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

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Window

Building Name: St. John's Episcopal Church

Studio Name: Willet Hauser Architectural Glass

City: Royal Oak

Window Shape: 2 (rectangle)

Date of Window: 1947

Subject/Title of Window: Priscilla

Brief Description of Subject: This window was designed for this parish's Gothic styled church which opened in 1926. Subsequently they needed a larger space and replaced this church with a modern styled church which open in 1957, taking the stained glass windows to the new church. This window is now located on the second level of the Gospel side transept.

This is the "Priscilla Window," and is bordered with geometric patterns as well as pictures of animals, boats, angels, buildings, et al.

In scriptures, Priscilla and her husband Aquila are always mentioned together. They became close friends of Paul. Their first encounter with Paul is told in Acts 18:1 - 3: "Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontius, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tent maker as they were, he stayed and worked with them," (NIV). After about 18 months they left with with Paul to evangelize. Paul in Romans 16:3 - 4 said this about them, "Great Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus ... risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the Churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them," (NIV).

The top level of this window depicts an angel holding a shield with a picture of a tent --- an attribute of Priscilla referencing her profession as a tent maker.

Below this is a scene depicting Paul, with a pair of scissors, Aquila, holding the cloth, and Priscilla, a needle in her hand, all involved in making a tent.

Below the scene is the figure of Priscilla holding a bible --- symbolizing her missionary work as well as a being a presbyter (Romans 16:5). At the bottom would have been a memorial inscription, however it has been removed to make the window fit its new location. Church records indicate the window was given in memory of Eleanor G. Speer by her children and sister, and dedicated on June 6, 1947.

Inscriptions: Paul
Aquilla
Priscilla


Condition of Window: Good

Type of Glass and Technique: Lead Came

Priscilla
Priscilla
Priscilla top
Priscilla top
Priscilla bottom
Priscilla bottom

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