Linda Fiehler, the love of my life, made this stained glass for me. We talked about it beforehand, about the manner in which to construct it, and, by mutual agreement, it incorporates 4 elements which are important to my life:
- The UU Chalice, with it's vibrant flames of sumptuous energy, reaching out to the world around, spreading our religious message. As a Credentialed Minister in our congregation, I have thrown myself into being an evangelical Unitarian Universalist -- which from a UU perspective means promoting the vision of our denomination as widely as possible, while reframing from 'shoving it down your throat' proselytizing, which we view as being rude and demeaning. Our encouragement is for people to move toward the goal of critical reasoning and thinking for oneself.
- The winding path at the bottom, which is an artistic interpretation of the slogan I proposed, as Chair of the Public Relations & Marketing Committee, to the First Unitarian of St. Louis (my congregation), and which has been our church's slogan since 2008: "The Search is The Answer". My reasoning behind the slogan is that it is both a response to the Christian statement that "Jesus is the Answer" and a notation, given the spiritual journey each of us is on, that the 'answer' is found in the continual, life-long Search. And that if one comes to a point of finding an 'answer' for wherever they are in life, that 'answer' is, inherently, transitory, since Truth is only found in the constant search. The Truth in any moment eventually changes (change, paradoxically, being the one true constant in life that never changes) as we emotionally and spiritually evolve.
- The rainbow on either side of the Chalice, with the winding clouds above, is to honor the LGB & Transgender community that our UU denomination actively supports, and to lovingly honor the Two-Spirit identity that I have personally embraced my whole life.
- The round frame is a vision of the Mandala of Life, the infinite nature of our existence, the cosmic statement of always searching and always developing and never ceasing to grow, as we gradually find our own authenticity and express that, as fearlessly as possible.
Linda and her late husband Hank Griffith owned and managed Mithra Glassworks for 30 years, where they produced many stained glass windows and panels for clients in St. Louis and the surrounding area. Their stunningly beautiful artistic output is still in many buildings all these years later. Hank passed in 1999, and Linda gradually wound down the business, finally closing it four years later. She and I began our intimate relationship in 2008, and have mutually invested in that loving partnership for the past 13 years.
