Originally published in the September 2005 Link

This summer we had some very special visitors in our sanctuary, bringing a reminder of our heritage: four generations of descendants of Emile Heinrich (pictured below), who along with his brother, Rudolf, painted the scene of Jesus praying in Gethsemane that adorns our altar. Great-granddaughter Dolores Durand was doing genealogical research, and found records that showed Emile and Rudolph created the work about 1912. Granddaughter Margaret Donahue brought several pictures, and she was joined by Emile's "great-greats" Lee Durand, Holly Durand and Pat Lovell, and Pat's son, John, the great-great-great grandson of one of the "great cloud of witnesses" who continues to tell the story of St. John-St. Matthew-Emanuel Lutheran Church.