Frauen Verein Window

About ten years ago the church was doing some significant renovation in the sanctuary. The Bell Choir requested that the seating and riser be removed from the balcony so that they could both rehearse and play their music in worship from that location. When the seating was removed from the balcony it revealed a whole of the rosette window. Only the top portion had been visible before that time. At the bottom we could read that it had been Gestiftit vom Frauen Verein, given by the Women's Guild of the church.

The window has in the center the cross and the crown, and is a generally handsome work. It is from the earliest era of construction, around 1912. A generous church member provided funds for cleaning the window and replacing the protective cover on the outside. The earlier cover had clouded over time. And a bright light on a timer was installed in the choir loft area, so that the window would be illuminated at night to provide some beauty in our neighborhood and a witness to the faith.

The light shines out.

It would be fair to say that our neighborhood has some of the lowest priced real estate in the city and some low income people. There is not a lot of public art. This is a positive addition.

Some time later I was attending a meeting at one of our churches in Elgin, Illinois. The church is downtown and there is another church directly across the street. I looked up at the outside of the other church building across the street and noticed an interesting array of pipes and lights, and a rosette window. This church had also provided illumination for their rosette window - the lights were hung outside of the building so the the worshippers inside the building could enjoy the beauty of the window when they had a evening service. Their light shines in.

I bless God for the spirit that chooses to put the light on the inside to provide beauty on the outside rather than putting the light on the outside to provide beauty for those on the inside. Not only does the symbolism of cross and crown witness to the faith, but to put the light on the inside for the benefit of the neighborhood is also a witness to the spirit of the Christ.