Introducing our newest Christmas card: “Incarnation”

We are delighted to collaborate with Lutheran artist Kelly Klages for this year’s new Christmas card, “Incarnation,” bringing the total to
15 designs exclusive to Emmanuel Press. Kelly’s original acrylic on canvas painting is an illuminated manuscript based on a page from a 15th-century prayer book by Jean Poyet and his workshop.

The text follows a liturgical format, opening with “Deus in adiutorium meum intende,” with the response “Domine ad adiuvandum me festina,” — “Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord.” Next is “Gloria Patri” (or, “Glory be the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit”), then “Sicut erat” (“as it was” in the beginning, is now, etc), and “Alleluia.”

A devotional hymn verse starts on the 9th line with the word “Memento,” translated as follows:

Be mindful, author of our health,
That thou sometime didst take on thee
Of a pure virgin being born,
The form of our humanity.
Glory be unto thee, O Lord,
That born was of the virgin pure,
With the Father and the Holy Ghost,
All ages ever to endure. Amen.

Finally, after the red “Psalmus” are the first six verses of Psalm 54 (Psalm 53 in the Vulgate). On the back of the card is an encouragement to visit our website for a translation and description of the artwork, for the sake of the recipient.

The inside text of the card is Galatians 4:4-5:

But when the fullness of time had come,
God sent forth His Son, born of woman,
born under the law, to redeem those
who were under the law,
so that we might receive
adoption as sons.

Visit our Christmas cards page to see our 15 Christmas cards, all unique to Emmanuel Press and always focused on Christ.

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Kelly Klages is a native of Baltimore, Maryland. She earned a degree in Studio Art from Goucher College in 2003 and interned at Beaumont Pottery in Phoenix, Maryland. In 2004, Kelly married Alex Klages and moved to Winkler, Manitoba, where Alex was called to serve as pastor to two congregations in the Lutheran Church-Canada. Kelly’s work has been on display in various galleries and locations throughout southern Manitoba, including the Pembina Hills Art Gallery, the Tiger Hills Art Gallery, and the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg.

Over the years, Kelly has taken a special interest in detailed portraiture, liturgical artworks, and miniature painting. Her primary medium is acrylics, but she enjoys experimenting with many forms of art and crafting. In 2011, she created a book of illustrated hymns for children called Hosanna, Loud Hosanna, using colored pencil. She has also illustrated a couple of board books for Kloria Publishing, created magazine covers for The Canadian Lutheran, and is currently a regular artist/supplier for Ad Crucem.

Kelly Klages currently lives in Morden, Manitoba, Canada, with her husband and three children: Anastasia, Micah, and Timothy.