Pennsylvania UCC takes ‘Flat Jesus’ on summer adventures

As an example of Christ’s constant presence in our midst, congregation members from First Reformed UCC in Greensburg, Pa., are taking paper cutouts of Jesus with them on vacations, volunteer work and to worship at UCC events.

“‘Flat Jesus’ is a reminder that we need Jesus’ presence with us everywhere we go,” said Pastor Steve Craft. A range of the congregation’s kids, from preschoolers to teenagers, have taken Flat Jesus with them while traveling this summer as a visible expression of their faith. There are also some retirees who have taken Flat Jesus with them on a disaster relief trip to North Dakota.

Flat Jesus, a spin-off of another paper cut-out character, depicts an excited Christ with his arms outstretched that kids can color, carry with them, and take pictures with. First Reformed UCC created the first Flat Jesus cut-outs four years ago, Craft said.

“We created a cutout of Jesus and gave every child one for the summer. You color it and laminate it, and in years past, they’d bring their summer vacation pictures back to share with the church,” Kraft said. This year, Flat Jesus’ adventures alongside a variety of families are showing up in pictures on a Facebook page the congregation created to quickly share those experiences.

The idea was inspired by Flat Stanley, Craft said. During the Flat Stanley Project, a literacy campaign that began in 1995, children cut out and color a paper Flat Stanley, then use a database to mail or email Stan and track where the cutout travels. Pictures of Flat Stanley and accompanying letters or emails circulate back to the starting destination.

Flat Jesus has been photographed in several locations around the country this year, with stops in West Virginia and Disney World in Florida in May, then Hershey Park in Pennsylvania and the UCC headquarters in Cleveland. From there, it was off to North Dakota for flood relief in June.

He went to the UCC’s National Youth Event in early July at Purdue University in Indiana, ventured north for a trip to Alaska, and was recently spotted back in Pennsylvania at the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp.

The church also plans to continue using Flat Jesus through the end of the year.

“It was just supposed to be over the summer, and we were going to end it, but we’re going to keep it going,” said Valarie Poole, the church’s director of education. “It’s a great conversation starter. It’s a great way to get church information out there in a different way, and it’s not intimidating,” she said. ‘It’s a different way to advertise what you’re doing at your church.”