Courtesy of Heather Benoit.
Southminster
Glass artist Sheri Van Pelt works with VBS students Anna Jordan and Anna Johnson to place glass hearts.
Children attending Vacation Bible School in July at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Vestavia worked with glass artist Sherri Van Pelt to design and create a beautiful glass art bowl for 19-year-old Sadie Chapman.
After spending several months in the hospital awaiting a heart transplant, Sadie received her new heart on July 8. On July 29, each child attending VBS selected and placed a glass heart of their choice on the glass base that would be fired and become a gift for Sadie. The date is significant because that morning the church learned that Sadie would ring a special bell at Children’s of Alabama that afternoon to let everyone know she had received her new heart and was going home.
Church members heard stories the next day from parents and grandparents saying their children were watching the clock that afternoon and were counting down for Sadie’s bell ringing ceremony. VBS children placed 90 hearts on the piece — sending their love to Sadie. The glass heart bowl was delivered to Sadie before she returned to college in New York.
— Submitted by Heather Benoit
