Dear Friends,
On Good Friday last, I believe a rare and unusual phenomenon with spiritual significance happened to me!
Although my sister, Gladys Steele, a former member in good standing of All Saints Brighton, has been with the Lord 8 years, I strongly sensed her presence, and after the Good Friday service was over, I went into the Guild Room adjoining the main part of the church. The pastor’s wife, Karen Schaeffer, pointed out to me a good sized needlepoint of the Last Supper, in a gold frame, which she had just hung on the wall in the lovely Guild Room that had been recently brightened up and refurbished! What a delightful surprise when I turned to view it!
She found the artistic gem in an obscure part of the church, and felt that it was too beautiful not to be out in a more predominate place to be enjoyed and not hidden away! I found out later that it had been relegated to its hidden place by a former pastor who did not consider it worthy to be in a principal place? I said nothing at the time but was disappointed.
I knew that this religious handcrafted masterpiece was an original work of art from the heart and hands of Mrs. Simakis, a Greek immigrant who learned needlepoint as a young girl in Greece and who prized it so highly she brought it with her from Greece. Her daughter, Donna Simakis Fohl, then inherited this tapestry when her mother passed away! Donna and my sister, Gladys Steele, became friends where they attended All Saints. Both long-time members put in many hours of hard work and funds towards it present existence. My sister, who always admired this wall hanging in her friend Donna Fohl’s home, became the 3rd person to own it. It became Gladys’s prize possession, and she displayed it proudly for years in her dining room!
I too, always admired it, and when she passed away, my nephew gave it to me! I felt that a good place for it would be at All Saints so that more people could enjoy and appreciate it and that it was a gift given by the women who had owned and respected its origin and content and would be immensely happy knowing that it had a special place of honor at their beloved church, All Saints!
When I saw that the tapestry needlepoint finally given its due honor hanging on the wall in the Guild Room, many thoughts flooded through my memory, and a great surge of happiness came into my heart, and I felt my sister’s spirit was in the room! Good Friday was more than a special day for me! Finally, this beautiful work of art had found a good home! I thought it was unusual that the subject matter was so appropriately placed just in time for Good Friday services, and it definitely had a divine or spiritual connection in so far as I am concerned!
The Greek people are very religious, and 97% of them are Christian. Good Friday and Easter is more meaningful to them than any other Christian holiday, and so the importance to the artist in choosing this particular subject becomes even more endearing!
Not only are we indebted to Mrs. Simakis for this wonderful artwork, but we are indebted to her for her children. Donna Simakis Fohl spent many hours producing hundreds of soft sculpture ornaments for sale, and baked many cakes and cookies for fundraising. Her brother, Alex Smakis, became a successful contractor and gave All Saints $10,000 to purchase the organ played so elegantly by Ed Buechle every Sunday!
March 30, 2013