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Photos by Baijun Li
Church finds hidden treasure
January/February, 2002
When members of the South Congregational Church in Springfield decided to take a good look at a long under-utilized room in the rear of the church, they never imagined the treasure they would find.
Hidden behind plywood boards on the outside and a 1960s-era stage on the inside were two, 15-foot high stained glass windows depicting stories from the Bible.
“Those windows were covered for at least 60 years. We don’t have a lot of information on how that happened,” said Pastor Peter Heinrichs.
According to Michael Martino of the Martino Stained Glass Studio, the windows are museum-quality pieces, and are unusual in that they depict metaphors from Biblical passages, rather then pastoral scenes or stories of saints.
The windows include depictions of Jesus reproving Martha and raising the widow’s son, the story of the prodigal son, and Christ’s Transfiguration.
The church, built in 1875, has many stained glass windows elsewhere in the church, but all the others are abstract works.
Church members made contributions to have the windows completely disassembled and brought to Martino’s studio, where they were restored. They have since been reinstalled, with an eight-foot high oak cross hung between them.
A dropped ceiling was also removed from the room, revealing a high, vaulted ceiling, and the room was repainted in its original Victorian colors.
The “Great Space,” as it is called by members, is now used for contemporary worship services, fellowship times and conferences.
“It is very bright, very Victorian, so not everyone likes it. But it really is a great space,” Heinrichs said.