Featured Window

Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: Mariners' Church

Studio Name: Lamb (J. and R.) Co.

City: Detroit

Window Shape: 5 (gothic arched, 2 vertical sections)

Subject/Title of Window: Noah and Moses

Brief Description of Subject: According to the book "The Windows of Old Mariners' " by Jean M. Fox, the nave windows on the left side were dedicated to different branches of the Armed Forces. This is the first window and is dedicated to the Navy. It depicts Old Testament figures associated with water --- Noah and Moses.

Above the lancets is seen the right hand of God the Father. The border of the lancets is made up of oak leaves and acorns which symbolize strength.

The left lancet features Noah with a hammer in his right hand and the ark that he built at his feet. At the top of the lancet is a 6 pointed star which is the symbol of the Virgin Mary as "Star of the Sea". The scene at the bottom mainly pictures Genesis 8:11 (KJV) --- the rain stopped and Noah had sent out a dove "And the dove came to him in the evening; AND, LO, IN HER MOUTH WAS AN OLIVE LEAF pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from the earth." After Noah had landed he made a burnt offering to God in thanksgiving. God was pleased and promised never to do this again and signed this covenant with a rainbow. The shields at the top of the scene represent the rain and the ark coming to rest on Mt. Ararat.

The right lancet features Moses holding the tablets of the 10 Commandments. The numerical arrangement on the tablets reflects that the first 4 commandments refer to relationships with God while the last 6 to relationships with mankind. The picture at the top is a bulrush which comes from the story that his mother hid the infant Moses from the pharaoh by placing him in a basket and concealing it in the bulrushes on the banks of the Nile. The scene below shows the story of the parting of the Red Sea to let the Hebrews across and then drowning pharaoh's army as they tried to follow them. Exodus 15 (KJV) In thanksgiving for this miracle "Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for HE HATH TRIUMPHED GLORIOUSLY: the horse and the rider he hath thrown into the sea ....". The shields at the top of the scene refers to the miracle of Moses striking the rock and water flows out to save the Israelites from thirst (Exodus 17:6) and the burning bush that God uses to introduce himself to Moses (Exodus 3:1-2).

The sheet music over the large shields pertains to the woman memorialized, Maude H. Moreing. She was a noted soprano that cut short her career in opera to marry Ernest Haass, a physician in Detroit. After his death she married the artist David Moreing. The sheet music displays the start of the song "Morgen!" (Tomorrow!), a German love poem that was set to music by Richard Strauss and presented to his wife as a wedding present. It was scored for soprano with orchestral accompaniment using a string section as well as a solo violin, horns, and a strumming harp (note the harp under the shield in the left lancet).

Inscriptions: In Memoriam Maude H. Moreing
Wife of David Moreing


Height: 14' 9.5"

Width: 4' 4.5"

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.

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