It’s Windows Wednesday again, and our last day with Sanctuary Window 7: Christ, the Man of Sorrows. Today we’ll be looking at the lowest portion of the window representing a scene with the Holy Spirit reflecting this quality. In the image, we see Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leading the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963.

We see a crowd of people of all races following Dr. King with protest signs held aloft. Below, the image of a police baton in the hands of an officer reminds us of the uphill battle faced by the civil rights movement and the crucial role Dr. King played in the non-violent resistance movement. This window was design just 10 years after this event, which included his delivery of the “I Have a Dream” speech, and only five years after his assassination. The multitude on display in this scene is dwarfed by the number of people who attended the actual march, an estimated quarter-million protesters. Sadly, we can still benefit from this lesson in unity, 53 years later. The Kent Interfaith Alliance for Reconciliation and Justice is a group working towards that goal in our own community. Dr. Palmer and several church members are actively involved in furthering their important mission.

In this entire window, we can see the an overriding theme. While it is called “Man of Sorrows” and certainly shows scenes of despair, there is an unspoken context we see throughout: support. At the top, we see the support Job’s friends provide as they try to comfort him. In the center, we see the support of a stranger, when Simon helps Jesus carry His cross. In this bottom scene, we see the support of community, when hundreds of thousands of people from different backgrounds, places, and races gathered together to confront systemic injustice. God is with us. And when our lives may seem insurmountably difficult, when our sorrows are at their deepest, He will show us the way to peace. When open to the support of others, we can find comfort in their love and the love of God.

Click or scroll over the image below to see the artist’s design for the window.

In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26–28

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About the Author

Adam Alderson is the business manager and director of Resurrection at the United Methodist Church of Kent. He has a B.A. in Classics with a minor in Art History from Kent State University, and enjoys reading, graphic and web design, and singing and acting locally. Adam lives in Stow with his wife, Patti, and son, Alexander.