Adult Faith Formation (AFF) assists the community in life long faith formation. The goal is to provide opportunities for growth in faith that encompass spirituality and prayer life, learning more about faith and belief, and building community while forming faith. AFF offers a number of different programs throughout the year, including speaker presentations, classroom and online courses, workshops, days of reflection, retreats, and more.
Contact TBD
Email aff@stagnesshepherdstown.org
Praying with Throwback Photos
Since Adult Faith Formation programs may not be accessible to or convenient for some adults trying to juggle busy lives, we recommend this simple practice of “praying with throwback photos” as a way to initiate or strengthen your prayer life. The practice is also an invitation to change our relationship with our devices so that rather being instruments of distraction, we transform the into tools for intentional reflection.
- Settle on an image, either randomly suggested by the memories or featured sections of your photo app or one you intentionally select.
- Reimagine yourself in the scene. Ponder the details of the photo. Briefly close your eyes, and place yourself back in the scene where it occurred. As you meditate on the photo, allow your senses to take over. Small details help the memory come to life.
- Become aware of any feelings that rise to the surface.
- Think about what God is revealing.
- Pray in gratitude, thanking God for the opportunity to relive this moment and close with an Our Father.
- Take one small action inspired by the photo. Whenever possible, try to follow up this time of contemplation with a small action that allows you to keep the memory behind the photo alive. This action could be sharing the photo with someone else who participated in the moment, letting them know you are thinking about them and reflecting on the particular time you shared. Perhaps your photo prayer will prompt meaningful catch-up phone calls, donations to local organizations, or even the desire to print the image and display it as a reminder of God’s presence in every moment.