“What a weekend. Someone asked me what it was all about and I had a difficult time describing the beauty and fellowship! Do I really have to wait a year for another?”

— Annie Nardone

A year and a half after COVID-19 forced the Anselm Society to go online with its Imagination Redeemed Conference, we returned to in-person laughter and awe as we gathered Sept. 24-25, 2021, for the fifth annual conference. Nearly 200 participants mingled at Glen Eyrie Castle amidst ancient stones and emerald lawns, paneled walls and stately ceilings, to learn about “Finding Your Place in the Great Story.”

Anselm Society Director Brian Brown set the tone on a warm Friday night by talking about just what the Great Story is. The next morning, keynoter and scholar Jessica Hooten Wilson walked us through the “Landscape of Holiness” found in the Great Stories in literature. Novelist S.D. Smith made it practical by discussing how to live out Christ's story for His glory. At the end of the day we worshipped together in word, story, and singing, offering our Lord “An Offering of Beauty.”

Quite a few attendees came from afar. For Tamar, who lives in northern Israel, the conference supplied much needed connections. “With a very limited local community, and even fewer who think imaginatively about our faith, I've spent much of the last year searching for like-minded groups online, . . . “ explained Tamar on a Facebook post. “So when I found that the IR conference fit perfectly into my travel schedule while I'm in the US for a bit, I admit I jumped first and figured out the rest later on.”

Others may not have traveled quite so far, but the search for community was the same. A church creative director visited from Iowa. A family journeyed from Minnesota. A young artist based in Illinois attended, along with her original art on display in the conference's Art Gallery.

The Gallery, expertly directed by volunteer Christa Issler, was comprised of 14 pieces of original visual artwork displayed in the wood-paneled hallway to the Great Hall. The call for art had been answered with more than 70 submissions. Conference attendees clearly enjoyed the Gallery. It “was so nourishing just to linger in the hallway, taking everything in piece by piece,” said Gianna Soderstrom.

Ten breakout sessions fleshed out different aspects of storytelling, from a how-to workshop and how families can incorporate storytelling at home, to stories in church life and why gardening and feasting embody God's Story.

There were numerous treats in between. Board member Heidi White kept the audience spellbound with a retelling of J.R.R. Tolkien's short story, “Leaf by Niggle.” Dillon Ekle said, “I'd never heard her tell a story live; it was mesmerizing.”

Live podcasts occurred — starting with the raucously fun “Anselm After Hours” event on Friday night: the Fantasy Pub Table Draft, in which four guests competed to create the most fascinating dinner table ever with characters from history.

The book table in the corner was nonstop mobbed. Not just because Anselm people are book people, but also because of the impressive array of beautiful editions provided by proprietor Lynn McMillen, owner of A Likely Story Bookshop.

The pop-up Imagination Redeemed Chorus practiced for a mere hour under the skilled direction of New York musical director Amber Salladin, and then nailed two glorious pieces during the Offering of Beauty. The accompanying volunteer musicians — on harp, French horn, violin and viola, oboe, bassoon, and dulcimer — had prepared for weeks. Sitting in the balcony, Brian Thomasson said that “listening to the music on the last night lifted me out of myself.”

Terri Moon said that during the Offering of Beauty, “when Matthew Clark, with eyes shining, made us repeat seven times, ‘Everything sad is coming untrue!’ that was when I felt a weight I did not know I was carrying drop away.”

In the Great Hall of the ancient Castle, great ministry occurred. Surrounded by physical beauty and the beauty of hearts tuned to the Spirit, the Imagination Redeemed 2021 reminded us of who we are as characters in God’s Great Story of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration of all things. Participants walked humming on sparkling lit paths back to their vehicles, with stories to tell.

The Online Experience

Plans are already beginning for the 2022 Imagination Redeemed Conference. In the meanwhile, you can enjoy this year’s presentations — for the first time or again — via The Imagination Redeemed 2021: Online Experience.

The virtual event comprises the recorded sessions from the live event, interactive QAs with speakers, new bonus sessions available only to online participants, and a chance to connect with like-minded people all over the world available on demand Oct. 24-31, 2021. Tickets are $49 and are on sale here.

Continue the Conversation

Whether or not you were able to attend the Imagination Redeemed Conference, we invite you to consider going a bit deeper with the Anselm Society. Here are three ways to not only encounter our community and become a part of it but to also contribute to it.