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Chapel of the Living Savior Stained Glass Windows Narrative

By Dr. Charles S. Brown

The widows of the Payne chapel provide a striking artistic element to the worship settings of the Payne Theological Seminary community and the Holy Trinity AME Church congregation. However, they were not intended to serve simply as a uniquely beautiful artistic background to worship services. Viewed in terms of the intentionality of Bishop Rembert Stokes, their visionary architect, they constitute a kind of hall of fame of transformational biblical and historical heroes who collectively define Payne Theological Seminary’s theological heritage and leadership legacy.

What follows is my own interpretation of the legacy portrayed, not having the benefit of Bishop Stokes to guide me. The panorama begins with the chancel window, in the very center of the sanctuary behind the altar. This window portrays the risen and ascendant Christ, at once commissioning and empowering his followers for ministries of liberation, evangelism, and church order- hence the name Chapel of the Living Saviour.

The lineage then proceeds right front to left rear, viewed from the chancel area, or left front to right rear when viewed from the pews. Moses leads the procession of heroes, holding the liturgical Decalogue, standing beneath the burning bush that signifies his call to lead the exodus of God’s people from Egypt and above the scriptural text: “Teach them to thy sons.” Consider the place of Moses in the liturgical and the rhetorical heritage of the AME Church.

Then comes Amos, one of Moses’ successors as a prophet of justice and liberation in Israel. See the waterfall representing the text written at the bottom of the window: “Let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” Note also Amos’ shepherds staff above the image of a cruel oppressor flogging the burdened oppressed on the lower left side of the window.

Surprisingly, Saint Paul is the lone New Testament hero represented. He stands beneath the typical symbol for Paul as an apostle, the Cross and Crown. In his right hand he holds a scroll (the compendium of his letters?) and in his left hand a sword (“… of the Spirit, which is the Word of God?”). The text at the bottom of the window exhorts Christians to “Stand fast, therefore (i.e., based on Paul’s message in Galatians}, on the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.” Paul is the systematizer of the Christian gospel, who laid out the basic foundations of church order and understood Jesus’ saving work as a profound spiritual liberation that transformed the personal and social existence of human beings. How many Saint Paul AME Churches are there? I grew up in one.

Moving into church history, the lineage is traced through Martin Luther, who launched the Protestant Reformation of the church. The Bible in his hand emphasizes the authority of Scripture for adherents of Protestantism, underscored by his testimony quoted in the window: “My conscience is captive to the Word of God.” The reference to his great hymn text, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”, lifts up a brief summa theologica of protestant faith (Read through and ponder all four verses of this hymn).

Within the protestant heritage, AMEs are Methodist people, following in the “warmed heart” tradition of John Wesley. Consider Richard Allen’s impassioned argument, against Absalom Jones, that the faith of the people who organized Mother Bethel was resolvedly Methodist rather than Anglican/Episcopalian.

The lone non-clergy representative among the selected historical heroes is William Wilberforce, the British parliamentarian who led the long fight to end the Atlantic slave trade. The significance of leadership in this struggle for the subsequent history of African Americans is marked by his serving as the namesake of the university purchased by Daniel Alexander Payne to educate the clergy and lay people of the AME Church, as well as of the community that grew up around the university. His presence in the lineage indicates that liberation is a value and a mandate in the heritage of the church, the university, and the seminary.

The section of AME historical heroes begins, where it must, with Richard Allen, who led the exodus from St. George Methodist Church (“As we all went out in a body”), holding the deed to Mother Bethel which is depicted above him resting on a dove (the Holy Spirit operative in his leadership and the church movement?).

The panorama concludes with Daniel Alexander Payne, sixth bishop of the AME Church, founder of Wilberforce University with a vision to educate the ministerial leadership of the church and lay leaders for the church and the community, commissioner of Holy Trinity AME Church, and honored namesake of Payne Theological Seminary. Above him is Shorter Hall, at one time the principal building on the university campus. Significantly the image of Shorter Hall also rests on a dove, which is a reminder of the presence and power of the living saviour.

Considering this panorama and the awesome stewardship of Payneites for the legacy of transformational leadership commended therein, I am reminded of the challenge presented by the writer of the book of Hebrews in chapter 12, verses 1 – 2: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfector of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has aken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” NRSV