Joy
JACK KAMOSKE
to the world all year round W
By Julie B. Sevig
hile many of us are setting out one—or a few—nativity sets in our home this season,
members of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Menomonee Falls, Wis., want you to know it’s always the sea- son for a favorite crèche. In fact, they have nearly 500 of
them housed in first-rate cabinetry in their roomy narthex. All are giſts from Bill and Susanne Gay, members of a United Methodist church but honorary Lutherans to be sure. Te Gays are retired language
teachers who love to travel and learn
A reclining holy family, complete with Joseph holding the baby Jesus, is just one of hundreds of nativities on display throughout the year at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Menomonee Falls, Wis.
Tis really started back
about other cultures and
traditions. “We never intended
to be collectors,” said Bill, glancing around the “Joy to the World” gallery. “We’d travel and bring these back as souvenirs.” And then, as sometimes happens,
friends and family learned of their interest. Tirty-five years later the couple had a basement filled with boxes of 745 nativities they yearned to share with others. Te Gays enjoy taking turns tell-
ing about how Bill’s “adventure days” with their grandson bumped the collection up by about 180. Grandfa- ther and grandson would pore over catalogs and go to giſt shops, but Bill assured Susanne they weren’t spend- ing much or buying many .… Eventually the Gays needed to impose some rules: crèches needed to be from a country not already represented or from an artist or medium they didn’t already have.
One section of cabinets built by member Dean Essmann.
JACK KAMOSKE 34
www.thelutheran.org
in college, Bill said, when as a residence counselor he noticed nothing religious in
the way of Christmas dorm décor. He went to Woolworths and for $16 bought his first crèche. Aſter the Gays mar- ried, they put it under the tree every year.
With their Methodist church
unable to display the collection, they met a member of Holy Cross who promised to bring the idea back to church and put them in touch with Carol Jannke. Jannke now serves as the col-
lection’s curator. Like the Gays, she gives presentations to outside groups and notes that this is one of eight permanent crèche collections in the country receiving four stars (must see) from the Friends of the Crèche (yes, there is such an organization). It took several years before hous-
ing it at Holy Cross became a reality, including fundraising for cabinetry built with white oak by a master cabinetmaker who is also a Holy Cross member. Aſter letting family members
choose favorites to have in their homes, the Gays donated the bulk of their collection to Holy Cross— described as “an honor and giſt” both by Jannke and the Gays, who delight
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