Lutherans open churches for 'Reformation crawl'

MARION - For Ann Thomas, an array of colorful fabrics are the palette and the Bible is the muse.

Speaking at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Marion Saturday, the liturgical artist walked visitors through the process she takes to design and create the intricately stitched fabric banners that hang in the church's sanctuary. 

Thomas' 52 banners are divided into nine themes that rotate throughout the year. Each one takes about three months to complete, and each one tells a story.

There are Christmas banners that depict scenes like Joseph holding baby Jesus or the three wise men following the Star of Bethlehem. There are banners to represent each of the Plagues of Egypt and banners that reflect each phrase of Matthew 25:35-36, such as "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat," or, "I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink."

"It gets me excited when I look at all the colors," Thomas said. "I have more ideas than I could possibly ever do... Actually I like to design better than I like to quilt them."

Thomas shared her passion as part of "Reformation 500 Crawl," a series of open houses, demonstrations and presentations hosted by the Northwestern Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

The crawl featured a brewery stop and an art museum tour in Toledo, a cemetery visit in Hamler and a catechism talk in Woodville, just to name a few. 

Mark Bogen, interim pastor of First Lutheran Church in Galion, opened his church to display photos, articles and other artifacts of the church's history.

"Lutherans around the world are finding ways to celebrate and commemorate the event that started it all, which was Martin Luther posting the 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenburg, protesting things that were happening in the church that needed reform," Bogen said. 

This moment not only began what is now known as the Lutheran church but also paved the way for the other Protestant denominations, Bogen explained. 

Visitors at Bogen's church also learned from Jennifer Long Morehart, a regional archivist for the ELCA denomination, about how to collect and store congregational documents to preserve church history.

"Much of Lutheran history and heritage is in congregations... All of the congregations' stories make up the larger Lutheran story, so without your congregation's voice, that alters history — not what happened, but what we know about it," Morehart said. 

Among those who visited for Morehart's talk was Alicia Mayes, who has taken up the role of historian for her own church and found a wealth of information. 

"We had history every place in the building, but no one ever organized it in one spot," Mayes said. 

Mayes has come across things many people had forgotten over the years, and even some no one knew existed, like old bulletins from the 1800s. She has been rotating her findings through a display case at the church and writing about them in the church newsletter, and she has plans to digitize some of the archives for posterity.

Whether it's Reformation history from Germany or congregational history from your home church, Reformation 500 Crawl participants agreed, the past is worth remembering. 

cmcnaull@gannett.com

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