1st Prebyterian Church, Rumson

Stained Glass Spectacular, Page 2

The back (entry) wall of the church features 3 Tiffany windows; a rondel with 2 panels below it. Original Tiffany window on the back wall of the church

This is the right panel in its entirety, followed by details of the right and left panels. Tiffany window, below the Tiffany rondel at the back of the church Detail of left Tiffany window, below the Tiffany rondel at the back of the church Detail of right Tiffany window, below the Tiffany rondel at the back of the church

On the right side as you walk into the church the wall is standard height and features 3 beautiful windows. The first two are a matched set and carry the titles "Glory to God in the Highest" and "Prayer and Work". Glory to God window, on the left wall coming into the church Detail of the Glory to God window

Prayer and Work window, on the left wall coming into the church Detail of the Prayer and Work window Detail of the Prayer and Work window

The third panel on the right wall was one of my very favorites when I was a child. I spent many moments during service just staring at this window and absorbing its beauty. At that time, I thought this was how all stained glass windows appeared. Since then I have always looked for another window of the same quality -- and very rarely found any. Behold, I Stand At the Door window, on the left wall coming into the church Detail of the Stand At the Door window

A similar but different experience -- the carousel I rode as a child set my standard for carousel horses impossibly high. I almost never saw any that even approached their wonderfulness. Many years later, while reading a book about historic carousels, I found out that the Asbury Park Carousel was an antique Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel, one of the last they carved before going out of business. I wanted to see that again and photograph its splendid horses, but alas it was sold to a private collector and is no longer available to the public eye.

On the left side as you walk into the church the wall soars up to the dome height. Opposite the arch leading to the L, another beautiful Tiffany rondel delights the eye of those seated in the L pews. This window was commissioned by a family that had lost their young daughter, and the face of the angel is a portrait of their dead daughter. A touching and lovely tribute. Original Tiffany window with portrait of dead daughter as angel

Below the Tiffany rondel are 2 particularly beautiful windows depicting the parable of the Prodigal Son. The windows are dedicated to the donor's parents, so one wonders what kind of tale was behind them. 2 Prodigal Son panels right Prodigal Son panel left Prodigal Son panel

Before you reach the dome, the left wall has 3 windows mirroring the 3 windows on the right wall. I'm showing you just the last of the 3, which has always been a particular favorite of mine. Christ in Gethsemane, on the right wall coming into the church
Detail of the Gethsemane window

Getting to be a lot of pictures on this page, so I am providing another page for the rest of them. Click here to see the rest of the stained glass windows

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