A SACRED TREASURE
The Windows of Time at Asbury
John 8:12
. . . Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (NIV)
The Windows of Time at Asbury can only be seen in their full potential when viewed with God's sunlight (Sonlight)
shining through them. They completely lose their beauty in the darkness.
Each person is like the Windows of Time, they can be seen in their full potential when in God's light. They completely lose their beauty in the darkness.
The Windows of Time at Asbury
The Windows of Time at Asbury were designed by the Willet Studios of Philadelphia in conjunction with Drs.
Irving Arnold and Hugh Lake (pastors), Mr. Hill Stiggens (architect), and other people of Asbury. The windows were installed with the building of the sanctuary in 1971 and they are not only beautiful, but symbolically tell an important story about time and about Asbury. The best view is from inside the church where the windows are illuminated by
the light of God's sunshine. These windows illustrate our belief that each person’s life can best be illuminated by
the light inside the True Church, by the light of God's Word. The large center picture that is seen as you enter Asbury draws attention to Jesus Christ, who is the central focus of the people of Asbury's worship and the central focus of all time. The ribbon window covering the length of the right side of the sanctuary tells the story of the Old Testament, the time from creation until just before Christ comes to earth. The ribbon window to the left tells of the time from Jesus' birth until His second coming. The red pieces of glass running the full length of both ribbon windows is symbolic of Jesus' saving grace and cleansing blood, going from the cross in both directions of time, offering forgiveness and eternal life for all who believe in Him.
For the people of Asbury, these windows tell the story of God's love for the people of this world through His actions. Jesus' outstretched hand is symbolically saying, "come unto me . . . I will give you rest." Thus reminding each of us of the first part of Asbury's mission:
TO KNOW THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST
The windows also provide a witness about this love to all who see them. Jesus' hand that is pointing is symbolically saying, "go and teach . . . ", thus reminding each of us that we must also accomplish the second part of our mission:
AND PASS IT ON.
Stained glass is unique among the arts of the world because of the relationship that exists between glass and light. Conventional stained glass windows are held together by strips of lead or zinc, with the glass being about 1/8 inch thick. About every 150 years the lead or zinc must be replaced. The Windows Of Time at Asbury are referred to as "faceted glass" where the glass is about 1 inch thick. Some of the pieces of glass are faceted, or chipped, for extra jewel-like sparkle. The glass is held together by a mixture of concrete and epoxy resin which should far outlast lead or zinc. There are about 5000 pieces of glass in the windows.
The following pages provide a brief description about the symbols of each of the three sets of windows. Each set of windows should be viewed from inside the sanctuary with some distance between the viewer and the window that is being viewed. When viewing the ribbon windows, the viewer must look at the epoxy that hold the glass in place, as well as the stained glass, in order to see all of the symbols. For example, the pair of elephants at the ark are shown with one in the glass and one in the epoxy.
These windows are beautiful art, but please view them from the standpoint of seeing God's loving hand at work, over all of time, to bring each of us into a personal relationship with Him. Only when viewed in this way are the windows the true treasure that they were intended to be.
Betty Noyes, of Asbury, has drawn an artistic rendition of each figure that is in the Windows of Time. The window sections are hidden under the renditions and can be viewed by passing the cursor over the drawing. By examining the artist’s drawing and then observing the window, each figure can be seen clearly. Some information is included about each window.
For more information on the
Asbury Windows, please contact Asbury United Methodist Church at 407-644-5222 or e-mail us at
aumc@asburyumc.com.
Revised:
February 16, 2008 |
