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Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: St. John's Lutheran Church

City: Dowagiac

Window Shape: 2 (rectangle)

Date of Window: 1958

Subject/Title of Window: Old Windows

Brief Description of Subject: When our church building was constructed in 1957, a very simple pattern of light and dark stained glass squares was installed in the windows “temporarily,” with the hope that one day they would be able to be replaced.

Suggestions and ideas were brought up through the years, without any changes. In the winter of 2000, it was suggested that members of St. John’s themselves could actually design and construct new, stained glass windows, for our church building at substantial savings, compared to purchasing them.

A number of members took a class to learn how to do each of the various stages of stained glass work. It was decided that the present windows would be removed and replace with clear, energy-efficient windows. The stained glass windows could then be installed on the inside, fully protected from the weather. The project was funded from memorials and gifts made specifically to this project.

In order to have a unifying theme for all of the stained glass windows, a general pattern for each window was settled upon. Each window was to have a cross, with a circle superimposed over the cross piece. The limestone symbol beneath each of the windows on the outside of the church was incorporated in that circle as the focal point of that large cross in each window. Each window portrays a Biblical account that corresponds with the symbol. In the upper corners of each window are symbols that follow the theme of the window.

The ideas for the window design came from members of the congregation. Then a member drew up the design into a pattern for stained glass. When it was time to construct the windows, many volunteers came forward to help during the various stages of the project, such as cutting and grinding of the glass, putting it together, leading it, puttying the lead, and installation.When our church building was constructed in 1957, a very simple pattern of light and dark stained glass squares was installed in the windows “temporarily,” with the hope that one day they would be able to be replaced.

Suggestions and ideas were brought up through the years, without any changes. In the winter of 2000, it was suggested that members of St. John’s themselves could actually design and construct new, stained glass windows, for our church building at substantial savings, compared to purchasing them.

A number of members took a class to learn how to do each of the various stages of stained glass work. It was decided that the present windows would be removed and replace with clear, energy-efficient windows. The stained glass windows could then be installed on the inside, fully protected from the weather. The project was funded from memorials and gifts made specifically to this project.

In order to have a unifying theme for all of the stained glass windows, a general pattern for each window was settled upon. Each window was to have a cross, with a circle superimposed over the cross piece. The limestone symbol beneath each of the windows on the outside of the church was incorporated in that circle as the focal point of that large cross in each window. Each window portrays a Biblical account that corresponds with the symbol. In the upper corners of each window are symbols that follow the theme of the window.

The ideas for the window design came from members of the congregation. Then a member drew up the design into a pattern for stained glass. When it was time to construct the windows, many volunteers came forward to help during the various stages of the project, such as cutting and grinding of the glass, putting it together, leading it, puttying the lead, and installation.

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