Imagine a world without memory.  Newbery Medal winner Lois Lowry pondered this idea as she watched her father's descent into dementia.  As a result, she wrote the prize-winning book THE GIVER, a story of a futuristic community without memory, which robbed its inhabitants of past pain and pleasure in order to establish peace.  The novel's message is clear: memory, even the most painful, is a gift. 

Consider the congregation of First Presbyterian.  The church is rich with the stories of the saints who have gone before: their devotion to the Christian faith and to each other.  On Sunday, May 30, a special event took place providing a poignant walk down memory lane.  The church re-dedicated a large, celtic cross to hang in the sanctuary.  Stored and forgotten for years, this wonderful piece of local church history and Christian symbolism will return to its rightful place, revitalized using memorial funds of members recently lost: Lois Stika, Rosemary Boharic, Ed Zimmerman, Sara McEwen, and Martha Lee.

 Thanks to the very vivid memory of Gene Glisson, the story of the cross lives.  According to her, John Snook and his mother regularly attended worship services at First Presbyterian during the 1950s and 60s at the old location in downtown Foley.  (The Snook family moved to Baldwin County from Ohio and were pioneers in the telephone industry.  They owned Gulf Telephone, which remained a family business until a few years ago.)  Because John practiced metal-crafts and because he loved his mother, he created a celtic cross and presented it to the church in her honor. (The celtic cross, a cross with a circle around its middle, is particularly important to Presbyterians because of the close ties with the Church of Scotland.  Look around; it appears in many places in this building.)  It resided in the sanctuary until a remodeling project in the early 1980's moved it into the Narthex.  Once the church relocated to the current address, it was placed in a closet and remained there until the Worship Committee became aware of the existence of the cross.  Tenacious in nature, the members set about researching its origins, proposing its re-use and preparing its display.  The rest, they say, is history.

So, on this most appropriate Memorial Day weekend, First Presbyterian remembers the love of a son for his mother, the dedication of all members who have passed and a Savior who sacrificed everything.

                                                                                                           Caron Majors, Worship Committee