The following story first appeared in the Summer 2006 Glenmary Challenge.
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Working Together
When a vehicle destroyed the church window in Idabel, Okla., parishioners created a new one in just four days.
Story and photos by Jo Anne Flores Embleton

NEW WINDOW: It took only four days for mission parishioners in Idabel, Okla., to create and install the nine panels of a new stained-glass window in their church.

A stained-glass window at St. Francis de Sales Church in Idabel, Okla., is more than just a work of art. It is a masterpiece that has fostered a deeper sense of community among parishioners.

“The community coming together as they worked is the main thing; the window is the by-product,” says Glenmary Father George Mathis, who led a week-long stained-glass workshop in Idabel in August 2005. “What excites me is the thrill and pride parishioners have in doing this for their church.”

Judy Allen, who helped create the nine-panel display that depicts the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, agreed. “My favorite part was working with all who were there—and getting to know them as part of my Catholic family,” she says. “Everyone worked hard, with a smile. And when one panel was ready, we went over to the church to watch it being put in place; then we ran back to get another done.

“We worked together, we laughed together—and we cried together whenever a piece of glass was broken,” Allen said, grinning. “Yes, this project brought us together.”

The new window panels replaced those damaged in a November 2004 accident when a vehicle plowed through the church wall. No one was hurt, but the estimated repair and replacement of the damaged window was to be costly, says parishioner Ralph Kress.

“We checked into prices and they wanted $25,000 for windows that would be built in Houston!” he said.

Father John Brown, then serving as pastor at St. Francis, recalled that Father George had helped other mission parishes create stained-glass windows. He suggested parishioners enlist Father George’s help to create new windows for their church.

Father George, a senior member who lives in Kingsport, Tenn., learned his craft during a stained-glass workshop nearly 30 years ago in Assisi, Italy.

“A professional studio can charge between $100-$150 per square foot, while volunteers can complete a project for $15-$20 per square foot,” he said. “So about 10 years ago I decided this could help smaller, poorer parishes bring some color to their churches.”

He has overseen 15-20 projects over the years, projects that often take weeks to complete. Idabel volunteers—working 12-hour days—surprised him by finishing their window in four days.

“I anticipated about three weeks to do the work, but there were about 25 to 30 people who participated,” speeding up the project, he said. “I just feel so proud of what they accomplished. And they had so much fun doing it. That’s the thrill I get out of it.”

Volunteers included families. Among them were Walter and Diana Hamilton and their children Katie, Rozlyn and Grant, as well as nephew Joshua.

“It’s given my kids a better concept of church work,” Diana says. “It’s important for our kids to do things at the church, and this got them involved.”

“I thought it was going to be hard, really complicated,” her daughter, Roz, said, “so I didn’t want to come. But when I started working on the windows, it was so much fun.”

Another teen, Stefie McSwain, teased the Hamiltons about Walter’s involvement. “He doesn’t seem to have an off switch when it comes to this,” she said as they laughed.

What most surprised parishioners is that “nothing about the windows is prefab,” Diana said. “We couldn’t believe it when we were told, ‘You’re doing all of it!’

“When we first started working on it, I thought, ‘There’s no way,’ because I really didn’t think it could be done. It seems pretty overwhelming when you think about ordinary people doing this project,” Diana said.

“This is a masterpiece,” said Stefie, who wanted to learn the craft because “it just sounded like fun having everybody work together.”

Judy Allen and her husband, Tom, had worked with glass before so she felt confident about the project and began encouraging others.

“We were excited about it because we could really get into it, and we told the others not to be intimidated, that it was easier than it looked,” she said.

The enthusiasm surrounding the project created a buzz about the possibility of replacing other windows with stained-glass pieces. “We’ve had this crash course,” Ralph Kress said. “Now that we know how to do it ourselves, we can do more projects.” And, in fact, parishioners have now replaced a few smaller windows to harmonize with the colors in the new Holy Spirit window.

Jo Ann Flores Embleton lives in Troup, Texas, and writes for the Catholic East Texas, the newspaper for the Diocese of Tyler.