Stained glass windows have been placed in Trinity Episcopal Church for more than 150 years beginning in 1859. Ten windows, including the "Triptych" above the altar were made by Franz Mayer & Sons, Munich, Germany. There is one signed Louis Tiffany Window. Two windows were given as general thank offerings, twenty six are memorials to loved ones: wives, husbands, sons, other family members and rectors.
The process of making stained or colored glass by adding pigment to molten glass seems to have originated in the Near East in the ninth century and was adopted in Italy in the tenth century. The original purpose of stained glass windows was to teach the great truths of religion, rather than adornment. Since most people could neither read nor write, the windows were used to explain the meaning of scripture and symbols. The windows of Trinity call to mind many great biblical figures and events. Jesus is pictured three times as the Good Shepherd and his life is chronicled from the Nativity through the Resurrection. The four Evangelists - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - accent the original entrance on King Street. These are the only windows designed to be viewed and read from the outside of the church. The round "Descending Dove" glass above the present entrance complements the stained and painted traditional glass. Symbols of the Christian faith are found in all the windows; the dove, wheat and grapes, lilies and passion flowers, crosses, bibles, staffs and scripture citations from the Old and New Testaments.
Each of the twenty eight windows is different, but together they form a mosaic of color and sunlit beauty that accentuate the dignity and serenity of Trinity Episcopal Church.
This section reproduced with the kind permission of G. Michael Strock
