213 Madison Ave, Lakewood, NJ 08701-3316
732-367-0933
 photo courtesy of Dorothy Massey |
| circle around triangle around dove |
One eternal (never ending) God around the Trinity (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) around the descending dove (Holy Spirit). Also, note the three smaller circles between the triangle and outer circle. P (Pater - Father), F (Filius - Son) and SS (Spiritus Sanctus - Holy Spirit). |
"And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him,"
KJV: Mark 1:10; also: Matthew 3:16, Luke 3:22, John 1:32
| cross of Christ | With the gates closed, the vertical rods at the joint of each gate and the horizontal reinforcing rods form a cross on each gate. | ||
| ringed cross | Above the horizontal rods are eight circles, each enclosing a cross. Again, the circles stand for the one God, and also eternity. By enclosing a cross, they can stand for Jesus saving us for all eternity. And since there are eight of them, it can also refer to baptism that washes away our sins and confirms our salvation through Jesus' death on the cross. |
"God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you . . . through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,"
NRSV: 1 Peter 3:20-21
| each panel | At the top of each panel, we have a trefoil topped by a fluer-de-lis and flanked by a cross. The trefoil symbolizes the triune nature of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The fluer-de-lis is the one God, indivisible. The side crosses represents Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for all of us. |
The wood framework around the entire baptistry resembles the upside down hull of a ship. Just as the footprint of many churches forms a cross, so the shape of the walls and roof of churches resembles an upside down ship. This is deliberate. We talk about the Ship of Faith. The "nave" of the church, the main body where the congregation sits, gets its name from the Latin "navis" which means ship. Just as the ark saved Noah's family during the flood, the ship of the church saves us today.