The Meaning of the Rose Window
Advent’s third pastor, the Rev. Luther Holland, Jr., designed the church’s “Rose Window,” located at the apex of the sanctuary ceiling. It was designed to tell, through symbols, the liberation story of African Americans.
The Tall Ship of Slavery represents the passage of African slaves from the Motherland to the Americas, the so-called “Middle Passage,” which took Africans from freedom and dignity to bondage and humiliation.
The ship in the Rose Window is specifically embodied to remind us of the Spanish ship, “L’Amistad,” on which Cinque tried to steer the ship back to Africa. The story goes that during the day, the white slave traders steered the ship, but that at night, the Africans, using the stars, steered the ship back toward Africa. After some time, however, the traders caught on to what was going on and managed to get the ship to America.
Once the ship landed, the slave leaders of the failed revolt – including Cinque – were tried for mutiny. The United Church of Christ, called the Congregational Church at that time, paid for the defense of the slaves through its American Missionary Association (AMA). The AMA hired attorneys who eventually got the slaves acquitted, including John Quincy Adams, who was later to become the sixth President of the United States.
The mast of the Tall Ship is the Cross of Jesus, and together with the Crown of Thorns, symbolizes freedom the Africans experienced through Christ Jesus as they labored for liberation.
The Chains of Slavery through which the Crown of Thorns laces represent African bondage. The open shackle at the base of the window symbolizes that Africans, through the power of the Son and the liberating power of the Open Bible, were able to get out of bondage.
The light of the Sun, representing also the resurrection of the Son, and the Rainbow speak to the hope that people of African descent have never lost!