By Fr. Justin Fulton
I always got a kick out of going to the local barber shop when I was a kid. I’d ride my bike to Louie’s Barber Shop back in my hometown and watch Louie Clark do his craft. And of course, the best entertainment was just chatting away with farmers, classmates, business people, coaches, and friends. And as Louie gave his customers one of his two trademark cuts—a flat-top or an Ivy League—to those who wanted it or did not want it—he would always laugh as he collected his $5. Louie would say, “Well you’re ready for the front row again. You’re looking fresh,” and out the door went his styled-up customer.
This past week in Hastings, CSS got a new, fresh look. We unveiled our new logo and branding and we are excited to share it with everyone. We wanted to be able to tell the story of CSS in a matter of seconds with our brand and we feel our new brand gives us that opportunity. We are thankful to John McDermott in our marketing and development department who designed the brand.
We found many people did not know that CSS served the entirety of southern Nebraska. And we wanted to show this in our brand. We wanted to show that we serve the entire southern third of Nebraska—both urban and rural parts—and we wanted people to know that we are Catholic, and that the Eucharist binds us together and unifies us in our diocese. Hence, all of this is reflected in our logo. The blue represents the Platte River, which everything south of the Platte is where we serve—the Diocese of Lincoln. The green represents agriculture, the backbone of our diocese and state. The paved roads represent urban centers. And the cross and circle represent that we are united in the Eucharist in our Catholic faith.
Our new slogan also has a double intent: “Hope in the Good Life.” Through our work at CSS we bring hope to the people we serve. But we know everything we do materially is derivative of a spiritual reality: that true hope lies in the Life of the true Good—God. Hence, our hope comes from and brings people to God. And we are humbled to be His instruments in our work.
CSS aims to be a unitive force in our diocese. We do the good work of Christ and His Church. We seek to partner with all people of our diocese and we want all of us to be proud to be Catholic. At CSS we do not just serve Catholics—we serve everyone that we can because we are Catholic.
May we all join together to celebrate our faith and be living examples of Hope in the Good Life!!
