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Photo courtesy of Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church
The stained glass windows in the sanctuary hall at Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church.
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Photo courtesy of Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church
An old photo of Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church shows the windows in their former glory.
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Photo courtesy of Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church
Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church built its new building on Brookwood Road around the windows form the original building when they moved locations in 1969.
Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church is seeking the community's help to restore their nearly 80-year-old stained-glass windows.
They were originally installed when the church was located in downtown Birmingham, at the northeast corner of Sixth Avenue North and 18th Street. Installation began in 1947 and was completed in 1959. A decade later, after the construction of Red Mountain Expressway and as much of the congregation moved “Over the Mountain,” the church relocated to its current site on Brookwood Road. The new sanctuary was built around the stained-glass windows, which had been carefully transported from the Sixth Avenue building. On Sept. 21, 1969, the completed structure was formally dedicated with worship.
"Growing up, the stained glass windows at Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church were as iconic an image of home to me as the Old Mill House across from Jemison Park. I attended preschool at MBPC, and my children attend today," said Mountain Brook resident Ann McEwen. "I remember being small, sitting in the chapel and staring up at the rising organ pipes and the bright windows. As with most churches, the sanctuary gives a sense of lifting. Raising your eyes to the heavens. Opening your chest to the world. There is a sense of vulnerability even as there is a feeling of security, of comfort."
McEwen still frequents the church, but the bright, shining windows she remembers look a little different these days.
"When I was small, the windows were bright, shining. I didn’t understand the stories they told, but I understood the feeling they gave me. It’s a feeling that is replicated every time I step into the sanctuary today, only now, perhaps it’s muted," she said. "Some of that is the result of the intervening years – a five year old’s sense of wonder isn’t something that can be fully replicated as an adult. But some of it is simply physical. The coverings on the exterior of the windows – lovingly installed 40 years ago as a means to protect them – have aged. Significantly."
The windows themselves are still clear and vibrant, but their true shine is dimmed by the yellowed and weathered protective coverings. Now, the church is trying to change that.
In order to restore the windows to their original glory, MBPC is raising funds to replace the aged coverings with new, clear ones. McEwen is calling all community members, whether they attend the church or not, to chip in ad help restore the shine back to the sanctuary hall and surrounding streets.
"You may never have attended a service at Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church. Perhaps you’ve never been to a community supper in the Fellowship Hall or sent your children to the Preschool. But if you live in Mountain Brook, and especially if you live in Brookwood Forest, there’s a good chance you learned to ride a bike in the shadow of those windows, pedaling careful circles in the parking lot. Or caught tadpoles in Fuller Creek as it skirts gently along the property’s edge," she said. "Maybe, today, you walk your dog around the trail loop circling the church grounds. At the very least you’ve driven past the church on Brookwood Road a thousand times. You can picture the shape of the sanctuary right now, but maybe you can’t quite picture what the windows look like. Let’s band together to change that."
The church must raise $250,000 to restore the windows. To make a donation, visit onrealm.org/MountainBrookPr/-/form/give/Windows.
Ann McEwen contributed to this report.
