that she lived out in her life."

"I can see her now in heaven
 giving everyone a kiss 
on the cheek and dancing!! 
We celebrate the resurrections 
that she now enjoys!"

"Vivi was one-of-a-Kind, 
have had the pleasure 
of being with both of them 
at LIRS events since we all retired. 
She will be so missed especially
 by the grandkids 
she cared for on a daily basis. 
We will pray for the family."

"Vivi was always gracious & kind, 
taking time to notice each person
 and give an encouraging word.
 I remember her dancing 
the night away with Jon 
at a recent conference and laughing 
with some of us at our COP wives 
table at Best Practices. 
What life she had - 
and what LIFE she now has!"

Vivi with a smile that gifted us well.


Memorial donations in honor 

of Vivi may be sent to:

Lutheran World Relief

700 Light Street 

Baltimore, MD 21230

A memorial will be made in Vivi's honor

 from the Southeastern District 

Women's Ministry.

I give thanks for words of encouragement
 that were always the gift from Vivi to me.
She will be dearly missed.
Connie

Visual Faith- Eldersburg, MD

~Saturday, March 17, 2018~

A Visual Faith Gathering at 

Faith Lutheran Church

in Eldersburg, Maryland.

Sharing about Visual Prayer

 as the center for Bible Journaling

Time to experiment 

and try some things out.

Quiet space and

reflection time.

Dealing with distractions.

Resources and tools

along the way

Seeing Visual Prayer on the walls 

in the Fellowship Hall 

and Sunday School spaces.

Thanks to DCE Meghan O'Hara-

 as she seeks to bring Visual Faith resources

 and experiences to the members of Faith Lutheran.

Visual Faith Resources for Holy Week

This is a photo of the Holy Week resources 

that are available for download and printing. 

These are perfect to share for 

worship communities, 

schools, family and personal use.

They can be found on the 

Visual Faith Ministry

 website under the Resources heading.
holy-week-sermon-notes

Melinda Ransdell - who writes at 
unconventionally steadfast has created
 a collaborative effort to use 
the images designed by 
Sally Beck 
to create new worship resources.
The resources can also be found here:
holy-week-sermon

A little bit about artist- Sally Beck.

"For twenty-five years I had the blessing
of working for 

Creative Communications for the Parish

 (St. Louis) as art director and illustrator. 

I can't imagine a better career—

one in which I used my art
 to express my faith.

 Creative Communications

 publishes worship and devotional materials

 for adults and children

 with an emphasis on the Church Year seasons

 of Lent/Easter and Advent/Christmas. 

One of my many assignments 

was to create yearly collections

 of black and white

 spot illustrations based on the lectionary.

 These illustrations were ones that pastors

 and church secretaries could use as 

worship folder covers or inside illustrations.

 My task was to read the Sunday lessons, 

recognize the theme 

of each week's Old Testament, 

Gospel, epistle and Psalm readings, 

and create a piece of art to fit.

A little calligraphy, a little drawing—

and always with the Holy Spirit

 leading the way. 

The art that appears in the posts 

of the Visual Faith groups

 is the result of those assignments."

We are thankful for the blessing
 of this creative pairing of gifts.