‘Prayerful’ woodworking leads to artwork for St. Paul the Apostle

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By Anne Marie Amacher

This wooden ornament was made by Karl Lantzky of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Davenport. The template was designed by fellow parishioner Keith Bonnstetter.

DAVENPORT — Hanging from the ceiling of St. Paul the Apostle Church this Christmas season is a handmade wooden ornament depicting the Holy Family.
The ornament was more than a year in the making by a group of dedicated volunteers from the parish. Keith Bonnstetter, Karl Lantzky, Sue and Dave Gallagher and John and Tracy Jacobsen worked on developing the ornament, creating a template, constructing the ornament and figuring out how to hang it in the church.
Several years ago the liturgical committee at St. Paul approached Bonnstetter about the possibility of donating his artistic talent to make decorations for the church since the budget for decorations had been cut severely. Bonnstetter, who is known for making intricate snowflake and paper ornaments, made angel mobiles; each had 25 angel snowflakes hanging down.
But a change in the church’s heating and cooling system caused the ornaments to blow around too much. So he created larger snowflakes for banners. The following year he created ornaments three feet in diameter from foam core board and created angels to sit on window ledges.
In 2011 the environment committee wanted something to hang at the front of the church, said Sue Gallagher, the committee’s co-chair. “We had Keith design for us for several years. We talked with him about a new idea.”

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