Stained glass reinforces the message of Alabama Baptist churches

Stained glass reinforces the message of Alabama Baptist churches

In most churches, windows serve as more than holes in walls to filter light through their interiors. Often filled with stained glass, their grace and beauty help transform unassuming rooms into sanctuaries.
   
In many churches, however, the windows shine with an even higher calling. They seek to illuminate the truths of the gospel by telling an old, old story through the ancient art form of stained glass.
   
Such windows, many of which are found throughout Alabama’s Southern Baptist churches, often depict biblical scenes from the Old and New Testaments.
   
Just as the pieces of each window are melded together to form a scene, a series of stained glass windows, put together, often attempts to communicate this big picture in a church — God loves you and sent His Son. They are windows designed to shed light on the Light.
   
At College Heights Baptist Church, Gadsden, the windows detail the life of Christ, depicting His birth, baptism and resurrection. They capture the eye with their beauty, according to Pastor Frank Samuels, but they also captivate the mind. “I see people studying them, especially those who have not been here before.”
   
Samuels teaches a Sunday School class in the sanctuary, usually standing directly underneath the window depicting the birth of Christ. He finds the light streaming through it inspiring. “It’s almost like it’s shining down on me.”
   
He deliberately draws attention to the windows. “If they are reflective of my message I can point to them as a visual aid.”
   
First Baptist Church, Montgomery, which is putting the finishing touches on a new sanctuary, has recently installed a series of stained glass windows for its building.
   
Pastor Jay Wolf said the church wanted the 15 proposed windows to be signature pieces. So it commissioned the renowned Willett Studios in Philadelphia to handle the project. A design contest ensued, and an artist from Russia did the designs. The windows are designed to tell the story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation with each of the 14 side windows containing two scenes.
   
The former facility in use by First, Montgomery, also contains a series of stained glass windows with an angel theme, but the church intentionally chose to communicate a more specific message this time, according to Wolf.
   
“It’s an offering to the Lord from His people, and it’s a teaching tool,” he said.
   
Wolf compared it to the difference between music with lyrics and an instrumental. Both are beautiful, “but you convey a message with words. The message is greatly amplified when you’ve got scenes that conjure your imagination,” he said.
   
The church is working on a book, already funded, that will help decode the symbolism in the new windows. “It’s like a beautiful flower — the more you look into it, the more layers it has.”
   
Wolf said the book will be ready by the church’s first service in the new facility July 11. The church will also hold an open house July 18 for those who want to view the windows.
   
When First Baptist Church, Hartselle, remodeled its sanctuary in 1990, it too decided to use stained glass windows to convey the gospel.
   
The eight large windows show Adam and Eve being driven from the garden, Moses at the Red Sea, the birth of Christ, Jesus with children, Jesus walking on water, the crucifixion of Christ, His resurrection and His ascension. “What we did with these was make a confession of the faith of the church,” said Ron Wilson, former pastor, now a development officer at Samford University.
   
“The stained glass windows are not only beautiful but capture in a pictorial way what First Baptist, Hartselle, believes.”
Called to serve as First, Hartselle’s, pastor seven months ago, Jeff Redmond said his appreciation of the windows also goes beyond their beauty.
   
“I have a great appreciation for the stained glass windows,” Redmond said, “not only for their aesthetics, beauty and the tradition they represent, but also for the biblical message that each window proclaims.”
   
Although Wilson said some contend the video screen is the contemporary equivalent to stained glass windows, he believes the windows retain an important place in Alabama Baptist churches.
   
And while Wilson preached a series of sermons explaining the message of each window, he and Redmond both expect the art to have an influence beyond the spoken word.
   
“As we gather for worship every week, the windows serve as a reminder that we are to be grounded in the Word of God and focused on lifting up the name of Jesus,” Redmond said.
   
This was why Wilson, when he would bring children forward for the children’s sermon, was careful to seat them near the window depicting Jesus with children.
   
“When their eyes and minds wandered, they would wander to that,” Wilson said. “I believe these kinds of things over time can impact people.”
   
Although some stained windows do not contain biblical scenes, most churches use them to convey a message of faith in other ways.
   
Southside Baptist Church, Birmingham, has windows depicting symbols, each with its own story to tell — an open Bible, a cross, a crown, a dove and wheat.
   
Stained glass windows are so valued that many churches go to great lengths to maintain and restore them. For example, First Baptist Church, Tuscaloosa, saved the windows in its initial sanctuary and moved them to its present facility, built in 1958.
   
And while stained glass windows are designed to illuminate truth to those inside a church, their beauty and message is not necessarily lost on the outside world either.
   
Stained glass at College Heights Baptist casts its own reflection at night, according to Samuels. “They’re gorgeous,” he said.