The large, colorful stained-glass window that usually adorns the front of Christ Episcopal Church in downtown Little Rock is gone. In its place are panes of clear glass.
The window, titled "Jesus to Us and the World," was carefully dismantled last month and shipped to Munich to be refurbished. The window should be ready to re-install in the spring.
The refurbishments are part of the church's $1 million window renovation project that started just after Easter last year. Craftsmen from Franz Mayer of Munich Inc. removed the large window above the altar, two smaller ones in the altar area, and windows from the chapel for the first phase. They returned last month to re-install them and take down more for the second phase.
The Rev. Scott Walters, church rector, said 30 windows will be refurbished.
"They'll be taking them apart and re-leading them," Walters said.
Walters said that in recent years, some of the windows had started to buckle, and occasionally water would seep inside. The window above the main entrance -- the one now in Germany -- was of particular concern because it was susceptible to wind damage.
The windows already refurbished have new leading and the colorful pieces have been cleaned, revealing much brighter scenes.
The windows were originally installed during construction of the neo-gothic church building, which was completed in 1941 after a fire destroyed the previous structure. The windows were crafted and installed by the Franz Mayer company, which was then located in New York.
Walters said the windows were bought for $12,000. A booklet written by Aleta G. Jessup in November 1969 notes that the glass for the windows was imported from Germany, England, France and Belgium, with some glass from Virginia also used.
Each window tells a story.
"We used to call them the poor man's Bible," Walters said.
The windows were placed in a strategic fashion to tell a larger story.
"In the planning for the construction of the present building, Dr. William P. Witsell, rector of Christ Church at that time, conceived and submitted the subject matter and sequence of the windows," Jessup wrote.
The top tier of windows in the sanctuary share the story of Christ, from "The Messiah Foretold," to his birth, baptism, ministry in the world, his death and resurrection. (Jessup noted in her booklet that the use of field glasses "will add to the pleasure of viewing the high windows.")
The lower tier starts with Pentecost, or the birth of the church, and continues up to the arrival of the Episcopal Church in Arkansas, ending with a window featuring the altar area of Christ Church.
"We leave our doors open during the week, giving anyone access to this beautiful example of the Gospel story," Walters said. "The windows walk them through Scripture and trace the family tree."
The project will take a couple of years as the team follows the pattern of taking a few windows at a time to work on. In the spring, when they re-install the current batch being refurbished, they will take down a few more.
"They wanted to come in the spring and fall because the sealants do better in moderate temperatures," Walters said. "We'll have at least two more phases, possibly three."
Walters said a group from the church is traveling to Europe next year and he plans to visit the studio to see the craftsmen at work.
The clear panes where the stained glass has been removed alters the atmosphere inside, Walters said, but it has been an enjoyable experience. He said that when the windows were out in the chapel he particularly enjoyed being able to see outside.
"It was cool for a period of time to look out into the city," he said.
Religion on 12/10/2016