How can art deepen our spiritual experience?  Through scripture we read in Exodus 35: 31-33 “and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship.” We can extend this to include the art of designing stained  glass windows and the engineering behind manufacturing them, as well as the many other expressions of art that abound in our church and world.

Hebrews 11: 3 takes us beyond the physical, seeable world, “By faith we understand that worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. The writer of this New Testament book tells us where inspiration and creativity come from. Everything we see in the world was first seen in the imagination.

Translation: NRSV and source: website Christian Walls, Bible Verses about Art & Creativity

Certainly while sitting in our sanctuary and experiencing the beauty of our stained glass windows whether the sun is shining through them or it is cloudy or dark outside, we can find a place in our interior world that is removed from the stresses and joys of everyday life. For many of us that interior world Is connected to our Christian faith, and prayer and meditation help us to connect with it. Art can transport us whether we focus on the colors and materials, the images, the craftsmanship, or the story behind the images. When we are moved beyond our immediate world we transcend it.  In the case of our stained glass windows depicting events in the life of Jesus, other figures in the Bible, and memorializing people that are part of the history and fabric of Christ Church we can enter that state of being. 

The Good Shepherd window above the altar that was donated in memory of Nathaniel Witherell is one such window. From the artistic vision and craftsmanship that created it to the rich colors and the story depicted we can get lost or, more accurately, float above our daily lives and enter that interior world that is a sacred space for many.

Both of the Louis Comfort Tiffany windows on the East and West walls of the Nave are other excellent examples of artistic beauty that transcends. One is of an angel standing in a field of lilies that represent the Resurrection and was donated in memory of Selena Knapp Johnson. The other Tiffany window titled Christ Blessing Little Children, which refers to Mark 10:14, is known as the Barrett Memorial Window  and has a heartbreaking story behind it. It was commissioned in memory of Amelia L. Barrett and her son Foster Higgins Barrett, who died suddenly of a childhood disease at the age of four. His heartbroken mother died a year later.