Featured Window

Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: Cathedral of St. Paul

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

City: Detroit

Window Shape: 3 (arched)

Date of Window: 1979

Subject/Title of Window: North Clerestory Bay 2-Abraham

Brief Description of Subject: Clerestory Windows

Each of the North Clerestories are named for a "Type of Christ" --- a person or an event which foreshadows or prefigures is some way, Christ, or an event in the life of Christ. The artist has chosen to illustrate this with a montage using material found in the cited scriptures below.

Abraham

"God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son": Abraham was called by God to do the same as a test of his loyalty and belief. To sacrifice his son was a test passed and rewarded by the promise that his seed would be multiplied "as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore ... and in (that) seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." The ram offered in Isaac's stead foreshadows the symbol of the Lamb of God slain for man's sins.

Genesis 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns, and Abraham ... offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

Genesis 22:16 By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son.

Genesis 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.

Genesis 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Donna Swanson Taylor, formerly of Detroit won our national competition held in 1975 for the design of the 36 clerestory windows. She will assist in their construction at the J. & R. Lamb Studios in New Jersey, the company selected to execute and install the windows. Taylor is an accomplished musician as well as a professional artist and teacher.

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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