The story of Salem's window... 

The Jerusalem Window  (Jeru”salem”)  the window is a central feature of Salem’s fourth sanctuary which was dedicated November 12, 1989.  The window is a work of nine windows set into a great stone cross.  The top, taking its clue for the ancient connection of our church’s name with Jerusalem, depicts the heavenly Jerusalem which God promises to bring down upon the earth.  The left side depicts the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden (see the angel, the sword, the tree and the serpent) and the right side celebrates Christ’s victory over death, rising like a butterfly from the tomb in the lower right panel.  God’s gifts to the church – the Eucharist and the nine gifts of the Spirit – are also depicted in the right half of the window.  Spahn’s chancel design sets the Lutheran emphasis upon Word and Sacrament in proper balance.  Never is only the Word on display.  The baptismal font and altar remind us that we do not only worship a God that we hear, but a God who has made us God’s own through Baptism and who nourishes us at the Lord’s Supper.  The candlesticks allow the true beauty of natural flame to symbolize the presence of the Spirit in the Church.  Just as the Jerusalem window allows God’s light to join us at prayer, we pray that the inspiration of Spahn may lead us to a deeper devotion to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Dieterich Spahn, designer of many church windows throughout the United States, is the creator of Salem’s Jerusalem window as well as the designer of the chancel furnishings.