Forest Chapel UMC
Sunday, September 05, 2010
To know Christ and to make Christ known
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Sanctuary Windows Forest Chapel is blessed to have a beautiful sanctuary with amazing stained glass windows. Have you ever taken a close look at them? If not, take a moment. The story of the windows is the story of God’s work in the world, beginning with the creation, and extending to the present time. Click on one of the 4 panel sections listed below to get more detail.
The three windows in the balcony use the more traditional symbols of the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – depicted respectively by the hand, the sheep, and the dove.
The basic idea for the windows was done by Robert Kimes and Lenn Geiger, ministers at Forest Chapel at the time. The designer and artist was Herman Verbinnen. The source of this page is "The Colors of our Faith", design by John Armentrout and John Hickman, Art layout and production by Tom Ray, photography by John Hickman.
Back-left Panel
Front-Left Panel
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The ninth window is the Christmas window. The star of Bethlehem is at the top, with its rays coming down upon the grey manger. In the halo over the manger is a hint of the cross. Above the manger is a shepherd’s staff, reminding us of the shepherds who heard the song of the angels declaring the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:8-20), and below the manger the three crowns of the wise men or magi who came to worship the baby Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12).
Windows 10 through 13 contain twelve candles, one for each of the twelve disciples. The eleventh window is the Sermon on the Mount window, with a grey mountain pushing open the gates of heaven. The Chi-Rho at the top of the gate is the first two letters of the Greek word “Christos” (Christ). Gold glass pours down from the mountain upon the green earth.
In window thirteen can be seen a palm branch, representing the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on “Palm Sunday” (Matthew 21:1-11). The wreath of eternal life is above the palm branch.
Window 14 contains half a crown of thorns in crystal glass (Mt. 27:29). In the center of the crown of thorns is a gold chalice, symbolizing the Last Supper (Mark 14:22-25). The red glass above the chalice represents a drop of blood.
Behind the altar is a large cross, and a mosaic reredos. The mosaic was designed by Larry Bonhaus, a member of Forest Chapel, who was studying architecture at the University of Cincinnati. The design was sent to Italy, and the mosaic was returned to Forest chapel. The design of the mosaic shows almost an infinity of crosses, and the bursting forth of an infinity of crosses reminds us of the resurrection.
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Front-Right Panel
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The fifteenth window is the Pentecost window. The dove represents the Holy Spirit descending on the people (Acts 2:1-4), who again are featureless persons dressed in gold robes.
In the eighteenth window can be seen a ship, representing the church, which came into being immediately after Pentecost. The mast of the ship forms a cross. In the swirls of waves that encircle the ship, taking in windows 16, 17, 18 and 19, small boats can be seen going out in all directions. This depicts the individual Christians going out from the church in all directions to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. In this way, the church grew in its early days. The twentieth window represents the period in history when the church went underground to avoid persecution. The fish, which can be seen in the window, was a sign of a Christian. The Greek letters under the fish spell the Greek word for fish: ichthus. The Greek letters are the first letters in the Greek words: Jesus-Christ-of-God-Son-Savior; or Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Savior. The anchor cross, visible in this window, is an ancient symbol for hope.
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Back-Right Panel
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In the twenty-first window can be seen Chartres Cathedral with its rose window. This French cathedral is typical of the great cathedrals built in Europe during a unique period of church history. A cross and orb is located just above the cathedral. An open book can be seen in the twenty-third window, representing the openness of the Bible to all persons. Through the Written Word, knowledge of God is shared with the people. The Lamp of learning, with its rays reaching out in all directions, reminds us of this.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist societies, later to become the Methodist Church, spoke of his conversion in saying, “I felt my heart strangely warmed.” In the lower part of the twenty-fourth window, a heart can be seen with flames coming up from the left side, to remind us of John Wesley. A cross is superimposed over the heart. In the top of the window there is a music lyre, symbolic of Charles Wesley (John’s brother) who wrote more than 6,000 hymns.
Windows 25 and 26 portray for us the church in contemporary society. One can see a rocket ship (technology), a science breaker (science), a cog wheel (industry), and artist’s a pallet (the arts), stalks of wheat (the farming community), and a ship in a city harbor with the skyline of the city behind it(commerce and business). Suburbia is represented by little pinkish brick-like houses with grey triangular roofs. The idea for this came from the song, “Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky tacky, little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same…” The twenty-seventh window shows men in grey flannel suits joining hands in love and brotherhood, with the man on the right pointing up to the cross flashing down through the world with the ray of hope rising from behind that world. It seems as though he is pointing to Christ as the hope of the world.
The last window has many pieces of glass that have no color. It is to remind us that God’s work in the world which began in creation, is not completed. We are a part of God’s work. Through our lives we are “coloring glass,” for we are a part of God’s work in the world. The clear glass, through which we can almost see outside, also reminds us that we have a responsibility to the world outside these four walls.
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