Faith. Art. Reflection.
This summer, pause and reconnect with God through a unique day retreat experience that weaves together art, scripture, and prayerful reflection. “Art as an Expression of Faith” offers three distinct workshops that invite you to explore your faith through creative practices—whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned artist.
Each retreat invites participants to engage with scripture and spirituality through artistic expression—using visual journaling, linocut printmaking, or meditative brushwork. Guided by experienced spiritual and artistic mentors, these retreats create sacred space to encounter God in stillness, creativity, and community.
Funded by Ministry in the City HUB Local Gathering Grant
Limited to 15 participants per session—come and journey with us this summer.
Scripture, Meditation, and Visual Reflections (Mandarin)
Spiritual reflection and Scripture meditation are inseparable. When our hearts awaken and our hands respond, faith becomes deeply personal. In this retreat, we will use a visual journaling method—combining Scripture, meditation, and creative expression—to help you engage with the Word in a fresh way. Through drawing and writing, we’ll bring God’s Word to life and respond with prayerful hearts, allowing creativity to deepen our spiritual journey.
Instructor: Dr. Samuel Ho
Date: Saturday, June 14, 2025
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Location: CCST Vancouver, 8971 Beckwith Road, Richmond
Fee: $49 (Art Supplies & Lunch Included)
Registration: 15 spots (via Google Form)
Carve, Create, Listen: Linocut Printmaking Workshop (English)
In a world of endless scrolling and constant distraction, we often lose the ability to slow down and tend to what truly matters. This one-day, hands-on linocut printmaking workshop invites you to pause, listen deeply, and create with intention. As we carve and print, we’ll reflect on how the practice of making art can become an act of prayerful attention—allowing space for silence, reflection, and renewal.
Instructor: Rev. Joy Banks
Date: Saturday, July 12, 2025
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Location: CCST Vancouver, 8971 Beckwith Road, Richmond
Fee: $49 (Art Supplies & Lunch Included)
Registration: 15 spots (via Google Form)
No artistic experience is necessary. Open to all levels, ages 15 and up.
Drawing the Stories Within: A Visual Journal Workshop (Cantonese)
God is the great Artist, and He has given us creativity to express life’s moments through color, images, and form. This visual journaling retreat is not about artistic skill—it’s about telling the stories within, whether joyful or sorrowful, through simple illustrations and heartfelt reflection. As we create together, we’ll draw closer to God and find healing and peace through Scripture and prayer.
We will use watercolor, simple drawings, and creative journaling to explore the stories of our lives and our faith. No artistic background required—just a heart open to the journey!
Instructor: Rebecca Kwan
Date: Saturday, July 19, 2025
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Location: CCST Vancouver, 8971 Beckwith Road, Richmond
Fee: $49 (Art Supplies & Lunch Included)
Registration: 15 spots (via Google Form)
Yale University Divinity School, S.T.M., Graduate Theological Union Berkeley, Ph.D., Trinity Theological Seminary, Ph.D & D.Min, Seattle Chinese Alliance Church, Senior Pastor, Christian Witness Theological Seminary USA, Academic Dean. He is currently a visiting professor and doctoral advisor at CCST Vancouver. His books include "Paintings and Christmas", "Heartstrings of Honey: Humor and the Search for Beauty and Truth in Ecclesiastes", "Faith and Practice", "Strokes of the Heart: Spiritual Essays", "Transcendent Enlightenment: From Art to Spirituality", "Eyes Back to the Word: Ten Steps to Literature", "Cursive Characters: Psalms 19 and 23", and "The Way of the Eyes and the Ears: The Way of the Preacher and the Art", etc. Dr. Ho has served as Associate Professor of Theology at China Graduate School of Theology in Hong Kong and Research Fellow at its Chinese Culture Research Centre. He has also served as Senior Pastor at the Chinese Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Seattle,
Joy Banks spent most of her childhood on Hokkaido, the northern-most island of Japan, which deeply influenced her aesthetic and interest in the intersection of art and artisan work. She now lives and creates in the coastal city of Vancouver, Canada, the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. She has worked in many different fields, including as an ordained minister, school teacher, community worker among the homeless, and cafeteria worker but has always found ways to create art and facilitate transformative creative experiences for others.
While Joy loves making art in many different mediums, she is mostly known for her imaginative linocut prints and illustrations, which she began carving nearly twenty years ago. She creates images that flow from her work in the community, concern for social justice, and contemplation of sacred stories and spirituality.
Joy’s linocut illustrations have been used for reflection in faith communities, non-profits, and retreats, and have featured on album covers and in books. Her work has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in BC, Canada, and is held in the private collections of various individuals around the globe.
Rebecca was born in BC into a devoted Christian family and grew up in Hong Kong. While working at a financial services company in Toronto as a new accounting graduate, Rebecca became very sick with a rare, life-threatening autoimmune illness that turned her life upside down. Her mother, as the caregiver of Rebecca in her sickness, soon passed away from terminal cancer. God has gifted Rebecca passion in creating art as a source of emotional and spiritual healing. Together with words of comfort and strength from the Bible, Rebecca believes her mission is to bring this comfort to others who are facing life hurdles as she once faced.
FB: Rebecca Kwan Art
IG: artbyrebeccak
Website: https://www.rebeccakart.ca
Through this project, we hope to promote mental and emotional wellness among young people and pastoral families among the Chinese Canadian community. This project is funded by the Ministry in the HUB grant and a ministry of CCST Vancouver.
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