Have you noticed the addition to our church sign along Meridian Avenue?  It's a rainbow fish!  You may have wondered what it is, and why it's on our sign.  What does it mean?

The rainbow fish is actually a combination of two symbols.

You probably recognize the use of the fish symbol -- a symbol for Christianity since the days of the early church.  In recent times, the fish symbol is often found on churches, businesses and even ads and cars.  The rainbow, another Christian symbol, was given to Noah from God with a promise and reminder that the world would never again be destroyed as it was in the flood.

In the last 25 years, the rainbow has been used to symbolize diversity, and was chosen as a symbol for the Rainbow Coalition in the struggle for civil rights.  In the late 70's, the gay and lesbian community also adopted it as a symbol of diversity, and you see the "gay flag" on everything from homes and businesses to cars ands ads.  It's a symbol that sends the message that people are valued for their differences, and that everyone is welcome.

Until recently, the combination of these two symbols would have been unthinkable.  Many churches using the fish symbol do not openly welcome lesbians and gays into their communities.  Many gays and lesbians feel unwelcome and separated from the church and have no spiritual home. 

For a number of years, I had the rainbow flag on my car, but always felt there was something missing.  I wanted something that also identified me as a Christian.  So, I came up with the idea of combining these two symbols.  Unable to locate such an item, I decided to create one, and I've had it on my car for several years.

CGS openly welcomes gay and lesbian people to fully participate in the church; in fact, that's how Phil and I came to attend CGS.  For many years, CGS has identified itself as a "Reconciled in Christ" (RIC) congregation.  RIC is a designation created by Lutherans Concerned to identify those congregations that openly welcome lesbian and gay persons.  In the spirit of evangelism, we thought CGS needed a way to more publicly show our neighbors more about who we are as a community in Christ.  So we thought back to the rainbow fish.  I presented the idea to the council, and they readily embraced the idea and gave the go-ahead.

What you see on the church sign is the result.  We hope that this will be a proclamation to our neighbors that CGS is a church that preaches the love of Christ, and that this love is open to everyone.