If the posters on these pages are any indication, the La Crosse Area Synod has the hippest pastors around.
And if the posters don’t make you want to come to church, they’ll at least make you smile. In the La Crosse Area Synod, the message is even stronger: Pastors are working together to share the gospel.
The series of five posters, created by Peter Jonas, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Arcadia, Wis., uses contemporary images as backdrops to show clergy standing together as a “Band of Preachers” (think HBO’s popular World War II series Band of Brothers); fishing for souls from an “ELCA” trawler; harvesting grain in a wheat field; rolling along together aboard a moving truck; and standing below a hovering spacecraft “Prepared to Preach to Anyone. And We Mean Anyone.”
“It’s a creative, fun, unique endeavor that we hope will help us see how we are all connected together as a synod, and appreciate the breadth and depth of work of our pastors,” said Elizabeth Howe, assistant to the synod bishop.
The project was initiated by the synod’s professional service and care committee, which wanted to show its appreciation to pastors who completed the annual wellness assessment encouraged by Portico Benefit Services, the ELCA’s health insurance provider. Synods that meet the requirements are rewarded each year with a grant to be used for pastor-related activities and events, including continuing education.
Liz Albertson, a committee member, suggested the poster idea that Jonas, who does some professional photography, had done on a smaller scale for a text study group.
The larger project was a labor of love for Jonas, who said he sees himself as part of a community of pastors held together by shared experiences and interests. “That sense of esprit de corps has really sustained me over the years when I’ve gone through trials,” he said. “That we’re in this gospel work together, that is very meaningful to me.”
The project was an enormous amount of work, he said, requiring that he first take an individual portrait of each of the synod’s 60 pastors and then blend them all into the background scenes. The templates and copyrighted scenes were purchased from a professional photographer in Iowa who had created them for high school sports team posters.
It took more than a month to produce the posters using Photoshop and other advanced computer technology. Jonas said his experience taking high school senior photos was helpful because of the creative and varied views students now seek.
A set of the five posters, plus electronic copies, was sent to each of the synod’s 74 churches for use in newsletters, videos or other media. The synod office, campus ministry center and hospital chaplaincy departments also received copies. Each pastor received a copy of the poster in which he or she was featured.
Jonas hopes members will see their pastors in a new light and as part of a larger professional community.
