Stained Glass Windows Background & Construction Details

The windows were planned and executed by church volunteers during a five-year period beginning in 1985. Preliminary designs and funding were approved at the annual congregational meeting in January 1988, and during the rest of that year the designs were improved and scaled up. In the Summer of 1988, full-size designs in color were tested in the sanctuary. In September, the glass was purchased and in December, just in time for Christmas, the Nativity window was installed. A crew was trained in late 1988-early 1989, and construction continued during 1989 and 1990 until the last window (Noah and the Patriarchs) was completed in May, 1990. The windows were dedicated on Sunday, June 3, 1990.

As you face the altar, the New Testament side is to your left, the Old Testament side to your right. As you face either side, the themes "read" from left to right. The windows are 11 feet high, and span a distance of 27 feet on each side of the sanctuary.

Technical Notes

To create a stained glass window, colored glass is cut to size and joined together by either of two methods. In the traditional "leaded" glass method used in most church windows, glass pieces are inserted into "H" shaped pieces of lead, which are then soldered together at the intersections. Our windows are made by the newer "Tiffany" method, named after Louis Tiffany of lampshade fame, whereby the edges of the cut glass are wrapped with a special adhesive-backed copper foil. The foiled pieces are then soldered together, and a rounded solder bead is built up on the foil. It is this bead that gives the window its strength. Our windows contain approximately 70 pounds of solder.

The Tiffany method was chosen mainly because it is better adapted to fine detail, but also because it gives a stronger, more weathertight window than leading and is somewhat easier to do. Strength was a major consideration in the transoms, which must withstand the strain of opening and closing. These windows are reinforced with brass strips soldered into the joints between the glass pieces and with steel bars on the back, which are bent to match the contours of the joints.

A variety of glass was used in our windows, ranging from machine-made "cathedral" glass to hand-made imported "antique" glass. The antique glass is distinguished by its clarity and, usually, by fine bubbles within the glass which sparkle in the sunlight. To admit as much light as possible into the Sanctuary, pale colors were chosen and the glass was left in its natural state--not painted in the manner of windows in Gothic cathedrals or many contemporary churches. We did use paints in a few places to achieve special effects; for example, the numbers on the Ten Commandments tablets in the Exodus window and the Greek letter Omega on the flag in the Revelation window. These paints, fired in a high temperature oven at about 1100 degrees Fahrenheit, are almost as permanent as the glass itself. Silver stain, which is also fired and gives a clear yellow to amber color to the glass, was used in only one place: the eyes and nose of the lion cub in the Twelve Tribes of Israel window.