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Three generous benefactors offered to give the church a stained glass window...
Father Methodius Telnack, of the Holy Spirit Trappist Monastery, was commissioned to design and install the window. Father Methodius has been doing this type of work since 1957, when he designed and installed all the stained glass at the monastery. He has since done work for many other churches in Georgia, Florida, and Arizona.
My
only request to Father Methodius was to somehow feature Kennesaw Mountain
in the window. The mountain is the predominant landmark in our community.
The mountain throughout all of Sacred Scripture is a powerful spiritual symbol
of closeness to God. Kennesaw (Gah-nee-sah) is a Cherokee Indian name for
“burial ground.” The mountain has seen its share of violence.
But today, families picnic and recreate in fine weather at the mountain.
The window also has the suggestion of eagle feathers, linking our community to a sad episode in our Nation’s history. After gold was discovered in North Georgia, the 1830 forced removal of Native Americans in this region to Oklahoma began. This “ethnic cleansing” came to be known as the Trail of Tears, or the Trail Where They Cried. Four thousand men, women, and children perished. Legend has it that where each mother’s tear fell in grief for a child a Cherokee Rose sprang up.
The rose is white for the mothers’ tears; the center is gold for that which prompted the removal of this indigenous people. The Cherokee Rose is the official flower of the State of Georgia.
Superimposed over all the violence and grief is the Cross, instrument of our redemption.
I once asked a young Native American how he felt toward the white man for all the hurt and misery we had inflicted on his people. His reply stunned me. “It was all very bad; but more than compensating for this evil, the white man brought me my Lord.”
God bless you all.
Father Jim