christmas eve in the lobby

our artist/makeover team designed the lobby experience this year. we used blue lights and twigs to complement the worship theme "eyes wide open~christmas can still change the world" (see adjoining christmas eve message by mike slaughter). chandeliers by chad, trees by robin, centerpieces by brandon, bistro tables by heather, high-up jobs by lori, various tasks by laura, blue gels by rachel and coordination by kim.

alternative christmas

creating environments is at the core of my passion...so when it's time for christmas i feel excited and open for new, nontraditional ways of expressing the joy of the season. this year as i set out to create environments at home and ginghamsburg i hear these words: everything you need you already have.

since mid november i've been soaking in alternative christmas environments. natural, ordinary elements gathered in non-traditional ways with an aspect of surprise on the side. i visited anthropologie - always a favorite spot for collections of natural pieces integrated in totally alternative ways.

during the thanskgiving holiday i spent two hours at a new favorite haunt in the iowa countryside called "sisters." i was so inspired i took pics: cuttings from nature + repurposed discards + new cool pieces. a delicious combination.

fast forward to my own home for the holidays. my self-inflicted rules: no traditional tree + no new purchases (i'm a horrible consumer.) my goal: to reflect a more sudan-esque and a less "north pole" feel. bunches of twigs, bittersweet, grapevine, pine needles and landscape burlap later an alternative christmas theme emerged... and i discovered that everything i needed i already had.

hearts for the sudan

five years ago ginghamsburg church families conceded that christmas was not our birthday, but jesus’ birthday. men, women and children committed to giving as much towards the plight of the sudanese as we spend on our own christmases each year. while at first it seemed a tough pill to swallow, we now realize there is no other way to celebrate the season.

people being people, we also need visuals- artwork, photographs, yearly reminders of what we are about. last friday night we hosted a reception in our worship space for three of our staff from darfur. (meet them by watching mike’s message last weekend, good news to the poor.)

also last weekend the children of ginghamsburg demonstrated amazing talent and commitment through their sudan bazaar. the gifts they crafted (all proceeds go to the sudan project) were inspiring in creativity and quality. i smiled to see our guests from darfur visit the bazaar and experience the love that the kids had put into that day.

in the hallways at ginghamsburg we feature photos taken by mike’s son jonathan last year during their trip to darfur. the photos are incredible; their subjects are beautiful- and the children make you want to smile and cry at the same time. our makeover team took four days to prep a new wall background, carefully assembling, mounting, and arranging the photos that will remain up for the next year – a constant reminder to our church family of the people we seek to serve.

also in our hallways during advent is our heart for sudan, featured pieces crafted by ginghamsburg and dayton artists, on sale until christmas – with all sales monies also going towards the project.

i’m thankful when i realize the privilege and power of being part of such an important and heart-rending mission. how do you feel about it?