The Holy Spirit windows

The work of the Holy Spirit in the Creation, the life of Jesus, and the Church, is celebrated in a spectacular piece of art at Stonelaw. Not only does this window inspire us as we worship, but its position in the upper south wall of the sanctuary means that its fabulous shapes and colours shine out in witness along Stonelaw Road on darker nights.

 

 

 

 

The Holy Spirit window was created in 1999 by renowned glass artist John K. Clark, and made possible by a bequest from the Dawson family. Since any piece of art is best described by the artist, what follows is in John's own words:

Concept

"The original suggested theme for this project was mission. I could find no satisfactory starting point or way into this theme. I therefore began considering the reason for Mission and quickly concluded that this was the Holy Spirit acting on humanity, therefore I have used this concept as the basis for the project."


"The combination of text and symbol is something, which has interested me for many years, and given the theme I have set out to realise, I felt that this would be appropriate in this setting. As a visual statement, the images alone would be enough, however, the inclusion of the related text adds another layer and dimension to the work which makes it much more visually stimulating and uplifting."

The tracery

"In the tracery there is only text. The concept of The Word is contained here, the power of the Word and its place in the Creation, according to Biblical tradition. The other sections of the tracery deal mainly with some of the "I am" sayings of Christ. In a sense therefore the window, although concentrating on the role of the Spirit, contains also references to the Trinity."


‘In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God' John 1: 1
‘In him was life and that life was the light of men' John 1: 4
‘I am the Alpha and the Omega' Rev 22: 13
‘I am the light of the world' John 7: 12
‘The water that I shall give' John 4: 14
‘I am the bread of life' John 6: 48
‘I am the true vine' John 15: 1

The main windows

"The images should be read from left to right in the main panels. What is written in the text is symbolised in the window."

The presence of the Spirit at the Creation

‘darkness covered the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water' Gen. 1: 2
‘God said "let there be light" and there was light; and God saw the light was good' Gen. 1: 3

The descent of the Holy Spirit at the Baptism of Christ

 

 

‘the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove to alight on him' Mat 3: 16

 

 

‘there is the Lamb of God' John 1: 29

The coming of the Spirit at Pentecost

 

‘there came from the sky what sounded like a strong, driving wind, a noise which filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them flames like tongues of fire distributed among them' Acts 2: 2-3

 

 

 

"Also shown here is a book containing the symbols of Alpha and Omega, this represents the writing of the Gospels."

The wind blows where it wills

‘The wind blows where it wills; you hear the sound of it but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going., So it is with everyone who is born from the Spirit' John 3: 8

 

"The use of the wheat in this panel suggests the movement of the Spirit through the people gathering them together."

The promise

‘And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far away, to everyone who the Lord our God may call' Acts 2: 38-39

 

"There are several allusions to the present day church. Contained here is the concept of the Holy Spirit being the source of Faith which is itself represented by the doves drinking at the fountain. The vine and the wheat contained both in this and the previous panel together represent the Communion."

Acknowlegement

The text and images on this page are copyright John K. Clark, and are reused here with his kind permission. You can learn more about John's work at www.glasspainter.com

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RUTHERGLEN STONELAW

Church of Scotland

Scottish Charity SC013558