Give creativity a larger space in your life.
Create in Me is a spiritual retreat connecting art and faith. Over the weekend, we make space for God’s creativity to flow in and through each participant. Learn from artists excited to share their skills, be inspired by the Spirit, and experience holy creativity in community. Let God create in YOU!
Join us April 16-19, 2026
The theme for 2026 will be Nature, Imagination and Liturgy with keynote presenter Vonda Drees. Participants will be immersed in the first Bible of nature, pondering together the fourfold pattern of liturgy.
Keynote Presenter: Vonda Drees
Vonda Drees is a visual artist whose love for life’s questions fuels her art spirit. Contemplative from an early age, creative practices gave her space to converse with the ponderings deepest in her. She, her husband Jim, and their playful black lab, Ren, currently live in the Driftless Region in Wisconsin. Vonda and Jim served as directors of the Grünewald Guild, an art and faith retreat center in Washington from 2016-2020. Vonda was the artist-in-residence for the 2017 Women of the ELCA Triennial Gathering and created the art for Augsburg Fortress’s 2023 Calendar of Word and Season.
Her artwork has been commissioned for the Institute of Liturgical Studies Conference at Valparaiso University and the Conference on Worship, Theology and the Arts at St. Olaf College. Self taught as an artist, Vonda draws inspiration from the natural world and the writings of mystics and voices for justice. Her current project is Wonders of Worship Tree of Life.
View some more of her work here: vondadrees.com, and/or follow her on instagram.
In addition to the keynote presentations, we will have several workshops throughout the weekend to explore the theme through multiple mediums and perspectives. Our feature workshop will be: Worship, Art, and Storytelling with Heather Roth Johnson.
As a North Carolina native, I have followed God’s call in my life as an ELCA missionary in Madagascar, lived on 3 continents, and now I reside in Minnesota. Like many, I wear many hats – my family hat means I am wife to Scott, Mom to Noah (24) and Jacob (deceased), and daughter of Billie, my aging mother. My fun hat means I am storyteller, public speaker, workshop leader, writer/ blogger on storyboardingchurch.com. My work hat at Bethlehem Lutheran Church – Twin Cities in Minneapolis, MN as Pastor of Intergenerational Ministry.
Art is always something I include in regular worship. I mix art into preaching, spirituality, and congregational life in my blog: storyboardingchurch.org
Heather will share more about her work and inspire you to integrate art, storytelling, and worship in your congregations back home!
