The Stained Glass Windows
All of the stained glass windows in the church were designed by Rev. Richard D. Harris and Rich Buswell, and fabricated by Lynchburg Stained Glass in Lynchburg, Virginia, out of a mixture of German, French and Polish hand-blown antique glass and Spanish acid-etched Fantasia glass, as well as an abundance of hand-blown antique glass from the furnaces of Blenko Glass in Milton, West Virginia, and of streaky cathedral glass from the Kokomo Opalescent Glassworks in Kokomo, Indiana. Leadwork and painted glass enhance the decorative effect.
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The Crucifixion Window
Over both the chapel altar and the back altar is the Crucifixion Window that provides the focal point for both the chapel and the nave. A glass image of Christ emerges out of a solid mahogany cross. This is the first production of a wooden cross inserted into a window for the Lynchburg Company, and is perhaps the only one of its kind currently in existence. The window depicts the suffering Christ before His moment of death, and hence the final wound in His side is not shown. As the blood flows from His feet into the chalice, it changes into the sacramental wine of Jesus’ precious blood. The stained glass chalice is a replica of the parish’s chalice. Hovering above, the two Eucharistic angels hold the earthly symbols of the Body of Christ, the wheat and grapes. Elijah and Moses, who were present at Christ’s Transfiguration, flank the image of the crucified Christ. These figures are rendered without any color in order to make them appear as a vision. In Luke 9:31, Elijah, who represented the Prophets, and Moses, who represented the Law, appeared to Christ and foretold his Passion. The window also includes some German-made antique glass that has two layers, one of heavenly blue on another clear layer that was subsequently sand-etched. The glass area behind the image of Christ creates an archway effect that denotes the doorway to heaven. Our Savior paid for our sins through His sacrifice and showed us thereby the way to eternal life.
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