Posted on "Know Your Neighbor" Blog
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| Janet Rice, mother of Genesis Mission Leader Michael Rice, shared her collection of Black angels at the St. Louis Crèches and Carols celebration. |
At this year's St. Louis Crèches and Carols event, hosted by the St. Louis Missouri Stake with cooperation of other area stakes and community organizations, visitors were able to enjoy several collections of Black angels.
Now in its fourth year, Crèches and Carols has blossomed into an annual event that finds common ground, not only among Christians, but people of all faiths and traditions. And because this year’s theme featured a tribute to the angels mentioned in the scriptural account of Christ’s birth (Luke 2:13-14), patrons were greeted by the heavenly host in the foyer.
Special Partners and Friends Give to the Exhibit
Contributing to the diversity of angels and reflecting the diversity of our community, Lois Conley, founder of the Blackworld History Museum in St. Louis, shared her personal collection of dozens of black angels. Latter-day Saint Janet Rice also shared her collection, enabling organizers to put together a tree with a whole host of Black angels. Black angels were also to be found in the Africa-, whimsical-, porcelain-, and Americana-themed displays.
Another contributing friend was a Catholic woman, Yvonne Von Der Ahe, who was so taken by the event the first year that she offered to contribute her entire Fontanini collection—an Italian scene depicting not only the nativity, but Bethlehem and all the sights and sounds of a bustling village anticipating the Christ child’s birth. Yvonne has every Fontanini piece ever made, and keeps the scene set up in her basement all year long to remind her of Christ’s sacrifice for her.
Yvonne demonstrated her commitment to the exhibit when, during the second year of set-up day, she drove up in her mobile home, which was stuffed full of her collection. Yvonne’s collection takes an entire quarter of the gym space.
The event was kicked off with a private tour that welcomes community leaders, including dignitaries of government, civic, and religious organizations. More than 30 community leaders came to this year’s special evening. Nekisha Rhodes and Bryant Brookes sang a gospel-style version of "Silent Night" for the guests.
Inviting Friends
In addition to helping the Church to bridge with community leaders, the event helps members reach out to their neighbors.
Brother and Sister Bankhead brought 15 families to the event. Each year they invite friends, and each year the list grows.
They don’t simply hand out a flyer for he event and encourage their friends to “go”; instead, they invite their friends to come “with” them, inviting them on to attend on a Sunday evening—because, since most Christmas parties are not held on Sunday, people are usually free to come.The Bankheads start the evening with a light dinner, served appetizer-style in several rooms of their home from 4 to 5 p.m. They find this makes it easy to serve and mingle and to accommodate more guests than their dining table could seat.
At 5 p.m. they hand each guest a map and an itinerary to explain how the rest of the evening will go. By 5:30 p.m. the group meets at the exhibit to take in the displays and the children’s crafts. At 7 p.m they meet in the chapel to listen to the Christmas message broadcast from leaders of the Church.
Though their large family is busy and can hardly think of taking the time to do this, they make the commitment, regardless if they feel their home is decorated or perfectly clean and ready to greet people. “If we don’t plan it, it just won’t happen," said Brother Bankhead. "We can always think of a number of excuses, and for our family it just seems so hard to schedule the time.”
Brother Bankhead says that the evening opens and re-opens a dialogue each year with his friends about faith. One neighbor has expressed interest in reading the Book of Mormon, and another neighbor decided to involve their sons in the Church Scout program, so Bankheads believe the experience of bringing their community of friends closer together makes the effort worth it.
The Bankhead family demonstrates that reaching out to others is not something that just happens, but it takes deliberate action. The payback is worth it, so they do it each year.
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
Each year this event grows. Key to its success has been the involvement of community friends who offer elements to the event organizers might otherwise not have if they relied only on the resources of Church members.
"This event is our Church’s gift to the community, but we receive so much more in return," explains Dana King. "Each year I volunteer for hours on end greeting and meeting people in the community. The hours go by quickly, and I go away fed by the fellowship of our community. I can’t think of a better way to begin the Christmas season than to open our hearts with our friends and share the common ground of hope for 'peace on earth, good will towards men.'"