Dear Friends,

I am using this week's letter to introduce to you a brand new logo for our parish! From now on, you will see this logo printed on parish stationary, newsletters, and various other church publications. I am sure that you will become very familiar with the logo and that it will help solidify our identity as a parish under the patronage of St. John the Baptist.

Since the logo incorporates several images, I thought it would be good to give you an explanation of it so that you would understand the different elements. All of them relate to St. John the Baptist and his mission as the "Precursor" of Jesus Christ.

Beginning with the upper right-hand quadrant, we have used the image of the lamb, which is the symbol of Jesus Christ, the "Lamb of God". One of the earliest depictions for Christ was that of the lamb, because he offered himself as an innocent sacrifice for the redemption of our sins.

You may recall that, in the Book of Exodus, the final act of God that led to the deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt was the death of the first-born Egyptian males. The Hebrew People were instructed by God to take the blood of sacrificed lambs and apply it to their doorposts so that the Angel of Death, seeing the blood, would "pass over" the homes of the Hebrews, thus sparing their first-born male children from the same fate.

In the Gospel of John, St. John the Baptist identifies Jesus and points the way to him by saying, "Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)!" Like the sacrificial lambs whose blood saved the Israelites from slavery, Jesus is the Lamb of God whose blood was shed so that we might be liberated from sin and death.

In the lower right quadrant of the logo is a shell, which is symbolic of baptism and thus, a symbol of John the Baptist himself. When John baptized Jesus in the Jordan, Jesus made holy all the waters of baptism. In baptism we are cleansed from sin, we receive the gift of new life in Christ, and we become children of God. Therefore, John the Baptist is always represented using the image of a shell.

On the left two quadrants is the cross. For Christians, the cross is a sign of victory. While on the cross, Jesus was pierced by a lance and blood and water poured forth from his side. The water represents the waters of the Sacrament of Baptism through which we are saved and in which we receive new life in Christ. The two flowing lines that emanate from the cross and flow into the baptismal shell depict this baptismal water that is poured forth for our salvation. They are the Springs of Eternal Life.

As you can see, the new logo has deep symbolism. In some ways it is a dynamic image for a parish that is new and growing, but is grounded in centuries of tradition. We are grateful to Morehead, Dotts & Associates for their work in designing our new graphic. Let us pray that we will all emulate our patron saint, St. John the Baptist, by leading the way to Christ! God bless!

 Fr. Paul