response by earthbound spirit

November 9, 2007 @ 2:56 pm

Thank you, these are breathtaking! I would say, however, that sometimes the windows in a historic church say more about what a community WAS rather than what it IS today. OTOH, keeping such windows also says something about the community. Something to think about!

response by Shelby Meyerhoff

November 10, 2007 @ 9:23 am

Gorgeous!

Pingback by » “A Feast for the Eyes” at Best of UU Looking for Faith

November 10, 2007 @ 9:50 am

[…] at Best of UU is displaying an awesome collection of stained glass windows from different UU congregations, which she aptly describes as “a feast for the eyes.” […]

response by Jess

November 10, 2007 @ 10:49 am

Reading some of the information that many congregations have on their websites about their windows, it is surprising to me how even the ones made more than 100 years ago are still appropriate for today’s Unitarian Universalist congregations. One in particular describes the differences in the Christian symbology used from a traditional Christian church, where the image of Mary Magdalene outside the empty tomb focused on her and the mysterious stranger/angel rather than featuring a risen, bleeding Christ appearing to her.

response by Philocrites

November 10, 2007 @ 12:42 pm

Also, the Tiffany angels in many of the wealthy Unitarian churches from the early 20th century often symbolize personal immortality rather than any particular angelic appearance recorded in scripture — a reflection of the predominate Unitarian interpretation of Easter at the time.

Jess, when you were in Chicago, did you ever learn much about Von Ogden Vogt’s symbolic choices there at First Unitarian Church? I’ve only visited it once, but I have read some of Vogt’s work on religious art — and a more recent book anchored in the symbolism of the rose window there: Through the Rose Window: Art, Myth, and the Religious Imagination.

Thanks for collecting these wonderful images!

response by Jess

November 10, 2007 @ 4:25 pm

First U Chicago is definitely an interesting place for symbology — I didn’t explore the specifics, but spent enough time in there to look around a lot! Personally, I prefer the all-wood Hull Chapel to the colder, cavernous stone sanctuary.