In February, as part of our annual meeting and distribution of the annual report, we shared that we have plans to enhance the appearance of our property. We mentioned that the surprise lighting feature would be announced in late March. We are excited to unveil the two attractive features.
Lakeside has again partnered with ACE Sign Co. to add color changeable LED lights to the cross windows that face the south and the east. We are thrilled to be able to project the hope of the cross into the night sky.
As we approach Easter, a season when people are more receptive to attending church, we will begin utilizing these new features. We hope that the crosses will provide encouragement to prompt engagement on Easter. We will also be utilizing these new lighted crosses to promote our Journey to the Cross event that we are hosting the week leading up to Easter.
We have had a desire to light the crosses since the addition of the children’s area a few years ago, when the windows were added to our building. The ability to shine hope into the darkness of the night to passing motorists is a great opportunity.
When Lakeside relocated to Toronto Rd. in 2000, a group of Lakesiders identified the need to have a lighted cross on our building. That group, which included Jim and Shirley Copeland, purchased and installed the white backlit cross that still hangs high on the building facing the south. A memorial fund was collected on behalf of Jim Copeland at his recent passing. Those funds have been utilized to cover a portion of the cost of the new lighting for our crosses. Shirley believes that Jim would be thrilled that his memorial was partially responsible for this new feature added to our building.
These new lights are another improvement in our continued effort to enhance the exterior of Lakeside. The changes we are making on the exterior are a small reflection of the life and vibrancy of the community within.