the stained glass association of america - …...church of the reformation, lutheran, in affton,...

The Stained Glass Quarterly52

Shortly after Rev. David Pelsuewas installed as the fourth pastor of theChurch of the Reformation, Lutheran,in Affton, Missouri, he began research-ing stained glass studios in the area. Heand his congregation hoped to mark thechurch’s 50th anniversary by commis-sioning custom windows for the northwall of the nave.

“The nave of the church was clearglass,” Rev. Pelsue said, “which is a lit-tle unusual for a Lutheran church.Along the top perimeter of the churchby the roofline, we do have a series of 3'x 3' windows, but those have just simplegeometric patterns—rectangles andsquares of plain and colored glass.”

One day, when Rev. Pelsue wasreturning from a pastoral visit, he spot-ted Preston Art Glass Studio. He went inand looked around, and he immediatelyliked what he saw. He discussed hisplans with Dale Preston, the owner.“Dale’s studio was a good fit. I told himwhat I wanted to do, he gave me hiscard, and that was it! The rest is histo-ry.”

Even now, ten years later, Rev.Pelsue’s voice rises with excitement ashe describes the process of designingthe windows. He and an elder from thecongregation named Mark Blieseworked with Preston Art Glass design-er Carol Wright, brainstorming andpassing drawings back and forth. Hewanted contemporary designs thatwould blend with the church’s modernarchitecture and complement the exist-ing upper windows.

The first window, Luther’s Rose,was dedicated on April 25, 2004, at thechurch’s 50th-anniversary festivities.Over the course of the next five years,six additional windows were fabricatedand installed by Preston Art GlassStudio. These six windows depict thechief tenets of Luther’s Small

REFLECTING THE LUTHERAN HERITAGE: The Seven Windows at Church of the Reformation, Lutheran, Affton, Missouri

by Alicia von Stamwitz; photographs by Richard Potts

Luther’s Rose

Photographer: Richard Potts, © 2014

The Stained Glass Quarterly 53

Catechism: The Ten Commandments,The Apostles’ Creed, The Lord’s Prayer,Baptism, The Office of the Keys, andThe Lord’s Supper. Each window meas-ures 33'' x 55'' and features a back-ground of German New Antique glass,which ties together the series and cre-ates a sense of flow.

Rev. Pelsue notes that the windowsenhance worship, and they serve as acreative teaching aid. “I’ve broughtconfirmation and catechism classes inhere, and we look at the windowstogether. I ask questions and use thesymbolism to actually teach the cate-chism, so that when these young peopleare in worship and they look at them,they can get a little catechetical review.”

Photographs of the windows arefeatured in several church brochuresand on the parish website. They are aneffective “visual catechism,” remindingall in the congregation of their Lutheranroots and common beliefs. “In fact,”Rev. Pelsue concludes, “there’s beensome talk recently among some mem-bers of the congregation about addingmore custom windows.”

Window 1: Luther’s Rose*

Martin Luther’s coat of arms, ablack cross upon a red heart, is thesymbol of the Lutheran Church.Behind it is a five-petaled white roseon a field of blue, surrounded by agolden circle. The cross stands for thesuffering sacrifice of Jesus. The redheart represents the faith of the believ-er, a faith that produces peace andcomfort, indicated by the white rose.Faith marks the beginning of heavenlyjoy, indicated by the field of blue andthe golden ring of eternity.

The Latin scripts of mottos fromthe Reformation era are etched beneathLuther’s coat of arms on this window:Solus Christus (Christ Alone is the

The Ten Commandments



author & finisher of our salvation); SolaGratia and Sola Fide (We are saved byGod’s Grace Alone, through Faith inChrist Alone); and SolaScriptura (Scripture Alone is the sourceof all we believe, teach, and confess).

Window 2: The Ten CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments are

depicted as Roman numerals on twostone tablets. They are divided as Jesussummarized them in Matthew 22:35-40.The light of God’s revelation beamsdown on and through the stone tabletsfrom above, where the Holy Trinity issymbolized by a triangle, superimposedwith a trefoil and triquetra. In the back-ground is Mount Sinai, where God gavethe commandments to Moses to give tothe people.

Window 3: The Apostles’ CreedThis window depicts the second of

the six chief parts in Luther’s SmallCatechism, namely the Apostles’ Creed.In the center are the Holy Scripturesfrom which the Creed is drawn as asummary of the Christian faith. TheCreed is denoted as a leaf of green onwhich is written the Latin word credo(from which we get the word “creed”),which means “I believe.”

Above is a trefoil symbol of theHoly Trinity, which is outlined in theCreed. Superimposed over the trefoilare three circles in which we see sym-bols of the Godhead: a hand emanatingfrom a sky of blue, representing the cre-ative and blessing hand of God theFather; a lamb holding a flag of victoryon a field of royal purple, symbolizingour victorious and reigning Savior, theSon of God; and a descending Dove ona Pentecost red backdrop, reminding allof Pentecost and the descent of the HolySpirit.

The Apostles’ Creed



Window 4: The Lord’s PrayerThis is the prayer our Lord taught

his disciples. It is recorded in Luke 11and Matthew 6. Near the bottom, theintroductory words, “Our Father, whoart in heaven,” encircle the arc of theglobe, which is resting on Baptismalwaters and crowned with praying hands.This is to depict the Church at prayer.

The words, “Lord, teach us topray,” etched on the right side, is therequest that prompted the Lord to giveus this prayer. Above, parting theclouds, is the Holy Trinity depicted byan interlaced triquetra inside a silver cir-cle of beveled glass. Light streamsdown to show that God hears andanswers our prayers for the sake ofChrist.

Window 5: BaptismThe two crosses near the top of the

window remind us of the baptismalliturgy: “Receive the sign of the holycross both upon your forehead and uponyour heart to mark you as one redeemedby Christ the crucified.” The descend-ing dove with the nimbus is the oldestsymbol for the Holy Spirit. The nimbusis called a tri-radiant patee. Notice thatthe rays of light shine down from theHoly Spirit, reminding us that God’sgift of grace comes from Him to us.

The escallop shell is a traditionalsymbol for baptism. The three drops ofwater coming off the shell remind usthat we are baptized “in the name of theFather and of the Son and of the HolySpirit.” (Matthew 28:19). Water flowsgenerously from the shell, to drown theold Adam. The red streaks in the waterremind us of the blood of Christ Jesus,shed for us to wash us clean and bringus newness of life. The ark, in the lowerleft corner, is a symbol of the Christian

The Lord’s Prayer



Church. When God sent the flood, eightbelievers were saved by means of theark. Peter makes the connectionbetween the ark and baptism in his firstletter.

Window 6: Confession and the Officeof the Keys

In the center of the window is thecross of Christ on which our Savior suf-fered and died to purchase our forgive-ness and salvation. The keys overlay thecross to show this special authority,which Christ has given His Church onearth to forgive the sins of the repentantand withhold forgiveness from the unre-pentant.

.Window 7: The Lord’s Supper

Two intersecting circles reflect theSacrament of the Altar. In the bottomcircle, wheat and grapes are the sourceof the unleavened bread and the wine,which are depicted above by a chaliceand host. The middle field is the whitelinen of the altar. The blood-red cross onthe host and the rays of God’s glorydraw us to Christ’s words, “This is mybody which is given for you. Do this inremembrance of Me... This cup is thenew testament in My blood, which isshed for you, for the forgiveness ofsins.” Luther explains this sacrament inthese words, “It is the true body andblood of our Lord Jesus Christ under thebread and wine, instituted by ChristHimself for us Christians to eat and todrink.”

About Preston Art Glass StudioFrom a young age, owner Dale

Preston was exposed to the beauty ofstained glass. “I grew up in an old housewith a lot of stained glass, so I alwayshad an appreciation for it. Then my par-ents took a beginner class and taught me

Baptism



the process of making stained glass win-dows. For 15 years, while I worked fulltime in other employment, stained glasswas a hobby. I’d take side jobs doingsome stained glass repairs or creatingnew windows. But it was so rewarding,I eventually realized that this is what Iwanted to focus on for the rest of mylife. I was inspired and encouraged bytwo people in particular: Hank Griffithand Linda Fiehler, who ran MithraGlassworks in my neighborhood. In1995, I started Preston Art GlassStudio.”

In the early years of the studio,Dale and his wife Gwyn had eight chil-dren at home. “The kids were always inthe mix,” Dale says. “They kind of grewup with the business.” His four eldestchildren all worked with him in the stu-dio, learning to cut glass, solder, andcement windows. Some worked withDale full time during the summers.

Two of Dale’s sons, Jacob andElias, work in the studio today. “I’m sopleased that they are here,” Dale says.“They’ve picked up many aspects of thebusiness and are excellent craftsmen.”Carol Wright, a talented artist, andJonathan Woodard, wonderfully skilledat fabricating windows, complete thestaff.

“I’m just the one that pulls it alltogether,” Dale says. He is a savvybusinessman, though, having deter-mined long ago that it was importantto have more than one income streamto keep the business going in a fickleeconomy.

“We have been able to survivebecause we have four income streams.We mainly do residential windows —new and repairs. But we also do somenew church windows and church repairwork. We have installed protective stormcoverings over church windows that areseven stories high. In addition, the studio

Confession and the Office of the Keys



is a retail shop where we teach classes tohobbyists and sell supplies. It’s a nicemix, what we have here. When peoplewalk in, they’re walking into a workingstudio. I think that is very attractive andinteresting to people. They can get thefeel of a studio, meet the staff, and choosetheir own glass for custom windows orclass projects. It is very rewarding as we,our clients, and our students all grow in adeeper appreciation of art and stainedglass.”

When asked if he has any regrets,Dale is quick to answer. “No. The ebband flow of the economy can be chal-lenging. Some years I do great; someyears I do not do as well. Also, as a studioowner, I’ve had to wear many, many hats.That can be difficult too. I got into thebusiness because I enjoy making stainedglass windows — it’s my love and mypassion. And yet I’ve done less and lessof that over the years because I’ve had tostep forward to run the business.”

Still, Dale considers himself blessed.He is living his dream, and he findsmeaning in his work. “Stained glass hasan enduring quality. What we’re makingnow will be in existence centuries fromnow, inspiring other people and, I hope,blessing people.”

His advice for other studio ownersand artisans? “Follow your heart. Startsmall. Take one step at a time. Try toplease people as you go along. That’show my business has grown; we’vealways tried to really please our cus-tomers.”

You can find Preston Art GlassStudio on the Internet at: www.pre-stonartglass.com.

*Author’s note: The detailed descriptions of theseven commissioned windows have beenadapted from the church’s website, andthey are presented here with Rev. Pelsue’spermission.

The Lord’s Supper

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