Our Cross Window

Our Cross Window, in the chancel of First Baptist Church, was given by Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert J.C. McCurdy to the newly built church in 1963. Mrs. McCurdy, a talented artist, designed the cross with the help of Mr. James O'Hara and many skilled craftsmen of Pike Stained Glass Studio.

The family shares with us that Mr. And Mrs. McCurdy loved flowers and their favorite was the Passion Flower. The design of the window was inspired by it. "Passion" of Passion flower does not refer to love, but to the Passion of Christ on the cross. In the 15^th and 16^th centuries, Spanish Christian missionaries discovered this flower and adopted its unique physical structures as symbols of crucifixion. The Passion flower has radial filaments which represent the Crown of Thorns. The ten petals and sepals represent the ten faithful apostles. The top three stigmata represent the three nails and the lower five anthers represent the five wounds. Looking at the cross, one can see a flower in the center and a number of purple points representing the crown of thorns worn by Jesus. Three leaf-like branches portray the Holy Trinity and the three upright marks are to symbolize Christ and the two thieves on Calvary.

In 2004, Gil and Katie McCurdy, son of the designer and his wife; Valerie Pike, daughter and current owner of Pike Stained Glass Studio; and John Bero, architect and preservation expert, commissioned to have the cross window cleaned, repaired and preserved as the magnificent symbol of passion that our church holds for Jesus, our Savior. It continues to inspire all who view it.