Meditation

Read a favorite passage from each of these gospels. Look closely at the 4 characters. Think about what you know about them. Which one do you identify with? What are your known characteristics? How can you, with your uniqueness, be an evangelist or gospeller? Do you want to?

History

The Four Evangelists

Dedicated on Palm Sunday, April 18, 1943, these four windows are a memorial to lmmanuel's first rector, Dr. Kensey Johns Hammond, who served from 1888 to 1913. Schoonover personally painted the faces of the disciples on the four evangelist windows. In the early days of glass design, the predellas sometimes depicted a portrait of the donor, his name and frequently the family coat of arms. The shops of various medieval guilds also were shown sometimes, and often the craftsmen were pictured at their work. The three predellas of the memorial windows depict the church buildings where Dr. Hammond served as rector. The fourth panel carries the dedication message. Each predella also contains a creature of nature symbolic of the time of day and time of Hammond's life. On the left wall, under Matthew, is a drawing (made from a cookbook) of Trinity Church Moundsville, West Virginia, where Hammond served from 1885 to 1888. The oriole and leaping trout symbolize morning. Mark is next with a drawing of Immanuel and a butterfly and frog for mid-day. Hammond served here from 1888 to 1913. Across the nave is Luke with a picture of St. Stephen's Church, Culpepper, Virginia, where Hammond was from 1913 to 1935. A katydid (which flew in and sat on Schoonover's paper as he drew), symbolizes evening.

Mark, one of the youngest of the followers of Christ, was a man of continuous action. All through his narrative Mark makes frequent use of the word "straightway." It is indicative of his nature, impulsive and desirous of "getting things done." The window design follows this sense of action. Mark is walking across the window area accompanied by the lion, his symbol. The wind-blown garments, circling birds, and diagonal lines give a dynamic action to the design. This is further accentuated by the forward placement of the halo and the arc in which the name Mark appears. The diagonal lines also give the window motion.

Schoonover states, "St. Matthew, before his calling, was known as Levi, the Tax Collector. Levi was a shrewd Semite, a very capable official. He was hated by his townspeople, from whom he exacted payment of their taxes. His office was a movable booth. Levi holds a list of accounts paid and due. Behind the booth passes the panorama of oriental life of a camel caravan. The rich colors in the robes, the mahogany booth, and the official headdress are signs of worldly success. In contrast his symbol is an angel of youthful beauty." In the cement work Schoonover uses the design of the yin-yang Chinese dualistic philosophy. Yin symbolizes the masculine, yang the feminine. They are opposite but complementary. Schoonover probably inserted this to see if anyone was noticing; he also had great respect for all beliefs.

John is standing on the Isle of Patmos. Over his head is an eagle, emblem of the lofty flights of his inspiration. He is holding a quill pen and book (it should be a scroll). At his feet it states "mystery" to signify the theme of the book of Revelation. Another of his symbols is the cup with the serpent issuing from it. This window is signed by Schoonover.

Luke is credited with being, besides a physician, the first Christian painter. He holds a brush and is completing a painting of the Madonna. The horn contains the paint. Luke's symbol is the winged ox. The coat of arms is Schoonover's.