Stained Glass Window Project
Surrounding us in color and light on Sunday morning are powerful images that directly relate to the history, rituals, missions, and ministry of our unique church - our beautiful stained glass windows!
Though the sanctuary of PSUMC always contained window frames built to hold traditional stained glass windows, the extreme expense of windows was a barrier to having beautiful glass in our worship place. At the front of the sanctuary, above the organ pipes, a small angel peers out of colored glass towards the large angel of the back window. But in-between, all of the side windows of the sanctuary used to be plain glass.
In the spring of 1999, excited conversations between members Michael Soha and Elizabeth Schell led to an Advent Arts Workshop Series dedicated to designing and crafting new windows! A group of church volunteers used Plexiglas, "liquid lead" (which actually has no lead in it), and "liquid crystal" to create the look of stained glass.
Elizabeth led the first two six-week workshops during Advent 1999 with a Sunday afternoon group in which youth could participate, and a Tuesday evening group. During Advent 2000, Rik Schell, who participated in the first workshops, led a third sequence, creating six more windows. In all, eighteen windows have been created by members of the congregation, adults and youth alike. Each group brain-stormed about what the church meant to them and came up with designs, both individually and in groups. These windows may not last a lifetime, but they provide color and meaningful images related to the specific ministries and character of our church. You can see all of them in the Church Windows photo album.