The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psalm 46:11

Imagery is used all throughout the Scriptures because images convey ideas that we can grasp and thereby help us understand the ideas communicated by their use. The depiction of God as a fortress, as in Psalm 46, conveys the idea of resiliency, safety, strength, stature, and protection, among many others. As we reflect on a fortress, we can catch a glimpse of what God is like.

From the earliest centuries after Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension, the image of the cross was used by the Church and Christians to convey something of who they were (and are): they are people who follow in the way of the Crucified One, the one crucified for the life of the world. That tradition has carried on down through the ages and is common in our own day.

As with our brothers and sisters before us, the cross is the focal point for only by that cross are we a communion of saints. And it is from that cross–an image for Jesus–that all manner of goodness, beauty, life, health, peace, joy, and love burst forth. This certainly conveys the spiritual life Jesus has wrought for us, atoning for our sins, being a propitiation for our sins and the sins of the world. It is also because of the work of Jesus on the cross that the Church is to be about his work, promoting justice, and continuing to usher in his kingdom through her prayers and life.

We have sought to capture these ideas in the simple, yet beautiful, design of our logo: a flourishing and flowering cross. We can't say everything about who we are and who our Lord is in this image, but it at least says this: we are those who follow the Crucified One, living a cruciform life of sacrifice and love, and it is from this Lord that love is poured out into the world.

May we continue to be a people shaped by the Way of Jesus, for our growth and for the good of the world.