Bring “Let There Be” to Life: A Professional Recording Campaign

We are a Lutheran pastor and composer united by our faith and a shared passion for storytelling through music. Together, we serve at the Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Northfield, Illinois, and we’ve created something extraordinary—a concert-length cantata titled Let There Be. Now, we need your support to share its message with the world.

Who We Are

Librettist JoAnn Post, pastor of Ascension Lutheran Church, is an accomplished writer with two published books and contributions to The Christian Century magazine. Composer Mischa Zupko, director of music at Ascension, is a nationally and internationally recognized composer, whose works have been premiered by the nation’s leading orchestras and choirs. He is also a Cedille Records recording artist.

For years, we’ve partnered to create meaningful, creative content for worship. Let There Be is the culmination of our shared journey, a profound reimagining of the Christmas story told with vivid historical and emotional detail.

About the Cantata

Let There Be unfolds with haunting beauty, featuring children’s voices, an adult choir, soloists, and an instrumental ensemble of piano and string quartet. It invites listeners to experience the Christmas story as never before—through the eyes of Mary and Joseph, whose lives were upended by miraculous, divine purpose.

The narrative begins in a dark, unformed universe, illuminated by God’s first words: “Let there be!” From there, it weaves through Gabriel’s awe-inspiring announcements, Joseph’s disbelief, Mary’s quiet strength, the sinister plots of King Herod, and the faith of the Wise Ones. The work culminates in the promise that God’s creative love continues to transform the world today.

The cantata premiered in December 2023 to an overwhelming response, and we refined it for another performance in 2024. The audience feedback was unanimous: this work deserves to be shared far and wide.

Why We Need Your Help

We believe Let There Be has the power to inspire, comfort, and move audiences, but to reach beyond our walls, we need a professional recording. With your support, we will:

• Hire a professional sound engineer.

• Gather skilled musicians and singers.

• Create a polished recording that can be shared with choirs, congregations, publishers and listeners everywhere.

Our ultimate goal is to raise $16,000 to make this dream a reality. Even as we pursue other avenues of support, this GoFundMe is central to achieving our objective. We will periodically reset the financial goal, as we move closer to the current target. Every contribution—whether $10 or $1,000—brings us closer to sharing this labor of love with the world.

Your Impact

By donating, you become part of this creative journey. Together, we can spread the message of Let There Be: a story of faith, love, and God’s enduring promise to humanity.

Help us share this transformative work and let God’s creative voice echo far and wide.

Thank you for your generosity and faith in this project.