Featured Window

Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: St. Paul's Presbyterian Church

Studio Name: Willet Hauser Architectural Glass

City: Livonia

Window Shape: 2 (rectangle)

Date of Window: 1965

Subject/Title of Window: Ordination, Marriage, and Funeral

Brief Description of Subject: This window is located in the Chancel and pictures three services performed by a pastor and a symbol related to that service. In all three panels, the pastor is costumed in a Geneva gown with bands.

The left panel pictures the Pastor ordaining an elder or deacon. The Pastor is reciting a prayer and his hands and those of another elder are laid on the kneeling inductee. The laying of hands to ordain had its origin in the Old Testament and is also found in the New Testament as a means of invoking the blessing of the Holy Spirit. The symbol for ordination, seen in this picture, is a "yoke" from Matthew 11:29, Jesus says "take my yoke" --- a commitment to the service of God.

The middle panel pictures the Pastor performing a marriage. The symbols seen here are a Cana Cross and two lit oil lamps. A "Cana Cross" consists of interlocking wedding rings on a cross, symbolizing that marriage is a partnership with Christ. The two lit oil lamps, with their flames in the interlocking rings, express the love the couple share.

The right panel pictures the Pastor conducting a funeral service with a Bible in his left hand and the right hand giving a blessing. One of the many possible scriptural readings from the Bible, appropriate for use in a funeral service, is Revelation 21:1 - 7 John sees the Holy City, the new Jerusalem. The symbol seen here is the "New Jerusalem."

Designed by Eric Sundean.

Condition of Window: Good

Height: 48"

Width: 70"

Type of Glass and Technique: Opalescent Glass, Lead Came

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