Our Life Together Vol. 3 Nr. 27 July 8, 1975

This is one of the great graphics that was produced by Abbagraphics. It illustrates the pithy quote by Nancy Mitchell. Abbagraphics was one of our ministries of the arts at First Baptist Church of Chula Vista in the 70s. We had a crafts ministry that made banners, calendars, book marks and other items which were sold across the country. Abbagraphics illustrated OLT and designed many of the items used in making the crafts. We also had our own printing ministry. Of course we also had other ministries in the arts such as music, dance and drama. All of this came from a relatively small church of about 500 members.

The Abbagraphics people came and went over the years, but the leaders were Jerry Jamison and Gary Bell. A real mainstay was Brenda Gire (now Smith). This was a very talented crew. I almost forgot, Cathy Skoor (I completely forgot her maiden name -- but it will come back to me).

Nancy Mitchell was a talented writer/poet. She came up with nice pieces for several years. She passed away a few years ago from cancer. She was a good friend. I still hear from one of her sons Michael who is on Facebook.
Clay Ford had a difficult time while he was in England. He writes of that time in this article. He also presents the truth that many of us has discovered, that some of these difficult times can bring out the best in us.
This was certainly one of the shortest issues, if not THE shortest. It is a real tribute to the people who made OLT possible that it was issued week after week with a lot of meaty articles in it. Of course, Ken Pagaard was the driving force and the prolific teacher. But Gary Bell and Jerry Jamison did a lot of the work. Later, after Jerry left, Gary was the driving force and the creative spirit behind this publication. I might add that the reason that I am able to upload these issues is because he has loaned me his collection -- which may be one of the very few in existence.