Stained Glass Windows
In the early 1970's, the decision was made to install stained glass windows. Linda Olson told me that the church council worried how long it would take to raise the money for the project; well it didn't take very long at all. Donations came in and the project was under way.
Question: Who was on that committee?
Each of the beautiful stained glass windows in our church as a description or "story".
The Pentecost Window
The first stained glass window, which deals with the life of the Church, was installed on the east side toward the back of the church on September 12, 1975. It is the birth of the Church at Pentecost when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and sent into the four corners of the earth. It, of course, contains the traditional symbols of the wind, the fire, the seven flames, and the dove. They all join together "like the rush of a mighty wind" and fill not only the window but the church itself as the light of the flames flicker among the parishioners in the pews. (In memory of Wayne Freeman, Carl Poeschel, and John Rhoda)
The Narthex Windows
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| The resurrection Window |
The Resurrection Window
The Resurrection Window
This window is behind the piano. This is the first of a series of window to be installed on the west wall, starting from the front. It was installed in April, 1977. Easter is always a reminder to us of Christ's victory over death. We know that the Easter Gospel is true. The seal on the tomb is forever broken - on His tomb and on ours, and death has lost it's power to destroy our hope and joy. The empty cross and the victory crown of the window proclaim Christ's triumph over all our griefs and sorrows. The sheaf of grain symbolizes the resurrection, and the rainbow reminds us of the promise made to Noah after the flood that God would send a Savior to redeem man from his sins. Christ is indeed the Savior that illuminates our loneliness and makes rainbows of our tears. The Easter event is like a window opening heavenward, we see the light and rejoice. Through Easter we know that if death is the end, it is the end of our earthly limitations, the end of our infirmities, and our abysmal ignorance of things eternal, Death is the end of the worst and the beginning of the best. And in Christ, the best is yet to come.
The Narthex Windows
This group includes the six door windows, the window at each side of the doors, and the double west window. They were all installed in May of 1979 and completes the window project.
The six door panes represent the continents - from upper left; North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. These six window and the one just to the right of the front doors refer to Matthew 28:19, "go ye therefore, and teach all nations, Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit."
The left window shows the shell, drops of water and the Triangel of the Trinity. The right window follows with Matthew 28;20, "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you! And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." The Chi-Rho represents Christ; the Alpha and Omega symbolize that Christ is the beginning and the end.
The Sacraments Window
The second window dealing with the life of the Church, depicts the gifts God gives us for the building up of His Church. This window is on the east wall and was installed March 21st, 1976. On the right is the shell and water of Baptism as well as the cross at the bottom of the water. The yellow and violet ribbon traces the life force of man as he plunged dead in sin into the water of Baptism. The little corner of rose colored glass at the end of the violet part of the ribbon of life hints at the resurrection as we see it bursting forth on the next panel like the first shoots of grain in the spring. This panel also contains the elements of the Lord's Supper. The chalice and the water along with the shaft of wheat and the grapes are vivid reminders of the forgiveness of sins and the fellowship of the spirit we receive at the Lord's Table. (in memory of Harly Peterson)
The Gospel Window
The Gospel window was also installed in March of 1976. It contains the scrolls of the Old Testament and the cross of the New Testament. The tendency for most Christians today is to generalize and assume that the people of the Old Testament lived under the law while we, in the New Testament era, live in the light of the Gospel. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, explains that this simply is not the case. Abraham lived by faith in the promised Messiah four hundred thirty years before the Law was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai.
The artist demonstrated this concept by placing the Greek letters "Alpha" and "Omega" on the scroll of the Old Testament. These letters are the fist and last letters in the Greek alphabet and have been used in the church to illustrate that Christ is the beginning and the end of all things. By placing these letters on the scroll of the Old Testament, the artist indicates that the good news of The Christ lies concealed in the pages of the Old Testament to be revealed in the cross of Jesus in the New Testament. Jesus Christ is Lord of all, and Hes salvation is for all who live by faith.
The Church Window
This window, the last on the east wall, was also installed in March of 1976. It uses both the chi-Rho (the ancient monogram of Christ, and the ship,) the ancient symbol of the Church. The Chi-Rho utilizes the first two letters - Chi (X) and Rho (P), in the Greek names for Christ. Next to the cross is perhaps one of the most common symbols in the Christian Church. This same symbol is seen on the front of our pulpit.
The ship is probably one of the most ancient symbols for the Christian Church. It seems only natural for the early followers of Christ -- many of whom were fishermen -- to think of the Church in nautical terms. The Church, in its life saving mission, is very much like a lifeboat rescuing men who are doomed to die in sin. That ship, with it's strong gray hull cascading over the Waves, driven by a large white square rigged sail from which the red cross of Christ blazes forth with purple and red banners trailing, certainly is an excellent image of what the Church is and ought to be. We in the Church, must never forget that our first and foremost purpose on earth is to be a life saving station -- whose members keep a constant watch on the sea, going out day and night, searching for the lost.
The Passion Window
This window is the second window on the west wall, and was installed in May of 1977. The Passion Window is filled with symbols familiar to us all. The crown of thorns, the ladder, the cross, the hammer, the nails, the drops of blood, and the spear, all remind us that our Lord made the ultimate sacrifice for our salvation. The bright colors and the joyful use of light reminds us of Christ's ultimate victory over pain, suffering, and death itself. Never the less, they help us to know that His sufferings were real -- the cross was real, the nails were real, the blood was real -- and that our sorrow, too, may be genuine.
The Ministry Window
This is the third window on the west wall and was also installed in May of 1977. The Ministry window makes a statement about the mission of Christ to the whole person -- making people whole in both spirit and body. The hand touching us with His healing powers, the crutch, the wine jars, the mouth, the eye, the open tomb, are all evidence of Christ's concern for man at the point of their human need. They stand as a constant reminder to us that the essence of Christian living is service. As Christ Himself said, "...whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, can to give His life as a ransom for many.," Matthew 20:27-28
The Nativity Window
The fourth window on the west side was installed in September of 1977. It is filled with symbols familiar to all of us. The most dramatic symbol in this window is the Bethlehem Star. In bold yellows, the star calls our attention to the birth of th Savior as it did so many years ago when it directed the shepherds and wise men to the place where Christ was born. In the lower right hand corner is the manger in which Mary laid her first born son, the Savior of all mankind.
In the left hand panel, we have the Chi-Rho, which connects with the cross in the lower left hand corner, reminding us that this child would suffer much for our sins.
The Baptism of Christ Window
This is the last of the windows on the west wall. It was installed in September, 1977, and depicts the Baptism of Christ. On the left hand panel is the crook or staff of John the Baptist. John was the "voice crying in the wilderness" who pointed the way to Jesus as the promised Savior. He protested that he was not worthy enough to baptize the Son of Man, but Christ insisted, and together, they went down to the river Jordan. The right hand panel shows the water and the descending dove, whose appearance was accompanied with the words from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in who I am well pleased".
The Celebration Windows
These three windows were installed in December of 1978 in the choir loft. The Celebration windows or praise windows might be thought of as the great hymn praising with color and design what the organ and choir praise with music and words. The artist hopes that you will find a new reason to praise God each time you look at them.
First English Lutheran church Windows as designed by Richard Caemmerer of Valparaiso, Indiana.
This particular design series is a bit difficult to describe
but I know that a description is very important. The difficulty lies in that the pastor has
made very clear his wishes that the designs be easy to understand and rather
traditional.
When I concurred, I thought that that would fit with the
concept of the church design. The church
itself is an intimate little church and I did not think that a great deal of
splashing color would help them at all.
At the same time, I feel that it is important for color and light to be
just as significant in these windows as any design. I am happy to create windows of a specific
didactic intent, but I would not want people to look at the window and say,
“Oh, that is the cross;” or “Oh, there is the ship;” or “Oh, there is the
manager,” alone. I would not want that
to be their only response. I want them
to also be able to say, “Look at the fine light,” or “Look at the beautiful
color.” That to me is very important and
towards that end, I have designed a series of windows which are really intended
to be quite joyful, even before they find out what they mean. I hope that the congregation will give them a
chance to be happy windows and not just simply storytelling windows. That may sound a bit strange, but it is
important to me.
The designs of the church are as follows: one wall in which there are five windows and
one wall in which there are four. The
fifth window on the one longer window wall that they are thinking of possibly
beginning this; and in this particular set of designs, I have written the
concept of a major idea above each window.
I guess that would mean that they might want to begin with that I have
as the resurrection window. At any rate,
on the fifth window wall, I have taken each window and depicted a particular
aspect of the life of Christ. Starting
with the back of the church and going forward:
the birth, the charisma and the Chi-Rho, the Bethlehem star and the
manger, next comes the baptism of Christ, on the left hand panel is the crook
or staff of John the Baptist, on the right is a descending dove and the
water. Then, comes the ministry of
Christ; the hand touching the hand, Christ healing, the crutch, the wine jars,
the mouth, the eye, and the open tomb.
All talking about the mission of Christ to the whole person. Making people whole in both spirit and
body. Next, comes the symbols of passion
and death of Christ the crown of thorns, the ladder, the cross, the hammer, the
nails, the drops of blood, and the spear.
Finally, the Resurrection and the grain of wheat and the crown – imposed
over risen over the empty cross – and the rainbow like the covenant of Resurrection,
etc. The windows tend to flow into one
another so that when we are looking at that unit, we are looking at one whole
wall unit in addition to just simply individual pieces.
On the window opposite, what I have shone are elements of
the life of the church. The church
today. The thing that keeps the church
going that sustains it. Really, the
bottom panel in actuality would be turned around so that the Pentecost window
would be opposite the birth of Christ, the Sacrament would be opposite Baptism,
the Gospel would be opposite the ministry of Christ, and the church would be
opposite the death of Christ. Pentecost,
of course, contains the traditional symbols of the wind, the fire, the seven
flames, and the dove. The Sacrament
includes that chalice and host of the Lord’s Supper, along with the grapes and
the shaft of wheat, and then the shell and the water of Baptism as well as the
cross at the bottom of the water, referring to our death into baptism and our
Resurrection to new life in Christ. The
Gospel window contains the scroll of the Old Testament and the book and cross
of the New Testament with the Greek letters of Alpha and Omega, referring to
Christ, his life is chronically in the book.
And finally the church, which utilizes both the Chi-Rho, and cross
monogram of Christ, and the ship, the ancient symbol of the church.
The large window in the balcony I have thought of as a
celebration, a kid of praise window, the earth responding to the goodness and
glory and majesty of God. It is a kind
of benediction as we leave the church and the great blue of the sky and even
the browns of the earth and the greens of the water, and responding to the
glory of Almighty God, very much like the Psalm might be. I thought of that window as being the great
hymn.
These are my concepts and I know that there will always be
some surprise and searching for meaning in these new ideas. With my sincere and honest hope that the members
of this church will be pleased with these ideas and I am certain that they
would make a meaningful contribution to the ministry of this parish.
Thank you very much,
Richard Caemmerer
Altar Colors of the Church Seasons
The colors on the Altar are:
- Blue during Advent.
- White during Christmas, Epiphany, Holy Thursday, Easter, All Saints Day and Thanksgiving.
- Green during Epiphany and Pentecost.
- Purple during Lent.
- Black on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
- Red on Palm Sunday and Reformation Day.
Church Banners
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| "The Church is You and Me" Banner |
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| "Go Tell It on the Mountain" Banner |
Christmas Tree (we're still working on this section.)
Description of Chrismons - description
Picture of Dove
Picture of cross on globe
Picture of cradle
Picture of Christ Cross
Advent Wreath, etc
etc
The Christ Candle
The beautiful base was built by Phil Stoltenberg (date ?) and it has beautiful art when you look at it up close.
Eternal Light in Chancel donated by Harold and Betty Westphal.
1938 - 1988 50th Anniversary of our church commemorative Plate.
Greek spelling for ichthus is:
I h s o u V - Jesus
C r i s t o V - Christ
Q e o u - God's
U i o V - Son
S w t h r -- Savior
C r i s t o V - Christ
Q e o u - God's
U i o V - Son
S w t h r -- Savior
The five Greek letters stand for the words meaning, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior
The symbol was used as a means of identifying or acknowledging a fellow believer in Christ without the need for any verbal communication being exchanged. Why was this necessary? Christians were commonly persecuted, tortured, and put to death because of their faith in Christ Jesus.
If you were enjoying the beautiful cool evening , you may have seen a special light in the sky on Sunday night August 29th, 2009 after dark.
We closed our family nights with prayer and then we lit a lantern (which we painted the ichthus sign on), and watched it fill with hot air and lift into the sky and float far off and away.
When the fire burns out the lantern will fall to the ground and biodegrade.
75th Anniversary Ornament
