Stained Glass Windows

At Avondale, we are fortunate to have exquisite windows painted by one of the great stained glass artists, the late Joseph Llorens, of Atlanta, GA, and installed by the late Robert W. Furman of Birmingham, AL, who was a modern pioneer in stained glass in the south. Standing at the chancel facing the congregation, the windows are listed beginning on the left and ending with the window nearest the chancel on the right.

Windows 1 - 4 are located on the balcony level, north face of the sanctuary. Each window has four panels, two smaller, upper panels forming an arc and two larger, rectangular panels. Each of the lower panels is centered with a religious symbol surrounded by multicolored diamond shaped pieces of glass. The symbols in windows 1 - 4, remind us of Jesus' birth and ministry.

Window 1

Window 1 was given in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Smith by Mr. and Mrs. James Arthur Smith.

	Symbol #1 The Creative Hand of God the Father The hand points downward to God’s creatures from a cloud of glory and is surrounded by a nimbus with three rays signifying divinity. “Because I have called and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded.” Proverbs 1:24
	Symbol #2 The Lamb of God The Lamb carries the Banner of victory, or Resurrection Banner, attached to the cruciform staff signifying Christ’s death. The risen and triumphant Lamb of God is portrayed as bearing the emblem of his victory. This is the greatest of all symbols representing the Son of God. “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

Window 2

Window 2 was given in memory of Lathrop Winchester Smith by Mr. and Mrs. James Arthur Smith.

Symbol #3 The Holy Spirit

The descending dove with the tri-radiant nimbus about its head (divinity) is based on the account of the baptism of our Lord. This is perhaps the earliest symbol used to represent the Holy Spirit.

“And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him and a voice came from heaven, which said, “Thou are my beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased.”
Luke 3:22

Symbol #4

The Messianic (Messiah’s) rose

This rose is the symbol of the promise of the coming Savior. Isaiah prophesied what would happen when Jesus came.

“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them: and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.”
Isaiah 35:1

Window 3

Window 3 was given in memory of Ferdinand Elbert Smith by Mrs. F.E. Smith and children.

Symbol # 5 The Madonna Lily

The lily represents the purity and virginity of Mary, the mother of our Lord. It is used in connection with the “Annunciation” of the Angel Gabriel to Mary that she has been chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus.

"An in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the city of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.”
Luke 1:25-27

Symbol #6 The Desk, Priestly Robe and Book of Law

Jesus begins his earthly ministry in the Nazareth Synagogue by reading from the Old Testament.

“And he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, and as his custom was, he went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read and there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Luke 4:16-19

Window 4

Window 4 was a gift to the church by Mr. and Mrs. James H. Dickson, Sr.

Symbol #7 The Keys of the Kingdom

Jesus establishes the Church and commits unto it the Keys of Heaven. The crossed Keys refer to Peter’s confession and the power to forgive sins vouchsafed to the Church. The stole is the yoke of Christ and the minister’s emblem of office.

“And I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 16:18-19

Symbol #8 The Triumphal Entry

The waving palm branches and the word “Hosanna” symbolize Jesus’ journey from Bethany to Jerusalem on the Sunday (Palm Sunday) before his crucifixion when he entered the city, that fateful week before he died.

“On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
John 12:12-13

The center-piece of the stained glass is the rear gallery - the large window in the back of the sanctuary that was installed in 1931 by the congregation. It has 12 panels, eight smaller upper panels that form an arch and four lower rectangular panels. Each of the symbols centered in a panel is a variation of the cross.

Each panel symbol is shown below.

	Alpha, Omega and Tau Cross The symbol combines Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, Omega, the last letter of the Greek alphabet and the Tau cross, representing Jesus. In Revelations, God claims that He was in the beginning. and the end.		The Anchor Cross This cross combines the anchor and a cross, sybolizing both hope in the life eternal and sal-vation from sin through the merits of the Saviour's death and re-surrection.
	The Cross and Crown This symbol refers to Christ's death and coronation as King of Kings. The crown represents the reward of the faithful in the life that lies beyond the death of the body.		The Word "Jesus" Cross This symbol contains the first three letters of the Greek word for Jesus, with a cross inserted above the horizontal part of the letter H.

Windows 6- 10 are located on the balcony level, south face of the sanctuary. Each window has four panels, two smaller, upper panels forming an arc and two larger, rectangular panels. Each of the lower panels is centered with a religious symbol surrounded by multicolored diamond shaped pieces of stained glass. Each of the symbols reminds us of Jesus' death and resurrection.

Window 6

Window 6 was a gift to the church by Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Thuston.

Symbol #13 – The Last Supper

The grape, wheat and chalice with the wafer represents the institution of the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion on Thursday night before the Crucifixion on Friday.

“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Luke 22:19

Symbol #14 – Gethsemane

The lantern is a symbol of Christ’s betrayal and arrest while he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was after the Last Supper, in the darkness, that the soldiers came with torches to the Garden and arrested Jesus.

“Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons”.

John 18:3

Window 7

Window 7 was given to the church by Dr. and Mrs. R. M. Bryan and Family.

Symbol #15 – The Trial of Jesus

This window shows the scourge, and whipping post. Two scourges crossed against a whipping post reminds us of the punishment Jesus received at the hands of the soldiers during his trial before Pilate.

“…And when he had scourged Jesus he delivered him to be crucified.” – Matthew 27:28

Symbol #16 – The Crown of Thorns

Another reminder of Jesus' punishment is the crown of thorns and the letters “INRI”. They mocked Jesus by placing a crown of thorns on his head in pretension of his Kingship of the Jews. The Letters “I.N.R.I.” stand for the Latin words “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum”, - “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”. This was the superscription placed by order of Pontius Pilate, in Greek, Latin and Hebrew, on the upper part of the cross on which our Lord was crucified.

“And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews”.

Matthew 27:29

Window 8
Window 8 was given in honor of Mrs. Lola Hanlin by the Wesley Fellowship Class

	Symbol #17 - The Crucifixion This emblem is the cross inscribed with the Latin words, "In Hoc Signo Vinces, " ... "In This Sign We Conquer." This was first inscribed on the battle flags of Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of the Roman Empire. "And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him …” Luke 23:33
	Symbol #18 - The Resurrection Here we see the symbol of a dove in flight out of the rising sun. The dove symbolizes the resurrection morn in which the spirits of the redeemed rise in flight to meet Christ in the air. “And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary. There they crucified him…" Luke 23:33

Window 8

Window 9 was given in memory of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Keith and Col. John W. Keith, Jr. by Owen J. Stephen A. Keith.

Symbol #19 – The Burning Torch The burning torch is held aloft by a hand as if to give emphasis to light, with words, “The Lord is my Light”. It signifies the testimony of Christians and their witnessing to the gospel of Jesus. “Even so let your light shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
Symbol #20 – The Open Bible and the Sword The power of the word of God conquers all evil and sin. “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17 “For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword.” - Hebrews 4:12

Window 10

Window 10 was given in memory of Mrs. Hattie E. Whitman by P.Y. Whitman and Miss Margaret Whitman.

Symbol #21 – The Beginning and the End

The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet imposed upon an open book represent the beginning and the end, or the eternity of Jesus Christ.

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelation 29:8

Symbol #22 - The End of Time

The sickle of the Reaper, the wings of eternity and the hour-glass represent the end of time on earth and the beginning of eternity.

“And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and swore by him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven and the earth, and the sea, that there should be time no longer.”

Revelation 10:5-6