The design of our logo came about as we sought to incorporate the prophetic call and destiny of our church into a meaningful and recognizable symbol for South Umpqua Christian Center. We began in prayer with design artist Richard Gorsuch to choose symbols to represent the truths of our mission and vision statement.
THE MYRTLE TREE . . . one of the most beautiful and
rarest hardwood trees in the USA, growing only in
Southwestern Oregon and in Palestine. It's
strength, beauty, healing properties of its leaves
(used medicinally by Native American Indians), used as a
tasty tea and seasoning is like the TREE of LIFE in
scripture. The promise in Isaiah 55:13
is that "in place of the briar (symbol of the cursed
earth) shall come up the myrtle tree (promise of
life, health, usefulness)." The Apostle John saw this Tree in his vision ". . . and he showed me a river of the water of life . . . coming from the Throne of God and the Lamb. . . and Tree of Life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit . . . and the leaves of the Tree were for the healing of the nations." (Revelation 22:2)
THE CROSS . . . Depicted next is the truth of
another tree in the Bible, the Cross (dual
symbolism:
a tree of death that produces life)....our weakness
for His strength, the ashes of our life for His
beauty, our poverty for His riches, our sin for His
righteousness, our death to self for His eternal
life.
THE RIVER . . . Next is the representation of the
main river in our valley, the South Umpqua. As best
we can determine, local Indian legend attributes the
root meaning of the word "Umpqua" to denote sickness
or weakness, similar to the condition of those who
came to David in the cave at Adullam (1 Samuel 22).
Those who were in debt, distressed, and depressed
came to join David and find healing and purpose in
the Lord. As God heals the brokenness of our lives,
we come out of our slavery to sin and become
warriors in God's Army. We then are called to a
ministry of helping others find reconcilation with
God through Jesus Christ and purposeful living in
His Kingdom. The symbolic representation of the
river is "a sweeping fire flowing through the valley
of the Umpqua . . . a fire of God's mercy, power,and
redemption and the Name of the Fire is CHRIST
JESUS!" (quotation from design artist, Richard
Gorsuch)
THE THREE HEARTS . . . Our last symbols are three
hearts surrounding the Cross. They represent the
heart of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
all beating with the same message . . . a love song
from the Creator to His creation . . . GOD SO LOVED
. . . THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON. And, to those who
will receive God's gift of love, they are then freed
from their brokenness and empowered to love and
serve God and others.
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