When architects Hadley and Peter Arnold rescued a condemned church in Warren, R.I., they knew the 19th century building was something special. But just how special wasn’t clear until it was time to remodel the church’s windows. Behind one of…
Louisville church reflects on turning white Jesus into brown Jesus
Highland Baptist Church in Louisville transformed its stained-glass Jesus from white to brown to accurately reflect his ethnicity, to continue the congregation’s ongoing reparations work and to push back against Christian nationalism. “We wanted to correct the misrepresentation of Christ…
Never say never: The Now and Forever Windows at the National Cathedral
On Sept. 10, 2017, I sat in Washington National Cathedral as Dean Randolph Hollerith announced that after almost two years of discussion, prayer and discernment, the Cathedral Chapter had decided to remove a set of stained-glass windows donated by the…
A surprising window into Black Jesus
Architect and art historian Hadley Arnold knew she was in for some surprises when she began transforming an 1830 Rhode Island church into a second home; but she certainly didn’t expect to discover one of America’s most significant works of…
Saving our churches from Dylann Roof’s white Jesus
Dylann Roof, the white Christian man who murdered nine African Americans during the closing prayer of a Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston in 2015, was back in the news recently after a federal appeals court upheld his conviction…
Look for some stained glass light for the new year
“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind,” wrote C.S. Lewis, long before 2020. At a time of reflection, the world is desperately seeking hope for its crushed spirits, and longing for light to find new…
Liberty University rescues two windows honoring SBC’s rightward shift scrapped by Southwestern Seminary
Two of the stained-glass windows removed in April from the chapel of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary have a new home in Lynchburg, Virginia, at the Jerry Falwell Museum at Liberty University.
Seminary removes stained glass windows celebrating conservative takeover of SBC
Stained-glass windows immortalizing individuals who helped move the Southern Baptist Convention to a more theologically and socially conservative position in the late 20th century have been quietly removed from the chapel of one of the convention’s six seminaries.