Friday's Internet Edition, July 04, 2008.
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| Rev. Bill Hoyle says his parishioners are pleased with the new windows. |
Fifteen new stained glass windows have been installed in the sanctuary, concluding a project that began back in the spring. A committee chaired by Sue Salmon visited several churches to generate ideas and then discussed what images they wanted to include.
“Some were a given, like the crosses,” said pastor Rev. Dr. Bill Hoyle, who served on the committee. “We had to decide which were the most important ideas for us to convey, and we wanted to use symbols that could be clearly interpreted.”
Other committee members were Ken Chapman, Jimmy and Carole Kausch, Stacey McGowan, Frankie Muse, Susan Pugh and Paul Welty.
The committee chose Salem Stained Glass, Inc. of East Bend, owned by Al Priest, to produce the windows. Priest and his creative artist took the committee’s ideas and turned them into sketches. After some revisions and fine tuning, Priest and his team began transferring the images from paper to glass.
“They were very easy to work with,” said Rev. Hoyle. “Their company has created windows for churches all over the country.”
Installation of the windows began on November 21 and was completed in just three and one-half days. While 14 of the windows are made of colored glass, one- the cross at the rear of church- is made of clear glass.
“The cross is important to the architecture of the sanctuary. We asked them to use non-colored glass to give the idea that we, as a church, go out into the world through the cross,” said Rev. Hoyle. “It also brings in lots of natural light with no color filter.”
The cross window includes palm fronds and a crown with colored jewels which represent the seasons of growth within the church. The red jewel represents the Pentecost, the purple represents the seasons of Lent and Advent, and the green represents church growth during ordinary time.
The other 14 windows depict various symbols and sacraments important to the Presbyterian church. Above the cross window, a smaller window depicts doves in flight above the red flames of Pentecost. To the sides are a window with the Star of Bethlehem and a manger, signifying Jesus’ birth, and another with a fish, the first symbol of Christianity.
Above the pulpit, two windows depicting wooden crosses bracket a real wooden cross to form an image of Calvary, where Jesus was crucified. A window with angels, one with the burning bush and one with an oil lamp (“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path”) are situated above and to the sides of the crosses, respectively.
“The burning bush and the lamp were on the seal of the Southern Presbyterian Church, of which Clemmons Presbyterian was a part when it formed in 1962, so that’s a good link to the church’s history,” explained Rev. Hoyle.
Jesus’ resurrection is represented by a scene of the empty tomb, which encompasses two windows, and a smaller window showing Jesus’ ascension to heaven.
“There is no face on Jesus because everyone has his or her own idea of what Jesus looks like,” Rev. Hoyle said. “A lot of church windows have figures with painted-on faces, but we wanted to stay away from that. There was some debate about how abstract to make the windows, but I think the final product is a good compromise between the old style and a more modern look.”
A window with three doves and three sunbeams symbolizes the Holy Trinity. Below, two more windows show the two sacraments of the Presbyterian church- water pouring from a shell for baptism, and a cup, bread and grapes for the Lord’s supper.
“Everyone seems to really be enjoying the windows,” said Rev. Hoyle.
Clemmons Presbyterian Church is located at 3930 Highway 158.