The Cross Worn At Saint Mary Evangelical Lutheran Chuch

St. Mary's congregation thought this corpus cross to be appropriate for the symbolisms it represents for our newly found congregation. Known as the Millennium Cross, the symbolisms depicted are:

Bottony - In heraldry, bottony refers to a symbol having a bud or button, or a kind of trefoil, at the end; furnished with knobs or buttons. Hence, a cross bottony or (botonny), is a cross having each arm terminating in three rounded lobes, forming a sort of trefoil. The cross bottony is a symbol of our God, the Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

INRI - The Latin letters "INRI" are initials for the Latin title Pontius Pilate had posted  over the head of Jesus Christ on the cross (John 19:19). Latin was the official language of the Roman Empire. The words were "Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm." Latin uses "I" instead of the English "J", and "V" instead of "U" (i.e., Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum). The English translation is "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." The Early Church adopted the first letters of each word of this inscription "INRI" as a symbol.

Corpus - This corpus cross displays the body of Christ crucified. The true spirit of Christmas is the gift of God to mankind. This gift is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, the Lamb of God who died on the cross to take away the sins of the world, conquereing sin, death and the power of the devil. At the top of the cross is the risen Lord, who will come again in glory to judge both the living and the dead!

Sacrament of Baptism - Above Christ's head is the Dove, symbolizing the Holy Spirit and Baptism.

Sacrament of the Lord's Supper - On the bottom bottony, one can see the Chalice with the Wafer representing Holy Communion. Our establishment of our congregation is a Confessional Lutheran Ministry - a Word and Sacrament Ministry!

Guardian Angel - The left bottony shows a guardian angel. Remembering angels are messengers from God, angels are often referred to as spirits -  "holy ones" Zechariah 14:5 and "watchers" Daniel 4:13. In Psalms 78:49 "angels of evil", i.e. angels who inflict chastisement as ministers of God. Angels are "ministering spirits," Hebrews 1:15. It is only appropriate that we recognize and make the connection that a Pastor or Minister who is a rightfully "Called and Ordained Servant of the Word" is holding "Christ's Office." The pastor or ministe serves as a Minister from God!

The Virgin Mary - The right bottony shows the mother of our Lord who is "Blessed Among All Women." remembering our congregation is named Saint Mary.

The Risen Christ - The top bottony shows the "Risen Christ." Our Lord Jesus commanded Christians to make disciples of all nations by baptizing and teaching everything He commanded. He promised that He will be with us always, unto the end of the age... Matthew 28:19, 20.