Abilene church adjusts to stained glass window repair

By Sunday, things should be back to normal at Aldersgate United Methodist Church.

At least, the minister, choir and organist are hoping so.

For several weeks, the stained glass window at the front of the sanctuary has been undergoing repairs. The scaffolding was erected in the pulpit and choir area, and the organ draped in a protective cover, making the sanctuary look more like a construction site than a church.

But the little bit of inconvenience has been worth it. Otherwise, the stained glass window, installed in 1961, might come tumbling down.

On Easter Sunday, strange things began to happen with the window, said Gary Boles, pastor for just over a year.

Stones cut from the Lueders quarry are placed around the window, held together with mortar. The mortar began to crack that morning and pieces were falling off, endangering the stability of the stones.

“We were worried they were going to fall off the wall,” Boles said.

To make sure that didn’t happen, Mid-Continental Restoration in Kansas was contacted and work began to clean and stabilize the stones and window.

It is not an inexpensive project, totaling about $30,000, which was not in the church’s budget. Appeals went out to the congregation to pay for the unexpected repair.

Church members have gotten used to seeing the scaffolding at the front of the sanctuary and the organ covered to protect it against falling pieces. Boles continued to preach from the pulpit, but the choir has been displaced from its normal perch, instead sitting in the front pews.

“They come up and sing,” Boles said, “and then go sit down.”

Boles said church records show that groundbreaking for the sanctuary was held Nov. 22, 1959. A cornerstone in the stained glass window says “Willet Studio Phila. PA. 1961.”

In 1977, Willet Stained Glass Studio of Philadelphia merged with the Hauser Art Glass Company Inc. in Winona, Minnesota, to form one of the largest stained glass studios in the world, according to their website.

In 2005, the company changed its name to Willet Hauser Architectural Glass Inc.

Source: – https://www.reporternews.com/