Restored stained glass windows return to Union

Union stained glass window - above

Workers install a restored stained glass window at Catherine Creek Community Center in Union on April 17, 2024.

UNION — A portion of Union’s past, after a long journey, is back.

Seven stained glass windows that decorated the old Union Methodist Church for more than 100 years, were returned on Tuesday, April 16, after being repaired in Centennial, Colorado, over the course of seven months. The windows, which had long conveyed biblical messages not with words but with the light they captured, were reinstalled on April 17 by a crew from Scottish Stained Glass of Centennial.

Terra Richter, a volunteer with the Catherine Creek Community Center, which is now housed in the old Methodist Church building, is among those struck by the improved appearance of the stained glass windows.

“They are so much clearer,” she said.

Union stained glass window - alone

A restored stained glass window lets in the sunlight at the Catherine Creek Community Center in Union on April 17, 2024.

The stained glass windows were removed in late August 2023 and then transported to Centennial. Geneva Williams, a volunteer with the Catherine Creek Community Center, said the windows, which were original to the Union United Methodist Church building when it was completed in 1905, were repaired none too soon.

“They were in critical condition,” she said.

Stephen Ng, of Scottish Stained Glass, agrees.

Ng, who helped repair the windows and was a member of the crew that reinstalled them, said if repair work had started much later it might have been too late.

Ng said many lead support rods in the stained glass windows were breaking up, causing the bottom of the windows to support a greater amount of the weight. Ng said this was starting to trigger a collapse that would have a bowing effect on the bottom of the windows.

To address this, many of the lead support rods were replaced in the stained glass windows and new metal support frames were added. All of the work was done at the Scottish Stained Glass center in Centennial. Ng said sometimes his crew will make repairs to stained glass windows on site but he prefers to do the work at the company’s shop because he has access to more tools and the equipment he needs.

Ng has been repairing stained glass windows for several years and finds them fascinating.

“They bring an ambience and a presence,” he said.

The building served as a Methodist church through about 2020 when it closed because of financial issues caused by declining membership. It was then purchased by the Friends of the Historic Union Community Hall, and the church building and its attached meeting center were converted into the Catherine Creek Community Center.

Today, the former church building is the site where the congregation of the Carpenter’s House Community Church meets.

Impressive cutouts

Williams said when the windows were removed the empty spaces they left were replaced with panels matching the shape of the glass being repaired.

Union stained glass window - worker

Nabor James installs a stained glass window at the Catherine Creek Community Center in Union on April 17, 2024. James is with Scottish Stained Glass of Centennial, Colorado, which restored the former Methodist Church's windows.

“They were custom cut,” she said.

This changed the appearance of the old church building, Williams said, before the windows were back.

Grant funds were crucial

The cost of having the windows restored was about $30,000. Williams said much of the funding was provided by grants from the Oregon Cultural Trust, the Kinsman Foundation and the Wildhorse Foundation.

It is not known where the stained glass windows were created, but Ng said they may have been built in Europe. He said that in the 1800s and early 1900s many of the world’s best stained glassmakers were in Europe. These companies, Ng said, often made stained glass windows for buyers in the United States.

Union stained glass window - carried

Jose Molina, left, and Orlando Olguin carry a restored stained glass window to the Catherine Creek Community Center in Union on April 17, 2024. Molina and Olguin are with Scottish Stained Glass in Centennial, Colorado.

Ng said the work done on the windows was not only restorative but also meant to prevent future problems. He does not anticipate they will be shipped back to his company’s repair shop anytime soon.

“They should last another 100 years,” he said.