Page 10 - AprilTidings

ST. JOHN ’S FEATURE

Seeing and Believing: Symbols Found in St. John’s Part 9

BY MARGE FREEMAN

The windows along the nave at St. John’s were installed as a part of the original 1928 church building and were meant
to both enhance the beauty of the space and to remind us of the lives of the saints and of other Christian symbols.
The windows were restored in 2002 in memory of Janie Hughes Wilson.

In early church buildings there was little artificial light so large windows were necessary to illuminate the interiors.
Adding color to the glass made the light streaming through them almost mystical to the congregants that did not have
such things in their homes. And the scenes depicted were meant to be educational to those viewing them.

At the top of the twenty windows along our nave are
three different circular designs that are repeated
throughout the windows. These represent: first –
God the Father, with Hebrew letters that translate to
“I am that I am”; second – The Star of David, a
reminder of our Jewish heritage, it is made up of two
triangles representing the Trinity; third – The Sun of
Righteousness, representing Jesus.

St. James the Greater. The first window on the left side of the nave represents St. James’ role as a
pilgrim with a walking staff and a water gourd. Brother of John, he was one of the fishermen that
were called to be Apostles. James was witness to the Transfiguration and was with Jesus in the
Garden of Gethsemane. He was the first apostle to be martyred. Pilgrims still make journeys to his
shrine at Santiago de Compostela in Spain. He is called the “greater” to distinguish him from the other
apostle, James the Lesser.

St. Thomas. Thomas’ occupation was carpenter so he is represented by a carpenter’s square or ruler.
Thomas is often called “doubting Thomas” because he said that he would not believe the resurrection
until he saw the wounds in Jesus’ body. (Luke 20:25) When Jesus appeared to him, he said “My Lord
and my God”. (John 20:25-29) He was one of the Apostles and was a missionary to India where he
was martyred by being speared, thus the spear behind the ruler.

These two windows are a memorial to Laura Massie Echols.

Bishop Mark Visiting May 22 with Spring Festival to
Follow

Bishop Mark Bourlakas will be at St. John’s for Confirmations on Sunday, May
22. We will have a combined service at 9:45 a.m. so that the entire parish can
be present to witness the dedication to Christ by those being Confirmed. We
are moving the Pentecost Picnic to this date so that we can have a huge cele-
bration together. Please mark your calendars and plan to be with us. St. John’s
will provide grilled meats. We are asking parishioners to sign up to bring salad,
side dish, or dessert. If that’s simply not your thing, a free will offering to offset

TIDINGS | APRIL 2022 | STJOHNSLYNCHBURG.O R G