In the fall of 1996 Good Shepherd Pastor, Father Dexter Brewer was asked what he would like for a Christmas present. His immediate response was “stained glass windows for our church”. As a result, a small group of Good Shepherd parishioners worked with Father Dexter to design, fund, and build stained glass windows for our church. The theme for the design was quickly identified as the Good Shepherd and his flock. After studying religious symbols associated with stained glass windows, Father Dexter helped sketch out the designs of the stained glass windows that now surround the congregation. Father Dexter and representatives of his stained glass committee met with stained glass window makers and chose Lumpkin Stained Glass in Huntsville, Alabama to build Good Shepherd’s windows.
The committee decided to incrementally fund the project and the first eight fired glass panes were delivered on December 23, 1996. With the help of several parishioners, the building and installation of stained glass windows proceeded slowly but steadily. The final four of the twelve stained glass windows were dedicated on September 5, 2010.
The stained glass windows tell a symbolic story depicted in their pictures, icons, and verses. That story begins with the upper middle stained glass windows where the picture of the Good Shepherd rests upon John’s Gospel verses - where Jesus proclaims “I am the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep”; and “I am the Good Shepherd, I know my sheep and my sheep know me”.
When Jesus identified himself as the Good Shepherd, he was asked, “Who are the sheep in your flock?” Jesus replied that his sheep would inherit the kingdom his Father prepared and that his sheep were those who “gave him food when he was hungry, drink when he was thirsty, welcome when he was a stranger, clothing when he was naked, care when he was ill, and visited him when he was a prisoner”. Those very verses from Matthew are referenced in our lower middle stained glass windows with the depiction of the sacred, loving, and charitable heart of Jesus.
The Old Testament provides ample foundation for our Lord as the Good Shepherd. Psalm 100 verse 3 says, “Know that the Lord is your God. It is He that made us, not we ourselves. We are his people - the sheep of his flock”. And, Isaiah chapter 40, verse 11 proclaims “Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them on his bosom, and leading the ewes with care”. Those verses are referenced in the back lower windows of the church under the fired glass symbol of God the Father - the Creator’s star, whose six points represent the six days of creation.
In the front bottom windows of our church is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, a dove descending upon us to give us guidance and inspiration. In the scriptural references on those stained glass windows, St. Paul asks us and our Church to “Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the church of the Lord that He acquired with His own blood” and “May the Good Shepherd fill all with joy and peace in believing that your may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
The fired pictures in the upper back windows of the church remind us of the comfort our Good Shepherd provides with the words of Psalm 23 verse 1, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”; and Proverbs 27 verse 23, “Take good care of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds”.
The fired front upper windows complete our scriptural story with a quote from the first letter of Peter chapter 2, verse 25, “For you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and guardian of your souls”; and finally, from Revelations chapter 7, verse 17, “For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes”.
Good Shepherd stained glass symbology reinforces the observation that in this art form many diverse and separate shapes, sizes, and colors come together to create a beautiful and unified work.
In addition, each stained glass window is tied to the others by common themes and symbols. For example, each window has a water glass cross to remind us of the way of the cross. At the intersection of the arm and the tree of each cross is a nimbus starburst representing the fulfillment of the resurrection as well as the glory and power of God. While common symbols tie the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together, subtle differences in those symbols relate to the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
Each window’s colors are also symbolic. For example, white is the color of purity and goodness, red the color of danger and sacrifice, blue the color of serenity and power, purple the color of royalty, yellow the color of happiness, and gold the color of glory. Notice the appropriately colored clothing, halos, aureoles, nimbuses or sunbursts. In sum, the stained glass windows of Good Shepherd Church tell us to accept our role as Jesus’ sheep and accept the comfort and love of the Good Shepherd.