Baldwin Co-Education Ectension High School - BEML Layout

The history and significance of the Cross and Flame emblem are as rich and diverse as The United Methodist Church. The insignia’s birth quickly followed the union of two denominations in 1968: The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church.

Following more than two dozen conceptualizations, a traditional symbol—the cross—was linked with a single flame with dual tongues of fire. The resulting insignia is rich in meaning. It relates The United Methodist Church to God through Christ (cross) and the Holy Spirit (flame). The flame is a reminder of Pentecost when witnesses were unified by the power of the Holy Spirit and saw “tongues, as of fire” (Acts 2:3).

The elements of the emblem also remind us of a transforming moment in the life of Methodism’s founder, John Wesley, when he sensed God’s presence and felt his heart “strangely warmed”. The two tongues of a single flame may also be understood to represent the union of two denominations.

The cross represents the presence of Christ; the flame represents the power of the Holy Spirit. Taken together, they depict the activity of God in our lives, what God does for us in Christ – what John Wesley called “ justifying grace” – and what God does in us through the work of the Holy Spirit – what Wesley termed “sanctifying grace”.

A hundred and thirty years is a milestone in the glorious history of the Baldwin Institutions, Baldwin bears testimony to the unwavering faith of its founders and their determination, even, in difficult times, to keep the torch of knowledge burning brightly. In a move to meet the growing need of society for quality education and further the noble cause of our founders, over the years Methodist Church in India has started eight other schools, colleges and training centers in Bangalore. Baldwin Institutions are in step with the modern world, understanding and adapting naturally to the changing times and equipping children suitably to keep pace with it.