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2008 Angels Christmas Card StoryInspiration and DesignFor Christmas 2007, we at St. John's were all thrilled with the Angels dramatically suspended in our sanctuary, thought by many to be perfect for the 2008 Christmas Card, but how would they tie in with Hurricanes Katrina - Rita and the Bayous? Our sanctuary is where our people are inspired and motivated to reach out to our brothers and sisters on the Gulf Coast, specifically in the Bayous. As the angels proclaimed the Good News to all people, so we are to share the Gospel in word and deed. The back side of the card was to highlight the Bayous with a photo and a message about our HOPE Teams' work.Sadly for everyone at St. John's, the Lord unexpectedly called our beloved Pastor Smith home to heaven on April 7, 2008. Immediately, it was evident that Pastor Smith's involvement and enthusiasm in St. John's HOPE Teams' work on the Bayous should be remembered on the 2008 Christmas card, with the back of the card as a memorial to Pastor Smith. Gary Mayor, a frequent leader of HOPE Teams, supplied the perfect photo of Pastor Smith at a newly installed vanity in a home in Chauvin, Louisiana, with Pastor's reflection in the mirror. This photo captures the essence of Pastor Smith's love of the Lord and of His people. This spirit, that which is a gift of the Holy Spirit, is the same spirit that continues to motivate us to work on behalf of our dear friends in the Bayou. September, 2008 unfortunately brought two devastating hurricanes to the Louisiana Coast, Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. This event reenergized our people at St. John's to take a fresh interest in our Bayou friends and their countless ongoing needs. The Angel Christmas Cards sold well and HOPE Teams started planning for 2009 trips to the Bayou. This year, the card sales and the HOPE Team efforts would dovetail in projects. As St. John's celebrated the 40th anniversary of its sanctuary in October 2008, we were reminded that we are a church alive in serving the Lord, inspired by His Word in this beautiful place of worship. We remember again that it is on Sunday mornings in our sanctuary that the Lord instills in us the desire to reach out to our hurricane-stricken friends on the Louisiana Bayou. A personal note from Mary Working on this card was a very special, humbling experience for me, honoring a man who truly was a Shepherd in the Lord's Kingdom. We all have fond memories of the way Pastor Smith would light up at the mere mention of heaven. We all love his family and still grieve with them. The depth and breadth of sadness at St. John's in those weeks after Easter is unforgetable. But the Easter message dispells the gloom! Christ is risen! We rejoice that Pastor Smith is rejoicing in heaven with all the saints! My photographs always need a bit of PhotoShop work, not just to make up for my lack of photographic skills, but to edit for a graphic quality of the image. This means late night sessions at the computer doing such fun things as cloning speakers off the bricks, adjusting the lighting of the cross, picking lights off the Christmas tree to light the candles, plopping one or two more flowers onto the bouquets...that sort of thing! I think I see our chancel in a rather unique way on Sunday mornings. It adds a new dimension to worship that I really enjoy! Being the anniversary year of our sanctuary, except for the count of years, I got a kick out of recalling a visit to this place with my Religous Art class from Concordia Teachers College in River Forest. Our professor, Dr. Walter Martin, just had to get us out to La Grange to see this new sanctuary! Perhaps it was a year or two old by then; chairs sat waiting for pews, the floor for its tile. But the structure was awesome. It still is. The handmade bricks lend beauty to the soaring walls. Who would have thought that someday I would be called upon to do my own brand of art, if one can call it that, using this beautiful sanctuary, pixeling its bricks late into the night! Who knew...pixels?!!! Thank you, St. John's, for your ongoing support of our HOPE Teams and Greetings in Christ ministries and of Bayou Grace. We are blessed to be a blessing as our church family shares with so many Bayou families in need. |
| Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children. Ephesians 5:1 |
Contact Greetings in Christ St. John's Lutheran Church 505 S. Park Rd La Grange, IL 60525 708-354-1690 Church Office 708-354-4910 fax greetingsinchrist@sjlagrange.com www.GreetingsinChrist.org © 2009 St. John's Lutheran Church, La Grange, Illinois 60525 |