Our Sanctuary

 

A church is so much more than a building.  Really a church is all about the people who go to the church.   However, on this page we will introduce the functional and beautiful facilities of our church to you, beginning with the exterior.  This structure was first used in worship on January 18, 1979.  The exterior architecture of St. John is a blend of colonial and classical Greek.

The interior architecture of the main sanctuary is a blend of colonial furnishings and décor with gothic laminated arches and lighting fixtures bearing the gothic arch motif.

Of course St. John has administrative offices and an educational wing where you can find our Pastor, our Youth Director and Administrative Assistant.  You can go to the parking lot in the back of the church where you will see ED/ADM over the doorway.   Take the elevator to the right and you can go to the third floor offices and the church library.  Floor number one and floor number two have Sunday School classrooms.

Lilly Hall was added to our campus due to the generous support of Henry and Mary Ellen Lilly.  Again, go to the parking lot in the back of the church where you will enter Lilly Hall.  Lilly Hall [featured in other pages on this website] houses a fully functioning commercial grade kitchen and a dining room for one hundred.   Lilly Hall is also the location of St. John’s Youth Group.  To see pictures of the youth facilities, see our Youth Ministry page.

1. 

The Activity Center Wing of Lilly Hall is where larger events are hosted as well as youth activities, the St. John walkers, Zumba and aerobics. The center image shows the inside of The Activity Center Wing of Lilly Hall. St. John has a fully functioning pavilion behind the church with water and electric hookups.  This location is ideal for outdoor gatherings.  Picnic tables are located under the pavilion roof and a fire pit is located beside the pavilion.  If you have interest in reserving this facility, call the church office at 270-886-1049.

St. John is blessed to have a beautiful garden between the education/administrative wing of our building and Lilly Hall.  This is one of the most beautiful places on our campus. In the garden you will find several outdoor items dedicated to some of the departed saints of St. John.  One of the most beautiful items is the angel that has been given to commemorate the life of Sandy McGinnis [1958-2002].

The most popular entrance to our church is the “back door.”  The door of our worship center is in the back of the church but once you go in you will be greeted by warm, caring people and you will be uplifted by an inspiring message.

In 1979, our Sanctuary was dedicated. As part of the preparation for the initial use, a cross was suspended from the ceiling. When the designers of the cross, Cecil Hammonds and Arch Hitch, put the cross in place and lit the sanctuary, they were surprised to see shadows of two more crosses, one on either side of the center cross.  This was so symbolic of Calvary that the cross in the sanctuary has had a special place in the hearts of St. John members over the years. All of the beautiful stained glass was made by the Fenestra Studio from Louisville, Kentucky.  Each window is not only breath-taking in its beauty; each window tells a story. 

 

The chancel window [donated by Henry and Mary Ellen Lilly] tells of Jesus the Son, with a crib-manger containing straw and a sunflower.  The Greek letter X (Chi) and P (Rho) represent Christ.  The staff represents the shepherds; the star and three crowns represent the wise men.  

 

The window in the nave entitled “God the Father” represents God as the hand of God as the source of creation.  God’s creation is represented by the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the plants, the fruit, the fish and the water. This window was paid for by the Bill and Georgia McGhee family.

 

In the Holy Spirit nave window, we see the descending dove, the tongues of fire, and baptism represented by being born of water and the spirit. This window was paid for by the loved ones of Wallace Colley.

 

The mission window represents the unique mission of the United Methodist Church, the circuit rider who brought the gospel to the American frontier, the log cabin church and various symbols of “doing the Word of God”: manacled hand for “I was in prison”, bread and knife for “I was hungry”, clothing for “I was naked” and water pitcher for “I was thirsty.”  This window was paid for by Helen Bradley and her family.

 

The Narthex Window:  The Christ our Lord. The Narthex window has a two-fold purpose.  On the inside of the church one can peer up at this window and see a wonderful representation of the resurrected and ascended Christ seated in power, the halo representing His divinity, the open book is a record of those who have found life in Him and the flame is a portion of the United Methodist Symbol. This window was paid for by Raymond and Myra Binns.

 

The second function of the Christ our Lord window is to witness.  Every night the window is lit to speak to Virginia Street traffic, to say that the Lord, our God is alive and well and you can hear about Him in this church…St. John United Methodist Church.  A church of open hearts, open minds and open doors.  We welcome you to our campus!

.