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The Medallion Carvings 

Just above on the Sound Transept hang six medallions depicting, in Christian symbolism, the six parts of Luther’s Small Catechism carved by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church member Art Roe in the 1950s.

Art Roe

 One Sunday afternoon in the early 1950s, Pastor Gordon Tollefson came over to the Art’s home to meet his mother, who was visiting from Minnesota.  While they sat and talked, Art was doing some whittling and the Pastor asked him, when are you going to whittle something for the church?  Art asked, “What do you want?’  That’s entirely up to you, Tollefson answered.

 Art had always been interested in Church symbolism, so he began to research just how artistic carvings could be adapted into some symbolic rendition.  He decided to pattern the medallions after the catechism.

 Carved from ponderosa pine from the mill in Bonner, the medallions’ outside borders are stained and varnished, while the center area is simply varnished.  Art said he had real concerns about warping after he began carving the first one, but through persistence and patience he was able to solve the problem.

 These six medallions, which took about a year to carve, have been a part of St. Paul’s for nearly half a century.  They were dedicated on October 26, 1952, as part of the dedication ceremony for the new church addition.

 They are symbols, aids to worship.  They tell a wonderful story for us all. To help you better understand their meaning here is what each one, starting on the left, represents:

For nearly 40 years, the medallions hung on each side of the Altar, but in the early 1990’s they were moved to the front of the Sound Transept, where they can be seen more clearly.

Chancel Stained Glass Window

The beautiful and unique stained glass window was placed
above the altar in 1952 as part of a major remodeling
effort to increase the size of worship area, add new offices
and meeting rooms to the church.
In reading the minutes of the Annual Meeting of
January 23, 1951, I found that Mrs. Hugo Heleen
stated that money was available to purchase a
stained glass window to be placed above the altar.
She and Fred Dodge, as well as special memorial
funds provided the money to have Charles J. Connick
Associates of Boston, MA construct this beautiful
Chancel window.
The dedication of the new additions to St. Paul was
conducted on October 26, 1952. The stained glass
window was dedicated to the memory of the
Heleen Family, Florence and Bobbie Dodge and
Chris Tanberg.
Next time you are in the worship area take a closer
look at the window now surrounded by the organ
pipes. It tells a wonderful story through the theme
of prayer. The dominant central figure represents
Our Lord, the recipient of our supplications as He
might have stood on the Mount, concluding His sermon
with His exhortations to prayer lettered on the
open book at the base. “Ask and it shall be given
you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be
opened unto you.”
Grouped in the medallions at either side are his
modern listeners and supplicants in prayer; while in
the medallion immediately below Him are his group
of Apostles with Mary, His mother, in the upper
room, joining in one accord of prayer and supplication.
The medallion in the lower portion of the left panel
is devoted to Old Testament prayer, with the figure
David, the prototype of Jesus, kneeling before the
Ark in prayer and thanksgiving: “Let the house of
the servant be blessed forever.” (II Samuel 7:29)
The New Testament is represented at the bottom
of the right panel by Saint Paul, kneeling before
the vision of Our Lord praying “That Christ may
dwell in your hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:17).
At the top of the two side panels are angels bearing
censors, symbols of prayer, which in the tracery
across the top of the window two more members of
the angelic hosts bear trumpets of heavenly praise.
In other members of the tracery, bells of praise
and joy symbolize the heavenly fulfillment of
prayer.
You will find a picture of the chancel window,
taken by Mark Gorseth, and description of the window
in a frame to the right of the altar area.
Compiled by Gary A. Sorensen