Later in January on the 25th, the conversion of St. Paul is celebrated. On the road to Damascus to persecute the Christian church there Saul, a Pharisee who persecuted early Christians and was present and approving when Stephen was martyred, is blinded by a flash of light according to Acts, chapter 9:X, and hears a voice boom, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting”.

The story continues in Acts 9:13-19 with Ananias hearing the Lord say to him, “Go, for he (Saul) is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; 16 I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul[a] and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Thus Saul of Tarsus becomes Paul and having encountered the resurrected Jesus, travels among Gentiles proclaiming and proving that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah. Saul, a tent-maker, who hunted for early Christians as he “traveled for business” held Roman citizenship from birth and spoke and wrote Greek. After his encounter with Jesus and his baptism by Ananias Paul accomplished three missionary trips and founded churches in Asia Minor and Greece. Much of his writings in the form of letters to various Christian communities where all are considered Gentiles are in the New Testament. Paul was the most successful known evangelist of early Christianity. He took the word and teachings of Jesus to the Diaspora of Jews and to early Christian communities. Paul is recognized as a saint because of his contributions to the start up of the Church, his evangelization in particular of the Gentiles including the Greeks and Romans, his time in Roman prisons where he wrote the Letters to the Romans, and his martyrdom (he was beheaded by the Romans after being held prisoner in Corinth).

The five windows known as The Evangelists and Paul were installed in the Chancel in the year the current church was consecrated, 1910. They were designed by The Gotham Company of New York and donated by Rebecca Witherell  in memory of her husband Nathaniel who lived from 1841 to 1906. The windows are each a single arch and are a third of the size of the full Gothic windows in the nave. They complement The Good Shepherd window over the main altar in design and in their common theme of spreading Christ’s ministry. In four of the windows is the head of the one of the Gospelers, men considered the most responsible for spreading the “good news”. In the fifth window Paul, considered the most important missionary to the Gentiles, is portrayed. Each saint is depicted in a quatrefoil at the top and each window carries a scriptural quote in a ribbon-like streamer along the bottom of the window. For Paul it is, For to me, to live in Christ, and to die is gain, Philippians 1:21 or in the NSRV, For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.

The Paul window was located above the organ console. It has been removed as we prepare for the new organ installation and will be relocated soon. The other four windows remain in the Chancel.

Karen Royce