Featured Window

Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: St. Paul Lutheran Church

City: Dearborn

Window Shape: 6 (gothic arched, more than 2 vertical sections)

Subject/Title of Window: Symbols and Scenes

Brief Description of Subject: This window, located in the facade, consists of four lancets under a canopy. The first and last lancets follow the same design as the middle two in the Epistle side transept window. Most likely, they were once aisle windows in their previous Church. The two middle lancets are shorter than the first and the last, and thus a filler was needed to get the proper height. This raises the possibility that these may also have come from the previous Church. 
 
In the first lancet's roundel is a cross, an anchor, and a flaming heart. The cross is a symbol of our Christian faith. The anchor is a symbol of hope as in Hebrews 6:19, "We have this hope [eternal life] as an anchor for the soul." The flaming heart is a symbol of love and passion. Together, they are the three gifts from the Holy Spirit. St.Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:4 tells that these gifts will last forever, "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." Seen in the predella are the names of the donor --- C. and C. Wohlfeil.
 
The second lancet features a stained glass version of Bernhard Plockhurst's 1889 painting titled "Jesus as the Good Shepherd." This painting has become very popular throughout the Christian world. As seen in the predella, this lancet was donated by the Ladies Aid, an organization started in 1890.
 
The third lancet features a stained glass version of Friedrich Wehle's 1882 painting titled "Luther in His Study at Wartburg Castle in Eisenach." As seen in the predella, this lancet was donated by the Luther League, a youth group started in 1902.
 
In the fourth lancet's roundel is a chalice, grapes (wine), and a wafer with the Greek letters IHS (first three letters of the Greek name "Jesus"). Together these symbolize the sacrament of the Eucharist which was instituted by Christ at the Last Supper. As seen in the predella, the donor has the initials "M. F. S", most likely this is an organization.

Inscriptions: C. u[nd] C. Wohlfeil
Ladies Aid
Luther League
M. F. S.


Height: 14'

Width: 12'

Type of Glass and Technique: Opalescent Glass, Antique or Cathedral Glass

The MSGC is a constantly evolving database. Not all the data that has been collected by volunteers has been sorted and entered. Not every building has been completely documented.

All images in the Index are either born-digital photographs of windows or buildings or are scans of slides, prints, or other published sources. These images have been provided by volunteers and the quality of the material varies widely.

If you have any questions, additions or corrections, or think you can provide better images and are willing to share them, please contact donald20@msu.edu