Chapel of the Cross: St. Louis, MO

Chapel Life-Themed Art Fair

Art Fair Date: Saturday-Sunday, January 20-21, 2024
Registration Deadline (click to register): Sunday, December 3, 2023
Artwork Submission Deadline: Sunday, January 7, 2024

The Chapel Life Team is excited to announce an Art Fair with the theme "Choose Life...for God is your life and length of days" (Deut. 30:19-20). Submissions are open to all ages and we would love to see all different stages of life represented, from embryo to old age. Please consider submitting a drawing, painting, sculpture, etc. centered around our theme and Bible verses below, and using your creativity to glorify God and His creation. If you would like to participate, please register by December 3rd. The deadline to turn artwork in will be Sunday, January 7th. We will then display all of the art in our Life Library on the weekend of Life Sunday, January 20th and 21st. We look forward to seeing the creativity of Chapel members and friends!

"Therefore choose life...for he is your life and length of days." Deuteronomy 30:19-20

"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Isaiah 46:4

"You are God's masterpiece." Ephesians 2:10

"Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." Psalms 127:4-5

"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created." Revelation 4:11

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalms 139:13-14

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid: do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11

"Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8

"Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness." Proverbs 16:31

"Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days." Job 12:12

________________________________________

The Life Team at Chapel of the Cross exists to equip our church as gospel-driven champions of life.

How are we gospel-driven? "Gospel-driven" means experiencing God's grace in the rescuing work of Jesus—through His life, death, and resurrection—so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we can respond with a thankful heart and a joyful desire to be used as an instrument of God's rescuing others in peril.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10

How do we seek to create a culture of life at Chapel of the Cross? "Culture of life" means consistent, meaningful, and grace-permeated references to life issues, as more and more people are equipped to consistently champion life in gospel-driven ways. We seek to foster an atmosphere of gospel-grounded love for our brothers and sisters in the church and beyond our church walls through education, awareness, and life-affirming service projects.

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Phillipians 1:9-11

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. Jeremiah 29:7

Touch of Life Fetal Models: In January (Life Month) of 2020, we displayed our newly-purchased Touch of Life fetal models, teaching children from our Sunday School about the stages of life in the womb from the earliest weeks after conception to a full-term baby. Because the pandemic kept us from doing a hands-on display in January of 2021, we created a video inviting viewers to meet the fetal models through the eyes of four young children learning just how “fearfully and wonderfully made” we are—from the moment of conception to the end of life. This video reached over 4000 people on Facebook and YouTube and is featured on the Lutherans for Life website as part of the Owen's Mission project, which seeks to honor Jesus by presenting a set of Touch of Life fetal models to every Lutheran elementary and high school in the country. We thank God for the opportunity to be a part of this mission in our church, our local community, and beyond. You can view our video on YouTube below.

The Value of Life Presentation with Kristi Hofferber: In September, 2021, the Chapel Life Team sponsored a presentation by Kristi Hofferber, who shared an interesting and powerful story about the value and purpose of ALL lives. She spoke about how the gift of adoption saved her life and brought tremendous joy to her adoptive family. After learning about her own traumatic conception, Kristi was compelled to help others and left a ten-year career to go back to school to obtain her master’s degree in social work. She is currently the outreach coordinator for Coalition for Life St. Louis and also travels to share her life-affirming story of an unthinkable beginning to a life with purpose. She is an adoptee and wife of an adoptee, and together they have two adopted children. They are a family stitched together by God’s design and for His purpose. You can watch the presentation below or on Chapel's YouTube channel.