Church Windows

At least once a week, I look up from from my desk to see someone stopped in front of our windows. I wonder for a moment if they're here for a meeting with Pastor Erik and have been waiting for me to get the door. But after a moment more, I realize that's not the case at all. They're looking at our windows. Some linger for just a moment. Others spend a while reading everything. Some take pictures.I feel an instant connection to these people; we are drawn in by art and calligraphy and design. It's like I'm on the inside of a painting.Church windows with stained glass tell stories. They invite people on the inside to linger a moment, to contemplate what God has done and continues to do in the world. They are beautiful and inspirational. I love traditional windows and could wax on about them.But the windows here do something I never thought church windows were there to do -- They turn things inside out. They invite people outside our walls to linger a moment, to contemplate the doings of God in the world.I'm grateful for the reminder from these strangers to pause and linger in God's presence.-Claire Schoepp