Gallery window, Bethlehem Lutheran, Pemberville
Showing posts with label Bethlehem Lutheran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bethlehem Lutheran. Show all posts
Friday, December 25, 2009
And there were shepherds ...
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Luke 2: 8-14
Gallery window, Bethlehem Lutheran, Pemberville
Gallery window, Bethlehem Lutheran, Pemberville
Monday, August 10, 2009
The statues of Bethlehem Lutheran, Pemberville
Under an arch at the right-hand front of the sanctuary, are displayed these antique statues: St. Peter, St. Paul, St. John the Baptist, two angels, and a dove that was atop an old baptismal font. They are beautifully preserved now, thanks to the efforts of church historian Dale Bruning and restorative artist Valerie French.
The statues are around 145 years old. They were originally displayed on the altar in Bethlehem's old church, built in 1862. This scan, from Bethlehem's 125th anniversary booklet in 1986, shows the interior of the old church, with the statues visible on the altar.
A closeup, showing Pastor Winterhoff. This photo would have been taken somewhere between 1899 and 1908.
The current church as it would have appeared when it was new in 1908, with the old altar still in place and the dove on top of the font clearly visible.
According to Dale Bruning: "The statues were in the original church and when the present church was completed and dedicated in May 1909 the altar furnishings (the statues and angels, baptismal font with the dove and pulpit) were all moved into the new church. In 1944 the church was redecorated. The altar, which was painted white, was stripped and stained an oak color as was the pulpit. The statues, which were in a bad condition, were stored in the attic, and the dove placed in a box. Here they remained until 2004, a period of sixty years. I was alerted and shown their location in the attic. I spoke with my brother, Bob and his wife, Joanne, and showed them the statues. Joanne said that she knew of a place in Bowling Green that might do restoration work. I went to Bowling Green and came in contact with Valerie French. I had taken one of the statues along. She looked at it and said that she would like to have this type of reconstruction project, but that she would do it at home in her studio."
"With someone to do the restoring Bob and I went to the Church Council and asked for permission to have the statues and angels restored at no cost to the church. Council unanimously agreed and the project went forward."
"This turned out to be a much more difficult project than anticipated. Hands etc. were missing; cracks etc. But Valerie did a tremendous job of restoration even to matching the original paint. I would venture to say that the 5 pieces look better now than when they were new. Valerie also had the niches constructed. Volunteers did the necessary cutting into the arch to place the niches. There was opposition to placing them back on the altar, so we had to find a new home. Everyone now says it looks as though the statues have always been in the arch."
"I was shown the dove at a later point in time and when Valerie delivered the statues in January 2007 I asked if she would consider restoring the dove, to which she consented. The dove is hand carved and very beautiful."
St. Peter with the keys to the Kingdom ...
... and St. Paul with his sword.
St. John the Baptist ... how unusual! ... is the largest of the statues.
From Dale Bruning: "Valerie French lives on McCutcheonville Road, Perrysburg, Ohio. She did the scenic set pieces for the Toledo Opera's production of "Salome" at the Valentine Theater last March. She is a very talented lady; we were fortunate to have had her expert services." This is most certainly true! The beauty and artistry of these statues speaks for itself. Bethlehem is fortunate to be able to display these statues again, beautifully restored; and fortunate also for people like Dale Bruning who care about the church's heritage. Thanks for all your help, Dale!
The statues are around 145 years old. They were originally displayed on the altar in Bethlehem's old church, built in 1862. This scan, from Bethlehem's 125th anniversary booklet in 1986, shows the interior of the old church, with the statues visible on the altar.
A closeup, showing Pastor Winterhoff. This photo would have been taken somewhere between 1899 and 1908.
The current church as it would have appeared when it was new in 1908, with the old altar still in place and the dove on top of the font clearly visible.
According to Dale Bruning: "The statues were in the original church and when the present church was completed and dedicated in May 1909 the altar furnishings (the statues and angels, baptismal font with the dove and pulpit) were all moved into the new church. In 1944 the church was redecorated. The altar, which was painted white, was stripped and stained an oak color as was the pulpit. The statues, which were in a bad condition, were stored in the attic, and the dove placed in a box. Here they remained until 2004, a period of sixty years. I was alerted and shown their location in the attic. I spoke with my brother, Bob and his wife, Joanne, and showed them the statues. Joanne said that she knew of a place in Bowling Green that might do restoration work. I went to Bowling Green and came in contact with Valerie French. I had taken one of the statues along. She looked at it and said that she would like to have this type of reconstruction project, but that she would do it at home in her studio." "With someone to do the restoring Bob and I went to the Church Council and asked for permission to have the statues and angels restored at no cost to the church. Council unanimously agreed and the project went forward."
"This turned out to be a much more difficult project than anticipated. Hands etc. were missing; cracks etc. But Valerie did a tremendous job of restoration even to matching the original paint. I would venture to say that the 5 pieces look better now than when they were new. Valerie also had the niches constructed. Volunteers did the necessary cutting into the arch to place the niches. There was opposition to placing them back on the altar, so we had to find a new home. Everyone now says it looks as though the statues have always been in the arch."
"I was shown the dove at a later point in time and when Valerie delivered the statues in January 2007 I asked if she would consider restoring the dove, to which she consented. The dove is hand carved and very beautiful."
St. Peter with the keys to the Kingdom ...
... and St. Paul with his sword.
St. John the Baptist ... how unusual! ... is the largest of the statues.
From Dale Bruning: "Valerie French lives on McCutcheonville Road, Perrysburg, Ohio. She did the scenic set pieces for the Toledo Opera's production of "Salome" at the Valentine Theater last March. She is a very talented lady; we were fortunate to have had her expert services." This is most certainly true! The beauty and artistry of these statues speaks for itself. Bethlehem is fortunate to be able to display these statues again, beautifully restored; and fortunate also for people like Dale Bruning who care about the church's heritage. Thanks for all your help, Dale!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Bethlehem Lutheran, rural Defiance
A whirlwind church tour through Defiance County last Tuesday 8/4, found this one on a list of 10 churches to visit. The plan was to just stop by, take a few photos of the outside, and be on our way; as is the usual game plan for churches that I haven't contacted in advance.
We pulled into the parking lot and I was immediately charmed by this utterly CUTE little old country church!
It appeared to be lovingly cared-for. The windows were intriguing. I noticed a newer educational wing built onto the other side of the building (and also a cemetery, but I didn't start on that because I would have been yet another hour in there!)
Not an original cornerstone, but a sign of pride that a newer one with the original date was installed at some point.
The original wooden doors have been replaced with glass doors, making it easy for me to take a few shots through the doors. Now this was at 5 pm on a Tuesday afternoon, and I hardly expected the church to be unlocked at that time, with no sign of anyone around. But as is my habit, I tried the door anyway ...
... and it opened right up ... !!? I ventured inside, called "Hello" several times, no reply ... sooo, I just went to work!
What a darling little place! Beautiful windows, pews that appeared original. The chancel had obviously been updated. The altar, lectern, and pulpit appeared to be, oh, 1960's, give or take a decade. But it still fits in well and isn't at all out of place, even though I couldn't help but wonder why the original furnishings were replaced at that time ...
I love this organ case ...
This is different ...
The Gethsemane window over the altar ...
Lovely cheerful little old geometric windows, each with a different Bible scene featured. Identical designs, but just enough variance in the different pieces of glass to make each one unique ...
I've never seen a Resurrection scene like this one before ...
Grisaille trim in the bottom panels of the windows ...
A view from the balcony ...
Gorgeous old wood-plank pews!
Someone did a lighted miniature of the church that sits on top of the organ console ...
This old chair that must've been in the chancel at one time, now sits in the hallway leading to the educational wing, just off the narthex.
Interesting tapestry adorning the left-hand wall ...
There is a charming and inviting patio area at the back of the church, in the space between the educational wing and the church. Wonderful use of this space!
This old door opened into the sacristy at one time. There is now a newer, more secure door in that spot at the back of the church, but rather than throw the old door away, this is what they did with it -- what a great idea!
... and even with all the old skeleton keys!
Notice that weathervane atop the steeple?
So much of the charm and nostalgia of an era gone by ...
As it turned out, via a note left on the (locked) door at sister congregation St. Mark's, VBS was scheduled for that evening. It's assumable that someone was in here getting ready for the evening's program and perhaps went home for dinner, thinking that there was no need to lock the door for that short time (remember where they're at!). My thanks to whoever made it possible for me to get these lovely pictures, which will of course be emailed to the church!
We pulled into the parking lot and I was immediately charmed by this utterly CUTE little old country church!
It appeared to be lovingly cared-for. The windows were intriguing. I noticed a newer educational wing built onto the other side of the building (and also a cemetery, but I didn't start on that because I would have been yet another hour in there!)
Not an original cornerstone, but a sign of pride that a newer one with the original date was installed at some point.
The original wooden doors have been replaced with glass doors, making it easy for me to take a few shots through the doors. Now this was at 5 pm on a Tuesday afternoon, and I hardly expected the church to be unlocked at that time, with no sign of anyone around. But as is my habit, I tried the door anyway ...
... and it opened right up ... !!? I ventured inside, called "Hello" several times, no reply ... sooo, I just went to work!
What a darling little place! Beautiful windows, pews that appeared original. The chancel had obviously been updated. The altar, lectern, and pulpit appeared to be, oh, 1960's, give or take a decade. But it still fits in well and isn't at all out of place, even though I couldn't help but wonder why the original furnishings were replaced at that time ...
I love this organ case ...
This is different ...
The Gethsemane window over the altar ...
Lovely cheerful little old geometric windows, each with a different Bible scene featured. Identical designs, but just enough variance in the different pieces of glass to make each one unique ...
I've never seen a Resurrection scene like this one before ...
Grisaille trim in the bottom panels of the windows ...
A view from the balcony ...
Gorgeous old wood-plank pews!
Someone did a lighted miniature of the church that sits on top of the organ console ...
This old chair that must've been in the chancel at one time, now sits in the hallway leading to the educational wing, just off the narthex.
Interesting tapestry adorning the left-hand wall ...
There is a charming and inviting patio area at the back of the church, in the space between the educational wing and the church. Wonderful use of this space!
This old door opened into the sacristy at one time. There is now a newer, more secure door in that spot at the back of the church, but rather than throw the old door away, this is what they did with it -- what a great idea!
... and even with all the old skeleton keys!
Notice that weathervane atop the steeple?
So much of the charm and nostalgia of an era gone by ...
As it turned out, via a note left on the (locked) door at sister congregation St. Mark's, VBS was scheduled for that evening. It's assumable that someone was in here getting ready for the evening's program and perhaps went home for dinner, thinking that there was no need to lock the door for that short time (remember where they're at!). My thanks to whoever made it possible for me to get these lovely pictures, which will of course be emailed to the church!
St. Mark's Lutheran, rural Defiance
A couple miles down the road from Bethlehem, bordered on all sides by cornfields and soybean fields, you come to an intersection and this jumps out at you from behind the corn ...
St. Mark's is Bethlehem's sister congregation, both served by Pastor Tom Frey.
It was apparently expeditious to use the same blueprint for both of these little churches at the time they were built. At some time, however, a basement was dug underneath this one - and an educational wing added here too, not that long ago as a matter of fact.
Look at the fish-scale shingles on that steeple!
Cornerstone not in the corner, but high up above the front door, in German.
Same again over the front door. I'm speculating that perhaps this church was established as a firmly German church, and the other one more of an English-speaking church; although during the 19th century when these congregations were being established, German was still pretty much universal; in particular for the German farmers who founded churches such as these.
This church wasn't standing open! I wish I could have gotten an inside look at these windows. I tweaked these photos to bring up the window detail as much as I could, since these were west-facing with alot of sun glare. It appears that perhaps they're more elaborate than the ones at Bethlehem; more intricacy to the geometric designs. Look close to see the small circular chrismons in the center of each.
Good back view of the church from their cemetery (I need to get back out there and get pictures in both of those cemeteries!)
... and yes, that's another Gethsemane window over the altar!
Picturesque view from behind the pines ...
... and the sign that says it all!
St. Mark's is Bethlehem's sister congregation, both served by Pastor Tom Frey.
It was apparently expeditious to use the same blueprint for both of these little churches at the time they were built. At some time, however, a basement was dug underneath this one - and an educational wing added here too, not that long ago as a matter of fact.
Look at the fish-scale shingles on that steeple!
Cornerstone not in the corner, but high up above the front door, in German.
Same again over the front door. I'm speculating that perhaps this church was established as a firmly German church, and the other one more of an English-speaking church; although during the 19th century when these congregations were being established, German was still pretty much universal; in particular for the German farmers who founded churches such as these.
This church wasn't standing open! I wish I could have gotten an inside look at these windows. I tweaked these photos to bring up the window detail as much as I could, since these were west-facing with alot of sun glare. It appears that perhaps they're more elaborate than the ones at Bethlehem; more intricacy to the geometric designs. Look close to see the small circular chrismons in the center of each.
Good back view of the church from their cemetery (I need to get back out there and get pictures in both of those cemeteries!)
... and yes, that's another Gethsemane window over the altar!
Picturesque view from behind the pines ...
... and the sign that says it all!
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