Stained Glass Windows for St. Edward High School Chapel

Henninger's was contacted by St. Edward High School in Lakewood, OH to beautify their school Chapel with stained glass windows.  The Chapel's large clear windows on both sides of the Chapel looked onto a busy street and a parking lot and the school administration felt that stained glass could block the view to the street and the adjoining parking lot while creating a more serene, prayerful place...a space more appropriate for a school Chapel.

Meetings between school officials and Henninger's resulted in the conclusion that the two large windows on each side of the sanctuary should be the first priority with the subjects for the window being Mary and Joseph.  It was decided that the depiction of Mary would be Our Lady of Sorrows, for whom the Brothers of the Holy Cross hold a special devotion and that St. Joseph would be depicted as a guiding father with a teenage Jesus, appropriate for the all boys high school founded by the Brothers of the Holy Cross.

After some color selection for the glass and working through various designs, the final drawing for each window was approved incorporating the idea of movement into the glass to tie all of the glass in the chapel together with the depictions of Mary & Joseph that stayed within the school's mission.  With the sizes finalized, the colors selected, and the glass ordered, the artists at Henninger's went to work on fabricating the windows for the Chapel.

As the first step, Henninger's artists laid out the windows in real-size on the wall by drawing the figures and the shapes of the windows to allow them to cut and paint the glass in the correct sizes.  This process allows the artist to get a sense of the figures in their actual size to work out the specifics of the folds of clothing, the posture of the figures, and the spacing between the subjects.  In a wonderful gesture, the officials at the high school asked if the face of St. Joseph could be modeled after a longtime Brother, who had served at the school in different capacities for nearly 5 decades.  Henninger's was able to draw St. Joseph's face based on old pictures of the Brother and - with the design portion nearly complete - was able to move onto cutting glass.

The glass was laid out on the real-size drawings and cut to size by the stained glass artists, who then moved onto the painting portion, where the figures were brought to life on the glass.

The windows were then built, leaded, cemented, and fitted with bars to strengthen all of the panes of glass before they would make their way into place in the school Chapel.  While the windows were strengthening in Henninger's warehouse, our carpenters went to work building the frames for the Stained Glass panels.  Due to some structural aspects of the window openings, Henninger's carpenters built trim and molding to match the wood in the Chapel as well as to conceal structural steel beams that passed directly through the middle of the large windows on each side of the Sanctuary.  Once all of the rough cutting and staining was done on the frames, and the trim-work and moldings were complete, the Stained Glass was strong enough for installation, so the installation crew went to the Chapel to erect the scaffolding necessary to install the frames and the finished Stained Glass panels.

Once on site, Henninger's crew began to build the frames and move the Stained Glass panels into place up the scaffolding, starting with the upper portions of the St. Joseph side first:

Once the St. Joseph window was in place, the crew went to work on installing the Mary panels on the other side of the Sanctuary:

Once both windows were in place, the crew went to work installing all of the custom trim-work and molding that had been fabricated to fit the space and match the wood already in place in the Chapel.  Once complete, the windows were finished, immediately and completely transforming the environment with prayerful images and soft colors that diffused the activity behind the window and providing a serene space.

With Phase I of the Stained Glass project complete, the sanctuary and the space have been transformed by the presence of the Stained Glass windows, generating more excitement for the Stained Glass that will be fabricated to fill the space behind the crucifix as well as the other windows that will depict various Brothers of the Holy Cross in a style that will match the new windows in the Sanctuary.

The project was a tremendous example of the collaboration between the school and Henninger's artists and craftsmen as the school year begins with the school Chapel transformed into what was imagined for it to be, leading St. Edward High School President Jim Kubacki to write this in appreciation for the collaboration and in anticipation for the rest of the project to be completed:

I just want to thank you and your team for the wonderful stained glass we now have in our Holy Family Chapel.  It is stunning. You have been terrific collaborators as we have tried to develop the vison and message and unify the look for the chapel.  It clearly is Holy Cross and St. Eds as well as great art. Thank you for all your efforts.  I look forward to the day when it is completed.  The Chapel will be our jewel and a daily reminder of why St. Edward High School exists!  Thanks again.

Church Rebuilt Two Years After Fire

Church destroyed by fire

A tragic fire in July of 2012 left the community at St. Mary Magdalen of Kentwood, Michigan without a church.  A fireworks accident caused a fire that destroyed the sanctuary and most of the church building.  All items in the church were lost, including books, pews, altars, and vestments. St. Mary Magdalen parish worked together to plan and build a new church.

The church hired Gilbert Sunghera, SJ as a liturgical consultant for the new church.  Gilbert visited Henninger's to see its warehouse and determine if there was anything useful to the project.  What he found was a travertine Altar that was originally from St. Christine Church in Euclid, Ohio. 

St. Christine Altar

Gilbert designed an Altar of Sacrifice, Tabernacle Altar, and Ambo for St. Mary Magdalen Church.  The design incorporated the mensa from St. Christine and used its shape as an inspiration for the other pieces of furniture.  Each element featured a travertine top with a wood base and steel reveal.

Ambo design

Altar of Sacrifice design

Tabernacle Altar design

Species of wood and finishes for the wood and steel were selected.  The Altars and Ambo were built in Henninger's shop and packed for delivery and installation.

Work in Henninger's shop

Each of the pieces were installed during the week of June 2nd.  Henninger's crew was able to meet the pastor, Rev. Godfrey Onyekwere and learn about the rebuilding process.  The church brought together a very skilled team of architects, craftsmen, labors, and and artists to create its new worship space.

Installation

Most. Rev. David Walkowiak, bishop of the Grand Rapids Diocese, dedicated the new church and its Altar.  Bishop Walkowiak is a native of Cleveland, and formerly a priest in the Diocese of Cleveland.  When he learned that the mensa from the Altar was originally from St. Christine Church of Euclid, he recognized the stone and remembered saying mass on it years before. 

Altar of Sacrifice

Altar of Sacrifice

Tabernacle Altar

Tabernacle Altar

Ambo

Henninger's is proud to have been a part of this wonderful story.  St. Mary Magdalen Church will stand tall for many years and its parishioners have an impressive worship space to celebrate the mass.

St. Clement Doors

St. Clement Church in Lakewood approached Henninger's for a design and quote for the church's main doors.  Pastor, Rev. Joseph Workman wanted wood doors with stained glass panels.  He also wanted to incorporate the unique shape of a crucifix hanging in the church sanctuary:



Henninger's artists worked up a few designs to show the interior and exterior of the new doors.  The style of stained glass was meant to mimic the rest of the church.

Henninger's woodworkers and stained glass artists began work.  Doors were in construction in one side of the warehouse while glass was being cut and painted 100 feet away. 

Doors getting stained, stained glass panel on light box

The doors were stained dark on the interior side to match the existing wood stain.  A lighter, natural finish was selected for the exterior.  The stained glass panels were encapsulated into thermal units for safety.  Finally, when the doors, glass, and hardware were all ready, they were installed during the week of March 31st. 

 

St. John Neumann - Sunbury, Ohio

Fr. David Sizemore's congregation was getting too big for its building.  St. John Neumann's current church was built in 2003 and dedicated in 2004.  In less than ten years, a new project began to more than double the size of the church.  The side walls were knocked down to expand the areas on the left and right of the church.  One of the greatest challenges was to add beauty and art in the space.

Annunciation Stained Glass Window and First Station of the Cross

Fr. Sizemore purchased stained glass windows and Stations of the Cross from Henninger's inventory of used church goods.  The Stations were repaired and touched up by Henninger's statuary artists.  The stained glass needed to be expanded to a larger size.

Original Window                                   Expansion Design                                          Finished Window

The goal of the expanded borders was to match the style of stained glass used 100 years ago when the original windows were made.  Our stained glass artists worked for many weeks to fabricate the 60 new panels (6 new border panels x 10 windows).

Debbie Knopf and Betti Senko in Henninger's Stained Glass Studio

The result of their hard work is pictorial Life of Christ in St. John Neumann Church:

Large Archtop Windows Featuring the Life of Christ

Henninger's also fabricated new stained glass windows for the church, in the style of the windows above.  The Rose Window is made of 17 panels including a Dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit, in the middle.

Rose Window

Two Adoring Angel windows were made for the left and right of the sanctuary.

Adoring Angels Stained Glass Windows

St. John Neumann also contracted Henninger's to handle the woodworking on altars and statue niches for their church expansion.  The centerpiece of the church is an antique back altar that was rescued by Fr. Kevin Lutz and restored by Henninger's.

Our woodworkers replaced all of the missing pieces, milled new pillars, expanded the width by adding left and right wings, and repaired any damage to the altar.

Rescued Altar

Natalie Molnar and Tim Molnar with Restored Back Altar in Henninger's Woodshop

Altar Installed On-Site

 After our crew installed the altar, the staining, painting, gilding, murals, and all finishing was done by Conrad Schmitt Studios.

Completed Back Altar with Gilding and Murals

Two side altars were made new to match the style of the antique back altar.  Again, Henninger's handled the woodworking and Conrad Schmitt Studios did the finishing and murals. The Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph Statues were original to St. John Neumann Church.  Henninger's repaired and repainted them in a new color scheme.

Marian and St. Joseph Side Altars

Two statue niches were made using parts from the antique back altar.  These niches hold new statues of St. Kateri Tekakwitha and St. John Neumann.

Statue Niches

It was a pleasure working with everyone at St. John Neumann Church and very fulfilling to help them with their church expansion.

"I am in awe every time I walk into our new church and chapel. Immediately I feel the presence of Our Lord. The history of holiness shines through the stained glass; the Holy Spirit Rose Window points to Christ's presence in the tabernacle upon the Altar of the Blessed Sacrament.

God has been with us in every stop of the process to expand and beautify our worship space. From selecting our architects, contractors and consultants to finding our carved wood Altar of the Blessed Sacrament, Stations of the Cross and stained glass windows to our parish families raising the funds necessary to move forward. Praise and thanks be to God!"

 - Rev. David Sizemore

To view pictures of the dedication mass, click here.