August Window of the Month from the Michigan Stained Glass Census

The Michigan Stained Glass Census is one of the coolest things in Michigan in my opinion.  If you ever get a chance to browse through the years of work they have been collecting, you would be amazed.  Their goal is to document all stained glass in the state of Michigan using volunteers to help in that effort.  If you have a passion for stained glass and have some time to help, let them know.

The first paragraph from the Michigan Stained Glasss Census web site for August reads as follows.  Click on the link to get information about the rest of the church, more photos of the stained glass, and information about the organization that does all of this documentation.

Founded in 1914, the First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak is in its second church home, a modern Gothic grey limestone building designed by Philadelphia architect Harold E. Wagoner and built by Walter L. Couse of Detroit. Following completion of the sanctuary in 1955, a chapel and buildings for education and fellowship were added during the 1960s. The windows of First Presbyterian Church were designed by Marguerite Gaudin (1909-1991) and Eric Sundean (1924-2003) and fabricated from 1954 to 1980 by the Willet Stained Glass Studios of Philadelphia. They include 88 stained glass figural windows in the sanctuary, chapel, and Christian Education wing, and five faceted glass symbolic windows in the Fellowship Hall. Inspired by French thirteen -century stained glass, the neo-Gothic figural windows are twentieth -century versions of biblical and historical events, encompassing a uniformity of design and color as a collective whole. The pictorial narrative of the windows unfolds thematically around the west and east walls of the sanctuary, depicting Old Testament prophets, the life of Christ, Reformation leaders such as Francis Makemie, the founder of the Presbyterian Church, medieval church figures, apostolic scenes, and the parables and miracles of Jesus.

When I got onto the website for the church, I found a lot of spirit around giving back to the community.  For more information about this volunteer opportunities, click onto the web link for the church below.  Some of what they are involved in includes:

Hands On Missions
These ministries are accomplished by the grace of God and your efforts.
~Gleaners Community Food Bank
~Volunteers spend three hours at the Detroit warehouse.
~World Medical Relief
~Greening of Detroit
~Detroit Habitat for Humanity
~South Oakland Shelter (S0S)
~South Oakland Citizens for the Homeless (S.O.C.H.)
~South Oakland Community Lunch Program
~Joy of Jesus Camp Clean Up
~Yucatan Peninsula Mission
I noticed many of these opportunities are available for families including smaller children.  What a great way to get involved.

Pat Deere

Links: 
Pictures In Glass information on Stained Glass for Churches and Commercial Settings
First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak
Michigan Stained Glass Census, August Window Of The Month

St. George Church photographed by Dave Lamarand Photography

Wow.  I have never been to a Greek Orthodox church but have always wanted to go.  Seeing this photo is pushing me to make it happen.

My niece, Shelby Downing, got married this summer.  Dave Lamarand was her photographer and is credited with this photo.  As I was browsing through his photos on Facebook, I came across this.

When I began searching for a website for the church, I couldn't find much.  I did find a link on the Greek Orthodox web site that gives information about the church including their hours, etc.  And, I also posted the link to an article about Art and Architecture in the Greek Orthodox Church that is very interesting.  Even if I go I know I won't get a photograph to turn out this good.  Thanks for sharing it Dave!

Pat Deere

Links:
Dava Lamarand Photography
Orthodox Art and Architecture Article
St. George Greek Orthodox Church, Southgate, MI

Washington National Cathedral

When friends of mine, Arnold and Jennifer, went to the Washington National Cathedral, they were nice enough to take lots of stained glass photos.  I like to think they did this for me...

I have not been but will surely put this Cathedral on my list of places to go.  I really loved this window because it was so different.  Jennifer thought the center of the top circle was a piece of rock from the moon and that the window was made to acknowledge the advances in the science of space exploration.

Looking up on the web site, I found a lot of tours of the cathedral that highlight the architecture, the stained glass windows, and more.

Pat Deere

LINKS:  Washington National Cathedral Tour Schedule

St. Paul's Cathedral, London

Although the beauty of a church building is what might initially attract me to walk into the building, what the people stand for who attend that church is what will keep me coming back. 

This is a church I feel I have to visit while in London.  I found this article on their web site.  It is worth checking out and pondering:

In the first project of its kind, St Paul’s Cathedral launches St Paul’s Institute, a think tank that aims to explore the moral themes surrounding business, finance and global economics.


Located within the heart of the City of London, St Paul’s Institute seeks to foster an informed Christian response to the most urgent ethical and spiritual issues of our times: financial integrity, economic theory, and the meaning of the common good.

Visitors to http://www.stpaulsinstitute.org.uk/  can find theological commentary, video interviews, original research and analysis, as well as daily news aggregation. St Paul’s Institute will also host a series of lectures, debates and study days.


Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury said;


"An ethical approach to economics requires us to move away from the illusion that economics can be considered separately from questions of the health and well-being of the society we inhabit. It also involves recognising that we exist in a world of materially limited resource – so that environmental degradation has to be taken into account in any assessment of the cost of projects or transactions. I suspect that getting this right would in itself introduce into the language of economics a sense that it couldn’t be only about the mechanics of generating money and might help keep issues of ethics, justice and trust in perspective. So I welcome the continuing focus the St Paul’s Institute brings to these issues by providing a challenging and well-resourced space for conversation and I wish the Institute every success in this new phase of its work”

This post is obviously before I have visited, and the words posted here come from their web site.  Once I experience it in person, I will give my my personal thoughts and photos.  Can't wait!  London, here I come.

Pat Deere

LINKS:  St. Paul's History Page