WOMEN'S MINISTRIES USE SCRAPBOOKING TO SHOW HOW FAITH IS PART OF THEIR LIVES.

Women's ministries use scrapbooking to show how faith is part of their lives.
By LINDA M. LINONIS
VINDICATOR RELIGION EDITOR
COLUMBIANA -- It's about leaving a legacy of thoughts, feelings and testimony of faith. It's about sharing stories of how God is part of your life.
Those thoughts came from Melinda Holsopple, director of development at The Way Station, 769 Springfield Road, at a recent workshop on "Scrapbooking Your Spiritual Journey," which attracted about 35 participants.
Sandra L. Joseph of Reminders of Faith shared suggestions on this special ministry during the program at the Upper Room Fellowship, 500 Sponseller Road.
Holsopple said a make-it-and-take-it project was part of the event. "Sandra said everyone should leave a legacy telling the story of God's faithfulness in their lives," Holsopple said.
Holsopple said an experience in her family was one she wanted to preserve and leave for future generations to treasure and appreciate.
"My niece was diagnosed with cancer at 2 years old. My sister didn't come home [from the hospital] for four months," she said. "It made me so aware of a mother's love. My sister didn't want to stop holding her. ... She wondered if it would be last time."
In making a scrapbook page for her sister and her niece, who just celebrated her fourth birthday and is cancer-free, Holsopple used the verse from Proverbs 31:28, "Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband [also], and he praiseth her."
"It's a testament to God," she said. The page includes a photo of her niece being held by her sister, who looks very tired.
What's included
But the reality of the situation, her thoughts and her feelings of faith are chronicled on this scrapbook page. "Fifty years from now, her grandchild can read about a mother's love and the bond," Holsopple said.
Dena Rozeski of New Waterford, who is children and youth director of Way Station and member and music director of New Waterford United Methodist Church, said, "This is a wonderful way to share feelings as a wife and mother and what you felt at different ages.
"We take photos and put them in boxes. This is a way to put them to use, writing details of life and sharing what's in my heart," Rozeski said.
"My mother got sick when I was 20 years old and was in a vegetative state for years," she said. "All I have of her is a crochet pattern she wrote," Rozeski said. "Having one thought she shared would be meaningful to me."
That's one reason why Rozeski said it was important to her to document things for her sons.
Michelle Barnhart of New Waterford, a member of Mount Calvary Community Church in East Palestine, and Way Station gift shop manager, said she didn't think she would like scrapbooking. But after the workshop, she "couldn't stop" thinking of ideas.
"It's a way to show how God has worked in your life," she said. "Photos are important, but the stories behind them are more important. I can look back and see how I've been blessed and my faith has increased."
Planning projects
Barnhart said she brought up the scrapbook idea at a recent meeting of the women's ministry at her church. The women are planning to do individual scrapbooks and joint one for the church.
"Mount Calvary is the oldest church in Columbiana. It's 202 years old," Barnhart said. "We want to look at what's changed and what's remained the same," she said, of the project that will chronicle the church history and its congregation.
Also participating was Kelly Stranford-Wasser of New Castle, and a consultant with Glenda Ryder, owner of Memories Plus in New Castle, a scrapbooking business.
"I always felt a calling in the church. I think I have found my niche because scrapbooking uses my creative side, my teaching side and my faith," Stranford-Wasser said. "It's all bundled together."
Stranford-Wasser, wife of the Rev. Rex Wasser, pastor of Epworth United Methodist Church in New Castle, graduated from United Theological Seminary in Dayton and has a bachelor's degree in special education from Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. But parts of her life have been on hold since a severe car accident six years ago; she's still recovering.
"I'm finally getting better, and I feel like it's something that I have to share," she said of her hobby of 15 years.
Getting to know you
Another aspect of scrapbooking also is important to her. "I need to teach my children about my faith. If I wasn't here tomorrow, I would want them to know about me," she said.
"Today's scrapbooks are like quilts. They take a lot of time. ... You might have 1,000 hours into it. But I'm creating an heirloom for my family ... to pass on my faith and values," she said. She explained that acid-free materials contribute to the longevity of modern scrapbooks.
Stranford-Wasser said she and her husband are collaborating on a curriculum on "scrapbooking your faith." Eventually they plan to have it published.
And she is putting together a scrapbooking workshop that will be available to churches and their women's ministries. Early next year, she plans to teach a "scrapbooking-your-faith" class at Memories Plus.
She said there are basic elements, what she calls "idea starters," to be included, such as your favorite Bible verses and Bible verses you don't like. Both provide an avenue to explain your faith, she said.
linonis@vindy.com