All 'bout dat grace: Churches embrace fun signs

Meghan Trainor’s got a friend in Jefferson Borough. Or at least a songwriting partner.

Drivers passing by the signboard in front of Bethlehem United Methodist Church in October might have noticed a playful reinterpretation of the famous singer’s smash hit "All About That Bass," an ode to positive female body image.

The church reinvented the song's chorus, "I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble," to reflect a more religious message: "We're all 'bout dat grace, 'bout that grace, no devil."

While the secular tune is an unexpected choice for a church - Bethlehem’s pastor Martin Bovee said he wasn’t personally familiar with the song - the message was the creation of a member of his congregation.

Roadside messages have been part of church culture for decades, even if no one can pinpoint exactly where the tradition came from.

Bovee said he thinks it started with advertising, a way to get the word out about church events and draw a larger audience.

Nate Conklin, pastor of Spring Grove Area C&MA Church, agrees. In his case, it’s partly practical. The church bought an old home near the heart of downtown, so the sign on Route 116 steers people in the right direction, he said.

Even though there are resources church clergy can draw from, Conklin says, he likes to craft original content himself. He has painstakingly kept a log for 10 of his 22 years as pastor of what has appeared on the sign outside.

Sign real estate is also a consideration. Long before the advent of Twitter, pastors were laying out their messages by hand, using the same kind of plastic lettering that is still in circulation today.

“It’s tricky because there’s a very limited amount of space,” Conklin says. “It may hurt the English language.”

The end result of such careful crafting may just be a few fleeting moments of a driver’s time, free food for thought for believers, agnostics and atheists alike.

But on a deeper level, the tradition helps keep faith front and center in an increasingly “neon sign” culture, Conklin said.

“We live in such a physical world, we forget that based on scripture, we are spiritual beings first and foremost.”

Other signs spotted in the Hanover-Adams area

• "Lessons that are bitter to learn usually are sweet to know." - New Oxford Church of God, spotted Sept. 23
• "Yard sale is over, grace still offered free," - Spring Grove Area C&MA Church, spotted Oct. 12
• "Has Jesus turned your life udside domn?" - St. John's Lutheran Church (Hampton), spotted Nov. 1
• "The only way to walk without falling is on your knees." - Heidlersburg United Brethren Church, spotted Nov. 1
• "Good without God becomes 0." - Heidlersburg United Brethren Church, spotted Nov. 1