Light and Color

For centuries, stained glass has been used in many churches and cathedrals.

To visit an old church in Saginaw, MI such as mine, you'll see the use of large, brightly colored windows. Not only do they feature various stories from the Bible but also "local images" meant to add color to the normally gray wintertime. Local images will include floral and fauna known to the area and time in which the church was built.

If you visit First Presbyterian Church in Saginaw, look for examples of Marsh Marigolds, Iris and Trillium flowers in the windows. These are native plants known to have been abundant along the Saginaw River 175 years ago.

For famous windows, check out these:

* Great Rose Window (John 14:6). Charles Connick, 1932. Stained glass window in Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, New York City.

*Hannah Presents Samuel to the LORD (1 Samuel 1:1-2:11, 18-21), late twelfth century, stained glass window in Canterbury Cathedral, England.

* Jesus Knocking (Revelation 3:20) by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933), stained glass window in St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Franklin, Tennessee.

*Joshua and the Amorites (Joshua 10:12-13), seventeenth century, stained glass window in Wragny Church, Switzerland.

* Saint Timothy (1 Timothy 1:2:2; 3:6), twelfth century, stained glass window from the Abbey of Neuwiller, Alsace, France.

* Wheat and Grapes (Hosea 2:21-24; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26), artist unknown, 1930's, stained glass window in the United States.

One of my personal favorites is this window my husband took in a cathedral in Budapest.