The
Stained-glass windows of Emmanuel Baptist Church Alexandria, Louisiana, final
part.
The upper windows. These windows show Jesus’ parables
and preaching, teaching, and healing ministry. On the upper EAST side Starting
closest to the altar, we have Jesus calling His disciples. There are only five
windows because of the bell tower.
1."Come, I will make you fishers of men."
Matthew 4:19 (no picture)
The next window is Jesus and the Samaritan woman at
the well. (no picture)
2.Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. "I will give
you living water." John 4
(no picture)
3.Parable of the Sower of seeds. Luke 8:4-15
4.Jesus healing the Blind Man John 9 “Receive thy sight. Thy faith hath saved thee.”
5.The last one on the east side is Jesus calming the sea
Even the wind and the sea obey him.
On the WEST side there are six
windows. The WMU window was placed
across from the bell tower for symmetry.
It is above the stairwell leading to the balcony.
1.WMU window. The Great Commission. Matthew 28: 16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted it. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”
I’m highlighting this window because it is
of special interest to our congregation because it is personal to our church.
Symbols of note: Top
left, Young Women’s Auxiliary, Center top left, Sunbeams. (Do you remember the
song we all sang?). Center top right is Girl’s Auxiliary, top right, Royal
Ambassadors. Lower left, Woman’s
Missionary Union S.B.C. 1888.
Now on the west side I have only a few pictures.
2.Parable of the Good Samaritan. “Go and do thou likewise.” Luke 10: 25-37.
3.Jesus at Bethany with Mary and Martha (no picture). Luke 10: 38-42
3.Parable of the Sower of seeds. Luke 8:4-15
4."Let the little children come unto me for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:14 (no picture)
5.Widow's Mite. Luke 21:1-4 (sorry, no picture).
6.Close-up of Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday. Matthew 21:1-17
Finally, we have the beautiful Rose Window at the back of the balcony (front of the church)
On this window you will find three trefoil (an ornamental design of three rounded lobes like a clover leaf. In the top one you will find the descending hand from a cloud (God the Father). The one on the left has a lamb with Christian banner flag (God the Son). On the right is a dove (Holy Spirit).
You will also find three triquetra (a triangular shaped figure composed of three interlaced arcs). Top left has a cross (God’s Suffering). On the right is an anchor (hope of having eternal life). On the bottom is a bleeding heart (the heart of Jesus to which Christians direct their prayers.) Mostly this is a Catholic symbol, and our Catholic neighbors think it is so cool that we have the bleeding heart as part of our windows.
Standing in the balcony back over the baptistery we see Jesus with outstretched arms palms forward saying “Come Unto Me.” See the lilies? They represent Chasity, Innocence, and purity. The symbol of Christ. I was baptized here when I was nine by Dr. Franklin Siegler.
Emmanuel’s interior is beautifully preserved, filled
with Gothic motifs, even the light fixtures. On the outside of the church,
below the rose window is a great gabled façade showing a quatre foil with the
church’s name in Gothic script.
This is all the information I have. I hope you enjoyed
the history and windows of a church I grew up in which nurtured my soul. Never
did I ever think I would work at Emmanuel when I was growing up but I did so
for twenty years (more if you count the years, I worked there without being on
the staff). I’m so glad I have this historic church as a part of my story.
