A Message in Glass
The beautiful windows in our church tell the story of our salvation from the creation
to the resurrection. The four windows on the north side of the nave portray the Old
Testament and the four on the south side, the New Testament. The story begins at the front
of the church on the north side and continues back to the resurrection window at the front
on the south side. We shall give here a brief explanation of the symbolism in each window.
- THE CREATION AND TEMPTATION. At the top of this window one can
see the creating hands of the Father and the stars which symbolize the creation of the
universe. The tree is the tree of life in the garden of Eden. The serpent is the devil who
tempted Adam and Eve. Three fish are seen in the bottom indicating the creation of the
animal life.
- THE FALL When Adam and Eve fell, they were kept out of the
garden of Eden by an angel with a flaming, fiery sword. In this window can be seen the
wing of the angel and the sword. The hourglass indicates that man is now subject to death.
The barren tree at the bottom shows that the earth brings forth thorns and thistles as a
result of the fall.
- OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY. In this window we see Noah's ark with a
rainbow over it, the two tables of stone on which were written the Ten Commandments, and
the sacrificial lamb on the altar.
- THE GENEALOGY OF CHRIST. King David was one of the ancestors
of Christ. Christ is called the "Son of David." In the window we see King David
at the top and Mary receiving the angel's message at the bottom. This brings us to the
time of the New Testament.
- THE NATIVITY. The star of Bethlehem shines down upon the
Christ Child in the manger.
- THE BAPTISM OF JESUS. The eye at the top stands for the Father
Who sees all things. The dove is the symbol for the Holy Spirit Who descended upon Christ
during the baptism. The staff stands for John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus. The sea
shell in the center of the staff has blue water flowing from it. Sea shells were often
used in baptizing. The red letters "X" and "P" are the Greek letters
"Chi Rho" or the first two letters of the word "Christ." At the bottom
are fish in the Jordan river.
- THE CRUCIFIXION. The darkness above the cross indicates the
three hours when the sun did not shine. The three crosses and the crown of thorns are seen
below.
- THE RESURRECTION. In this window, Christ can be seen coming up
from the tomb. The banner in His hands stands for the victory which He won over death,
hell and the grave. You will notice that the banner flows through all four windows. At the
bottom of the window several lilies are apparent.
Local History
On the north side of the church, in the balcony stair area is the local history
window. The stone at the bottom is the same stone as in the front yard. ?Ibis stone goes
back to 1854. It was a hitching block at the Lutheran Seminary that was located at one
time on Spaight Street. The flowers remind us of the Holy Cross flower garden. The vine
indicates the growth of the church. Our old building is clearly seen in the glass. At the
top are symbols of the Cross and Crown indicating the victory that Jesus won on the cross,
and the Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, indicating that
Christ is the beginning and end of our salvation.
The Reformation
In the opposite window on the south side, we have the Reformation window. The
chained hand at the bottom symbolizes the bondage of the people under the church of Rome.
Above this can be seen the door of the castle at Wittenberg and on the door are the 95
Theses nailed there by Luther. This was the beginning of the Reformation. At the top can
be seen the open Bible which Luther restored to the Church.
The windows are made by the Universal Studio of Stained Glass in Winona, Minnesota.
They arcs fairly new development known as "faceted glass." The glass is about an
inch thick. It is laid out in a pattern and then a substance known as epoxy resin is
poured around it. This hardens and forms the stabs that are placed in the windows.