The Great East Window

INTRODUCTION

A copy of the history of The Great East Window was given to us by Thom A., a former parishioner of St. Thomas and a member of the original History Project Committee. Other members of the History Project Committee were Fr. Larkin, Karen W., Steve A. and Jim W. We are very grateful to the entire committee for all the work they did.

The Great East Window was designed by Judson Studios in what is referred to as a "Faceted" style to be installed a part of the construction of the new church. A "faceted" window is entirely different from the "traced painted" windows. The pieces of colored glass are much thicker up to several inches. Rather than being joined by ribbons of lead they are joined by mortar (?). The features of the figures are not painted to look like a portrait but rather are more abstract and are achieved by the coloration and cut of the pieces of glass. Financing of this window was a group effort. The Great East Window is dedicated to the Glory of God in memory of a number of parishioners. The list is located in the history folder.

The central theme of the window is a quote from Psalm 84:12 "BLESSED IS THE MAN THAT MAKETH THE LORD HIS TRUST". This "old fashioned" wording was determined by The Rev. Mr. Crosby. The window is filled with vibrant colors and is rich in symbolism. There are nine figures. The top figure is Christ in a ruby robe that runs from the top to the bottom of the entire window on the left hand side. What is really interesting, is that the second figure from the top, the one that Christ has his arm around, is supposed to be the same as the bottom kneeling figure holding the church. They both represent the people of St. Thomas. The top two figures show that Christ loves and protects us while at the same time sending us out to do his work of evangelism. The third figure from the top has it's head raised in praise. The fourth figure is holding a closed book that could be the Bible, a Prayer Book, a Hymnal or some other scholarly work telling us that we need to study and learn. The fifth figure represents prayer. The sixth figure is holding an open book which traditionally symbolizes teaching or preaching. The seventh figure is holding a Greek or Middle Eastern Church indicating the beginnings of the church. The eighth figure is giving a blessing and would represent the ordained clergy coming down in an unbroken line from Christ through the Apostles and the Church Fathers. The bottom kneeling figure is holding a replica of St. Thomas Church and offering it up to God to symbolize that we offer our lives and talents up to God.

If you look closely, you will notice a number of other symbols interspersed throughout the window. At the very top there is an eye within a triangle with rays coming out from the three sides. (Psalm 33:18,19 reads "Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him, on those who wait upon his love, to pluck their lives from death, and to feed them in time of famine.") We should not think of this as God's probing judgmental gaze, but rather his loving concern for his creation. We are all familiar with the quote from (I Corinthians 13:13 "In short, there are three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love".) To the right of the letter D in the word BLESSED is a Cross within a Chi Rho. This is the symbol for Faith. To the right and a little below the letter N in the word MAN is a Heart with a cross above it. This is the symbol for Love. Below the last T in the word TRUST is a Cross with an anchor. This is the symbol for Hope. Below the letter R in the word LORD is a Greek Cross with all arms of equal length. It is a companion to the Greek or Middle Eastern Church that the seventh figure is holding and represents the early beginnings of the church. The letter O in the word LORD is also called a Cross of Triumph. The circle represents the earth. The Cross represents Christianity. The band in the middle of the circle represents the spread of Christianity around the world.