Trinity Lone Oak Lutheran Church
Eagan, MN
SS John & Paul Church
Altoona, IA
This window about 8′ in diameter is located on a NW wall 15 feet above the altar. This is the first church in the United States where Pope John Paul led a worship service. While there he left his papal banner as a memento and keepsake to them. Over twenty years later this suburban church expanded and the stained glass window was commissioned based upon the design of the papal banner. The central cross carries the ridges and furrows of farm fields traced and fired in with black paint. The four seasons are represented by their dominant colors.
United Methodist Church
Eyota, MN
Crystal Lake UMC
Waupaca, WI
Messiah Lutheran Church
Charles City, IA
Contract signing: This church building started out as a mission church with a worship area that doubled as a fellowship hall. Originally windows were donated to the front of the church but after some time there was a desire for a window design that would be somewhat more expressive. An idea was developed to design a window plan that could begin next to where the old design ended and then transition into a window with a flowing design that ended in a sunburst.
The first panels were very much like the older panels where they met near a support beam at the center of the nave. The window design is repeated on each side of the church until the design meets and culminates in the sunburst which means Easter and resurrection to them. While the appeal of this window design is best presented with the panels lined up consecutively, end to end, one can get the general idea from these pictures. While the altar area begins with a relatively formal and somewhat traditional approach, the middle of the window is highly abstract and open to various interptretations. The back window ending in the sunburst is at once symbolic, abstract, traditional, and contemporary. One goal of the design was to represent various styles so that there would be appeal spanning the generations. They were very pleased with the end result.
Hilltop Methodist Church
Mankato, MN
These windows flanking the altar area left and right lend rounded lines to a building otherwise squarish in many ways. The downward sloping lines direct focus to the altar area. See below for more detail of the windows.
Excerpt from Hilltop United Methodist Church:
“I am happy to recommend O’Brien stained glass company. They certainly considered our needs and desires, making creative suggestions but not trying to dictate to us what kind of windows we should purchase from them. They provided drawings and samples that enabled us to let the congregation know both the process and what the end result would be like. The work was accomplished sooner than I expected and with consideration for the schedule of the church. The workmanship was excellent and I have heard nothing but positive comments about the improved worship atmosphere in our sanctuary after the windows were installed. I would be happy to show the windows to any one who wants to view them.”
Marlowe D. Potter, Pastor