06/03/2026
People often miss the other stained glass window we have in the building, located in the Parlor. A beautiful example of leaded stained glass work from the late 1800’s. Dedicated to George & Lucinda Stratton. Here it is in full sun ☀️ This is a remarkably beautiful late-19th-century memorial window, and while we can’t definitively identify the studio in which it was made, it contains many of the hallmarks of the American stained glass “golden age” (roughly 1880–1920), when windows became less rigidly Victorian and more naturalistic, colorful, and emotionally expressive.
One of the joys of old churches is that every stained glass window tells a story, even when we no longer know all of the details of the people who commissioned it or the artists who created it.
This memorial window is rich with symbolism. At the top, five angelic children gather in a circle. Rather than looking outward toward us, most of them look toward one another, creating a sense of community, harmony, and heavenly fellowship. Their youthful faces evoke innocence, purity, and the promise of eternal life. The artist has given them a gentle, almost dreamlike quality that was popular during the late Victorian era, emphasizing comfort rather than judgment. These are not fearsome angels. They are companions.
The lilies in the upper left represent purity, resurrection, and the promise of new life, while the graceful greenery on the right—resembling either olive branches, representing peace, reconciliation, divine blessing, and enduring life, or, more likely they are laurel branches, which were often used in memorial art to symbolize honor, victory over death, and remembrance.
The surrounding floral border is filled with blossoms and foliage. Flowers in memorial windows often symbolize the beauty and brevity of earthly life, while vines and leaves suggest growth, renewal, and the continuing cycle of creation. The circular wreath at the center of the window reinforces this theme. A wreath has no beginning and no end, making it a traditional symbol of eternity and everlasting remembrance.
Notice also the red berries woven throughout the greenery. In Christian symbolism, berries frequently represent the persistence of life through winter and the triumph of life over death. They are small signs of hope hidden among the leaves.
The ribbons woven around the wreath are another traditional memorial motif. Ribbons symbolize honor, remembrance, and the bonds of love that continue even after death. The artist seems to be saying that the ties connecting us to those we love are not severed by time.
The window is also a wonderful example of the artistry of stained glass itself. Rather than relying on flat colors, the maker used richly mottled and opalescent glass—glass in which several colors swirl together within a single piece. This type of glass became especially popular after the innovations of Louis Comfort Tiffany and John La Farge in the late nineteenth century. The shifting greens, pinks, ambers, and blues create a painterly effect that changes throughout the day as the sun moves across the sky.
One particularly striking feature is the use of plated and textured glass. Some areas appear to combine multiple layers of glass or heavily streaked opalescent glass to create depth, luminosity, and subtle shading. The result is a window that feels almost alive when illuminated.
Perhaps most moving of all is the overall message. The angels, flowers, wreath, ribbons, and evergreen foliage all point toward a common theme: life continues. Love continues. Memory continues. The window serves not merely as a monument to those who have died, but as a visual affirmation that beauty, connection, and spirit endure.
More than a century later, sunlight still passes through these pieces of colored glass and carries that message into the room below.
One thing we particularly love is the angel group. There are five of them, but they are arranged almost like petals of a flower around a center. It creates the feeling of a heavenly choir gathered in conversation rather than performing for an audience (even the angel who appears to be looking petulantly at the viewer). It’s a surprisingly intimate artistic choice and gives the window a tenderness that many memorial windows lack, feeling less like theology and more like affection.
