Many of the churches in the Diocese have very intentional logos used as a part of their church’s story and mission. Church of the Good Shepherd in Lynchburg, VA shares about their new logo.
by Heather Wright and Mike+ Kunzinger
Church of the Good Shepherd, Lynchburg, VA is a place where many weary, hurting people have come to find rest and hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. We often hear that the grieving, the wounded, and the weary receive comfort and healing by coming to Sunday worship and partaking in the liturgy.
This culture of rest at our church is not an accident. From the beginning, there has been a vision that Good Shepherd be a place of green pastures and still waters, a place that offers a restoring of the soul for those who come through the doors.
Good Shepherd, Lynchburg is a downtown church. After meeting at two different downtown storefronts for a number of years, we moved to a historic church (the oldest Baptist church in Lynchburg) two blocks up from Main Street. Our first service in the new building was on Palm Sunday in April 2022. There, our congregants walked through the wrought-iron gates, along a path surrounded by a front lawn of bright green spring grass, and into a sanctuary of woodwork and stained glass.
As we grow into the new building, there is much to be done to care for what God has given us. However, it is still our hope that all who visit and attend Good Shepherd would hear his voice, that they would know his saving grace, and experience a sense of rest and the peace that our Savior offers. And so, our logo is designed to reflect the way Jesus approaches us, and the way people might encounter him at our church.
Inspired by icons of the early church, we have Jesus depicted as a shepherd. He holds a lamb around his shoulders (Isaiah 49:16), which reminds us that our Lord will not abandon any of us. He leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one that is lost, until he finds it. “And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” (Luke 15:5, ESV)
Even in its iconographic style, Jesus’ face shows his compassion and care for us in our lostness and our suffering. He is gentle and lowly of heart. Jesus holds a shepherd’s crook, a symbol of his protection and loving discipline — he will not let us go astray or abandon us to the grave.
The window panes behind Jesus bring to mind our new building and the stained glass that lines the upper walls of our sanctuary. Lastly, our font is meant to recall the same font found in the Book of Common Prayer, traditional and timeless.
Father Mike Kunzinger, our current rector, had the inspiration for a logo that is ancient, in the style of iconography, for our current and future context. We worked with a local graphic designer and artist, Adara Wright, on early drafts and drawings. Our Deacon, Josh DeVries, made additional revisions to create our final image, a modern icon of Jesus.
We are excited to share our logo with our current members, as well as the surrounding Lynchburg neighborhood. Even as we undertake the work of caring for an old, historic building, we will continue to provide a green pasture on Sunday mornings, where the Good Shepherd leads us into his loving presence.
Heather Wright is the Administrator at Church of the Good Shepherd, Lynchburg, VA.
The Rev. Mike Kunzinger is the Rector at Church of the Good Shepherd, Lynchburg, VA.
