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Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church dedicated a new “Communion of Saints Railing” on Nov. 4 with a party on the lawn.
Ever since Good Shepherd’s first service in this church building on Sept. 25, 1963, (initial services had begun off-site in September 1958), a congregational core value was that Good Shepherd is a welcoming congregation, said a church spokeswoman. And, in the words of an early history of Good Shepherd: “The church serves through the richness of Lutheran worship, through education in the meaning of life in Christ, and through the openness of welcome to all who seek Him.”
At a time of continued segregation in many areas of southern life in the 1960s, especially churches, the African-American sexton at W&L’s Lee Chapel was noticeable. On Christmas Eve of 1963, he brought his whole family to Good Shepherd to see the new church and worship. And he was welcomed.
And with Good Shepherd’s adoption of a Reconciling in Christ statement on May 20, 2018, its congregation affirmed that it believes that “God loves all of us, including those who are transgender, non-binary, queer, or straight.”
Although the church was often referred to as the “little church way down the (Main) street,” Good Shepherd has always been visible in the community as a welcoming congregation, said the church spokeswoman.
“It took an act of God, one might say, to open up the front of the church and make it more visually welcoming at a time when a new pastor was striving to make its congregation more spiritually welcoming,” she said.
The derecho that blew through the city on June 29, 2012, gave Good Shepherd the opportunity for a facelift of sorts. The derecho splintered one of the large spruces on the front lawn and inspiring the church to remove the other which was leaning precipitously in the direction of the building. The brick wall along Main Street sustained substantial damage as well.
And this is where vision and artistry enter the picture, the spokeswoman said. The wire fence sitting on top of the brick wall was one step up from chicken wire giving the church the appearance of not having been properly finished. With the trees removed, the fence had now become a none-too-attractive visual focal point.
In April of 2018, Good Shepherd members, architects, artists and visionaries Fred and Jean Kirchner began the process of surveying for a new railing (note that it’s not a fence [or barrier], it’s a railing [something approachable]). A proof-of-concept gathering was convened at Fred’s workshop on Nov. 11, 2018, and the project began to take shape. The railing was finished and installed in 2022. The metal fabricators and welders at Rails End Wood & Metalcrafters and Fire Mountain created the railing.
Fred and Jean Kirchner were on hand at the event Nov. 4 to share the full sense of the artistry and symbolism inherent in this magnificent addition to “that little church way down the street.”
To sum up, in the words of the Kirchners: “Every piece of the railing revealed itself as a symbol. First, we wanted to introduce to the community the heart that represents our Lord’s love and open arms to all believers. ... We believe the railing has evolved to express the concept of the Communion of Saints.”
