Salem UM Church has a long and proud history of being Methodist. The decision to create for ourselves a new logo is not a way of moving from our Wesleyan / Methodist heritage. It has more to do with wanting to have a distinctive look that represents Salem and our understanding of our place in the world. Like most “symbols” it is not limited to one specific interpretation. It has as many ways of expressing who we are as there are those who are a part of Salem and all that she means in the world. At first blush it’s a link to our geography. We are very near Lake Murray. Many of our people have either a history with the lake or are drawn to this part of the world because of the lake. We sit beside the (not always) still waters.
But more than that. The drop of water represents the waters of baptism. It is by that grace that we are shaped and formed as individuals and as a community of faith.
The single drop represents each of us, and the pool is the whole of the body. As the single drop we become immersed in the Kingdom of God, losing self and becoming a part of the whole. We may exist without each other but we are so much more when we are gathered together. It is in the gathering together that the Holy Spirit stirs us up to be the Church.
The drop is us as a body and the ripples are the impact of the Holy Spirit within our community and through us to the whole and in the world. The “S” in the drop could be “self” or it could be “Salem”, which ever you prefer.
And of course the cross on top represents the redemptive work of the Christ on behalf of all humanity and is the universal symbol of the persons that are Christ followers.