The breathtaking stained glass in the First Parish sanctuary sheds light in ways few windows can. The windows tell of residents significant to both town and congregation history. They celebrate ministers such as the seminal transcendentalist Frederic Henry Hedge, and provide a partial timeline for a congregation that dates to 1717. They are the creations of artists the likes of Louis Comfort Tiffany and Sarah Wyman Whitman.
Though their stories are timeless, the windows themselves are not. First Parish is confronting the challenge of their deteriorating condition. Below you’ll find links to documents further detailing the story of our stained glass.
Information about the Stained Glass Windows at First Parish in Brookline:
Photos and history for each window in detail
Why We Have Stained Glass by Frank Hutchins
Stained Glass Pragmatism: Sarah Wyman Whitman’s Lowell Window at First Parish, Brookline, Massachusetts by Frank Hutchins
Rev. Jim Sherblom’s sermon from May 27, 2007: Seeing Through Windows
Rev. Jim Sherblom’s sermon from September 26, 2010: Symbols and Meaning Making
Links to additional information about stained glass windows:
Reflections on a Design by Sarah Wyman Whitman
by David Gehring, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Sarah Wyman Whitman – Brief life of a determined artist: 1842-1904
by Betty S. Smith