Featured Window

Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: St. John Lutheran Church

City: Rochester

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

Subject/Title of Window: The Ascension and the Trinity

Brief Description of Subject: This three lancet window stood over the altar on their 1950 Church. With the building of their 1967 Church, this area was repurposed. The window has not been moved; it just overlooks a storage area instead of an altar.

The left lancet is a visual rendering of the Trinity that dates to the early 13th Century. It is generally known as the "Shield of the Trinity." It illustrates the mystery of the Trinity --- three unique persons in one God. 

The Ascension is pictured in the middle lancet. Christ is seen above a cloud giving a blessing, with two angels below. This scene is based on Luke 24:51, "While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven." Luke elaborates a bit on this in Acts 1:9, "He was taken up before their eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight." The inclusion of angels has many possible origins i.e. John 1:50, Christ told the Apostles, " You will see the heavens open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

The right lancet highlights the Holy Spirit as a member of the Holy Trinity. The equilateral triangle, three equal sides, is a symbol of the Trinity. The depiction of the Holy Spirit as a dove comes from the story of the Baptism of Christ  --- John 1:32, "Then John gave this testimony: 'I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove.'"

Height: 10’

Width: 8'

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