BRIDGES TO HEALING THROUGH FAITH

28 women were on the East Central District zoom Spiritual Retreat meeting on Saturday, March 26. It was the first meeting as United Women in Faith. Anne Winn welcomed everyone and introduced the speaker. 

Emily Sterling Strongman, the pastor from First United Methodist Church, Orlando. The theme of the meeting was Bridges to Healing through Faith. The hymn Women in the Night, was shown being sung  by a choir at a church in Chicago. The words were so meaningful and great pictures were shown. This song is in the Methodist Hymnal but not sung often. Emily suggested looking at other songs in the hymnal and the messages the words tell. 

The scripture Emily chose to highlight was from  Luke 13. It was read and then read slowly again while we stood stooped over and the eighteen years counted one by one to help the scripture come alive.

She then talked about our prayers for healing may not always be answered the way we want them to be.  Healing may not come or even a person may die. Healing comes in different ways and shapes. We have to surrender, accept, grieve sometimes to get better. Jesus meets us there. He meets us where we are every time.  

We then read verses 14 - 17. where the leaders were angry at Jesus for healing the woman on the Sabbath.  "Not the way we do it" is often heard in churches. Jesus set us free from rigid customs.

Visualizing the Scripture in pictures. 

There was good discussion about the different paintings.

 Emily suggested you do a google search for pictures that relate to a scripture. It helps you connect with the scripture and would be a  good  idea for a  devotion. 

There were breakout groups focusing on how stress in our lives affects our physical bodies. Two activities to help reduce the stress were done.  One was by intentional breathing and the other by drawing and writing about what is causing the stress.  

The meeting ended with communion and prayer.