Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Commemorating 50 Years

The following are Barbara Keller’s remarks, as given at the congregational celebration for the 50th anniversary.  The small version of the quilt picture is shown on this page.  To see the large version, click here.  The quilt now hangs in the narthex, above the entrance to the sanctuary.

 

 

Good Afternoon,

 

A few weeks ago Pastor Schwartz, in a sermon, referred to impossible dreams and the achievement of same. Dreams can develop into ideas and ideas can become reality.  You see before you today an idea that has indeed become reality—this quilted wall hanging.

 

While some of the areas are self-explanatory, some are not.  What I would like to do is give you some insight into the meanings behind the different sections. When designing the wall hanging, we knew we could not cover every minute facet of Good Shepherd’s mission, but concentrated on the main areas of its ministry.   

 

 I will start with the center section.  The cross shown here is really a combination of three different crosses.  The center white section with the shepherd’s crook is similar to our Processional Cross.  The colored sections draw upon the Jerusalem Cross.  Included also is the Greek Cross.  We decided to use this to show that God and Christ are the center of our lives.  It also is a reminder that Christ died for us on a cross.  The shepherd’s crook in the center symbolizes Christ as the Good Shepherd who guides us through our journey from birth to death.  Good Shepherd was established 50 years ago to bring this message to the community.

 

Moving to the left side, you see four areas.  The largest represents the music in our church which not only enhances all of our services, but allows us to praise God and Christ through the wonderful sounds music creates, be it sung or played on an instrument.  This area symbolically represents the many facets of music through its depiction of organ pipes, bells for our bell choir, the “G” clef, and music sheets for all of our vocalists.  Material from the previous choir robes was used to create the borders around the sheets of music. The background for these symbols is fabric printed with musical notes.    

 

To the right you see a heart supported by hands over a cross.  This represents the Health Ministry program here at Good Shepherd.  The heart is central to life and it needs support not just physically but also spiritually.  The hands with the cross behind represent that support which comes in many forms here at Good Shepherd such as blood pressure screening, grief share, annual retreats on health issues, the Shepherds Program, CPR training.  This just touches on the surface of all that Health Ministry does for our church community.     

 

Below the Health Ministry area you see what represents our outreach to the world wide community—our quilting program here where basic quilts are sewn together to ultimately be distributed by Lutheran World Relief to needy countries throughout the world.  It also represents all of the other ways in which we contribute to the world wide community—the For Women from Women event held monthly where handcrafted items are sold with the proceeds going to benefit women around the world, ELCA World Hunger and our sponsorship of a missionary to China.

 

Finally on this section is the hand supporting a plate of food.  This symbolizes our outreach and support of the local community through such programs as Emanuel Dining Room, Lutheran Community Services and their food pantries, Sunday Breakfast Mission, Hilltop Center, and Adopt-a-Family program and Mitten tree both at Christmas.  Again, here it just scratches the surface of our total ministry.

 

Moving to the right side of the central cross, here again there are four areas.

 

On the upper right hand side is our symbolic presentation of the efforts of our youth program.  We clued in on their Work Camp participation in the form of the paint brush and house.  This is only one facet of the wonderful Youth Program here at Good Shepherd which culminates in their attending the work camp.   We also wanted to show the youth going out into the world equipped not just with what they learned in school but what they learned by being involved in the Youth Program.  This is depicted by the three forms on top of the sunburst—taking all their knowledge and following the sun to their dreams knowing they are equipped mentally and spiritually to achieve those dreams.

 

The area to the left with the five symbols represent the major seasons in our church calendar.  They are Advent depicted by the advent wreath, a cradle with a baby for Christmas, the star for Epiphany, the three crosses on a hill with a sunburst above for Good Friday and Easter, and finally, the white dove descending into the flames for Pentecost. 

 

Below this is the Bible.  This symbolizes God’s and Christ’s words being used to teach and guide us in our daily lives.   It represents the basis upon which we can learn how to live and continue to carry out the Mission Statement of Good Shepherd 

 

Finally, the last area is the Luther Rose.  The Luther Rose, also known as the Luther Seal, is easily the most recognized symbol for Lutheranism, and for good reason. Martin Luther personally oversaw the creation of this symbol. It provides a beautiful summary of his faith, a faith that is common to all Christians, of every place and every time. 

 

On the back lower left hand corner of the wall hanging a label has been placed.  It details the whole process from conception of the idea, development of the working model, recognition of those who contributed their time and efforts, and ending with the completion and dedication today.  It will become a part of the history of Good Shepherd for future generations. 

 

This quilted wall hanging is a culmination of an idea that occurred four years ago.  It would not be hanging here to day without the hard work and collaboration of many people over the past year.   I would like at this time to have all those present who participated in the development and creation of this wall hanging to stand up and be acknowledged.        

 

- Barbara Keller