A New Way to Express our Faith
Advent Evangelical Lutheran Church’s reason-for-being is reflected in the symbolism of the stained glass window of our sanctuary. Each of the five panels tells us something about the “comings” of Christ. The tree at the top represents the Tree of Life. There God made a promise to Adam and Eve, to redeem them and their children from their sinful and fallen condition through a Savior. In order to accomplish this victory over sin, death and the devil, thousands of years later God sent His son into human flesh and blood. The person Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem (the second pane to the left). It was there that wise men worshipped Him as the Savior of the world. At the baptism of Christ (second panel to the left), our Lord formally began his ministry of preaching and teaching the Word of God. Through baptism the Holy Spirit was given to Him in a most special way (symbolized by the descending dove). There also the God of Heaven declared Jesus to be the true Son of God, a privileged relationship also granted to all who confess Christ and claim the blessing through Baptism into Christ. Christ’s coming, though gloriously adorned by the Father and the Holy Spirit, was also greeted with cross and suffering (represented by the window on the lower right). The grapes and bread remind us that He once came - and still comes today - in the Lord’s Supper, where as He gives to us the Testament of His forgiveness through His own body and blood. The miraculous nature of this sacrament is reflected in the symbols of fish and wheat surrounding the cross. Reminiscent of the miracles of the feeding of the four and five thousand, Jesus blessed and broke – and a miracles of feeding thousands came to be; so also, the words of Christ, “Take eat..take drink” remind us that He still comes to us today, miraculously, under bread and wine. But this would not His final coming. After His suffering and death, Christ rose from the dead and came once again to His Apostles. He breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit – that they might forgive the penitent and retain the sins of the impenitent. Therefore, to do this work of administering the Gospel, the Holy Spirit calls and sends men into the ministry today. By coming with Christ’s authority, these men come as Christ. The awesome nature of their heavenly authority is contrasted by their own human weakness, represented in the window by the rooster, the creature that crowed as Peter in his state of spiritual weakness denied our Lord. The cross of the window is a reminder that all authority is Christ’s authority, not mans, and that sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ and not for any human power or institution. It is also a reminder that there is a cross for all who follow Christ – at least, in this world. The sheep are reminders that pastors and divine atuthority are given for the sake of protecting, strengthening and feeding the sheep of Christ, as Jesus said to Peter: “Feed my sheep.”I This coming of Christ in the Ministry of the Word, however, is not the final coming. The resurrection of Christ stands as the guarantee of a greater coming, when our Lord comes in glory to fully restore the promised inheritance of heaven – His coming to us with the gift of eternal life. Hence we are lead in this circular story to return back to the top window, to the Tree of Life which is restored to mankind in the last chapter of Revelation, when God will meet us face to face and we will receive the fullness of His glorious inheritance in life beyond death.
You will also find in our window a number of motifs that highlight and tell the story of Advent’s mission. Each of the viniettes represents a different aspect of agricultural life – which of course also serve to represent the work of the Christian Church. The soil (of the heart) is prepared, then sowed with the seed of the Word of God, then nurtured with sunshine and water (tribulation accompanied by the proclamation of the Word) which then leads to growth and the fruits of faith (good works); and finally, after the harvest has come and all is gathered in God’s granary, then comes the time when no man can work, when work ceases and believers in Christ enter into God’s eternal glory.
Who are we? We are a congregation of Christians who constantly are receiving Christ, that is, who are privileged to have Christ “come” again and again – in the preaching of the Gospel, in the teaching of His Word, in Baptism, in the Lord’s Supper, in the Office of the Ministry and as we ourselves are gathered, through death and Christian burial, into the storehouse, the home, of God in heaven. That is what Advent is all about.
The Responsibilities of the Board of Evangelism
The Board of Evangelism shall:
Plan, promote, and carry out an evangelism program within the congregation and in the community
Maintain an education and training program to prepare congregation members to witness to their faith
Maintain a public relations program