The Berlin Stevenson United Methodist Church is celebrating the completion of a year-long stained-glass window restoration project this weekend with two days of events.
Crews are pictured restoring the stained glass windows at Berlin Stevenson United Methodist Church through a years-long project that will be unveiled this weekend.
Photo courtesy Berlin Stevenson United Methodist Church
By Tara Fischer, Staff Writer
The Berlin Stevenson United Methodist Church is celebrating the completion of its stained-glass window restoration project this weekend with two days of events.
In the summer of 2023, through the church’s Restore the Light campaign, several windows were shipped to Minnesota to be refurbished in a year-long process. Now, the facility will welcome community members to witness the work that has since been finalized.
“We want to … show everyone how pretty the windows are,” Restore the Light Committee chair Beth Sise said. “They look good on the outside but even better on the inside.”
Sise added that the refurbishment project’s purpose was to restore the stained-glass windows to their original state when they were initially installed in 1912.
“The building is over 110 years old,” she said. “We hope that the project will keep the building up to date while also honoring its past and legacy.”
A total of 34 stained-glass windows were refurbished. Of those, 20 were worked on in place, and 14, which were determined to be structurally unsound, were sent to Minnesota for historic restoration.
The church will welcome community members for an open house on Saturday, Aug. 24, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Berlin visitors and residents are encouraged to enter the historic building and see the updated stained glass.
Sise said the event will include light fare and musical stylings from violinist Bethany Jubilee. In addition to showcasing the completed project to the community, the open house is meant to honor the three foundations whose financial contributions propelled the project to fruition.
The Restore the Light campaign chair said the primary donors are the Humphrey’s Foundation, the Thomas G. Hanley Trust, and the E. Bowen and Frances Hyde Quillin Foundation. The organizations are nonprofits created by local Berlin families with generational roots in town.
“The foundations are the major reason we were so successful in having the money to refurbish the stained glass,” Sise said. “It is important that they are recognized.”
Crews are pictured restoring the stained glass windows at Berlin Stevenson United Methodist Church through a year-long project that will be unveiled this weekend. Photo courtesy Berlin Stevenson United Methodist Church
The church is hosting a formal window dedication on Sunday, Aug. 25, at 9 a.m. Contemporary and organ music and a covered-dish luncheon are planned for the event. The Restore the Light team will provide fried chicken, ham, and dessert. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own side dishes. Rev. Christina Blake, the Lower Shore District Superintendent of all the area’s clergies, is also expected to speak.
Sise said that a bronze plaque is being made and will be mounted on a memorial stone in the church’s front yard to honor the foundations’ contributions and recognize the entire congregation. The plate will be installed sometime this fall.
Efforts to repair the stained-glass windows began in 2021 when an assessment determined that approximately $211,000 was required to restore the glass panes and acrylic covers that had experienced wear and tear from age and the sun.
In 2022, the Restore the Light group began fundraising for the initiative. In addition to the significant three donors, other community members financially contributed to the project.
Church officials signed a contract with the company Willet Hauser Architectural Glass in August 2022, and roughly a year later, the tedious process was underway.
“The repairs boost our pride in our house of worship,” Sise noted. “It adds to what is happening in Berlin with facades being fixed up. Each year, we as a town improve, and I’m proud we could be a part of it and boost our appearance as well.”