Plan

During the last week of April 2022, the original windows in the main nave and transepts of St. Joseph’s Church, which were in varying states of disrepair, were replaced with more energy efficient thermo-pane, transparent windows. This was a deferred maintenance project.

Like the original windows installed when the current Church was built in the 1960s, the new windows are equipped with fittings to install stained-glass inserts. Lynchburg Stained Glass in Virginia is working with St. Joseph’s on the replacement windows as well as the design and fabrication of the stained-glass inserts. The stained glass adds another element of sacred beauty to St. Joseph’s worship space and creates another opportunity to share the story of our faith with all who enter. Several creative elements have been established as goals of the stained-glass window project:

• The windows will tell one cohesive story, encompassing most of the windows around the Church; the three existing stained-glass windows will provide a framework for the story: the Nativity (main entrance), the Crucifixion (west transept), and the Resurrection (east transept).
• The focus will be on New Testament Sacred Scripture, the Holy Sacraments of the Church, and our common Baptismal call to serve.
• Each scene will feature a Scripture narrative with Biblical characters and nuanced symbols embracing the Mystery of our Faith.
• The windows will be catechetical in nature providing opportunities for the faith formation of children, youth, and adults.

When the replacement windows were installed,  the first of the stained-glass scenes was unveiled. This is the first of three scenes leading up to the Nativity scene – the three scenes that tell how the birth of Jesus came about. The first scene is the Annunciation of the Lord, the young Mary with the Angel Gabriel. It is placed in the first pair of windows at the front of the east main side of the nave of the Church. A parishioner has generously pledged sponsorship of this first pair of stained-glass windows. Two other parishioners have pledged sponsorship of the next pair, the Visitation. Since then, all of the windows have been sponsored by generous parishioners. More on the Annunciation, Visitation, and St. Joseph window designs.