You may have wondered why the theme of sunbeams on this site. Someone also asked if there was a specific name for the kind of radiating sunrays seen in the photos on our pages. To explain the name first: radiating sunbeams are called "crepuscular rays" - a singularly unattractive name for a beautiful phenomenon.
Crepuscular rays appear to radiate from the point in the sky where the sun is located, though the sun itself may be hidden behind clouds or other objects. The "rays" are actually columns of sunlit air separated by darker shadowed regions. They can also appear in forests, inside buildings and even underwater.
So why the name "crepuscular" which sounds like a strange life form out of an old Sci-Fi comic book? "Crepuscular" is derived from the Latin word "crepusculum," meaning twilight, as these rays are most likely to occur in the so-called crepuscular hours of early morning or late evening when the contrast between light and dark is most noticeable.
As for why we have the sunbeams as a motif on the site, they are surely a most encouraging visual analog of faith - the knowledge that the light is always there behind the apparent darkness and that we will see it if we are patient. That is something King David learned repeatedly through a long life with many hardships. As David said in his last words, if God's people are patient and wait for that "light," they will see it when: "He dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth ..." (2 Samuel 23:4). It's something to be reminded of the next time you see those radiating rays of sunlight.
Crepuscular rays appear to radiate from the point in the sky where the sun is located, though the sun itself may be hidden behind clouds or other objects. The "rays" are actually columns of sunlit air separated by darker shadowed regions. They can also appear in forests, inside buildings and even underwater.
So why the name "crepuscular" which sounds like a strange life form out of an old Sci-Fi comic book? "Crepuscular" is derived from the Latin word "crepusculum," meaning twilight, as these rays are most likely to occur in the so-called crepuscular hours of early morning or late evening when the contrast between light and dark is most noticeable.
As for why we have the sunbeams as a motif on the site, they are surely a most encouraging visual analog of faith - the knowledge that the light is always there behind the apparent darkness and that we will see it if we are patient. That is something King David learned repeatedly through a long life with many hardships. As David said in his last words, if God's people are patient and wait for that "light," they will see it when: "He dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth ..." (2 Samuel 23:4). It's something to be reminded of the next time you see those radiating rays of sunlight.
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