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Window of the Month
Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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Window

Building Name: New City Presbyterian Church (formerly Drayton Avenue Presbyterian Church)

Studio Name: Willet Hauser Architectural Glass

City: Ferndale

Window Shape: 2 (rectangle)

Date of Window: 1961

Subject/Title of Window: The Parables of The Wheat and Tares; Pharisee and Publican; The Unmerciful Servant

Brief Description of Subject: This epistle side window consists of three medallions separated by geometric and floral decorations. Each medallion features a scene from a parable found in the Gospels. Scriptural quotes from the NKJV Bible.
 
Top Medallion: The Parable of the Wheat and Tares, Matthew 13:24 - 30. "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares [weeds] among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares appeared." The servants wondered if the owner sowed good seeds where did the tares come from? The owner told them "an enemy has done this." The owner told the servants not to gather the tares up now as it would uproot the wheat, "Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers. 'First gather the the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.'" This parable is Christ's way of saying that evil will exist in this world until the Last Judgement where it will then be eliminated. This window pictures the harvesting of the tares and wheat. The artist has substituted an angel for the reapers, probably to refer to a different harvesting -- the Last Judgement where the good will enter heaven while the evil, like the tares, will be burned.
 
Middle Medallion: The Parable of The Proud Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Luke 18 9 - 14. Christ "spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee [religious group that taught the law of Moses] and the other a tax collector [the Romans employed Jewish men to collect the taxes in the Jewish communities]. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men --- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice  a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.' "
 
Bottom Medallion: The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, Matthew 18:21 - 35. Peter asked the Lord, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven? Christ responded, "Not seven times, but seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servant." The servant owed much money and couldn't pay him, so the king ordered that he be sold along with his family and belongings to settle the debt. The servant to his knees and begged for mercy, the king was moved and forgave his debt. The servant then found a fellow servant that owed him a small amount of money. When he couldn't pay the debt, despite falling on his knees and pleading for mercy, he was thrown into jail until he was able to make good on the debt. When the king heard of this, he was furious and sent for the unmerciful servant. You had no compassion for your fellow servant, and ordered him to be tortured until he paid off his debt in full. "So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother." This window features a king on his throne sending an angel with a balance scale to a servant about to strike another servant. An explanation of the king sending an angel with a balance scale is when God takes account of us at the Last Judgement, adopting a line from the prayer Our Father, God will forgive our tresspasses as we forgave those who trespassed against us. 
 
Lexan protection for this window was installed in 1987 by the Continental Glass Company of Minnesota.

Condition of Window: good

Height: 10'

Width: 1'6"

Type of Glass and Technique: Antique or Cathedral Glass

The Parables of The Wheat and Tares;  The Pharisee and Publican; The Unmerciful Servant
The Parables of The Wheat and Tares; The Pharisee and Publican; The Unmerciful Servant
The Parable of The Wheat and Tares
The Parable of The Wheat and Tares
The Parable The Pharisee and Publican
The Parable The Pharisee and Publican
The Parable of The Unmerciful Servant
The Parable of The Unmerciful Servant

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