A stained-glass window depicting Christ on the cross inside Christ United Methodist Church in Rockford shattered after an accidental fire tore through the building on Feb. 23. No one was hurt. Rather than let the fragments go to waste, members of the congregation gathered them up and turned them into something they now wear to church.
The fire started when the church organ caught fire during a practice session, according to the Chicago Tribune. Firefighters broke the stained-glass window nearest the organ to vent smoke from the building, and investigators later determined the blaze was accidental. A separate report from mystateline.com put the damage estimate at around $100,000, noting that fire officials said all occupants had self-evacuated safely.
Mark West, who served as the church's trustee chair, collected stained-glass fragments on the night of the fire, the Tribune reported. He later said the glass would continue the church's story.
From Kiln to Keepsake
The job of transforming the wreckage fell to Laura Johnson, owner and operator of Starved Rock Hot Glass in Ottawa, Illinois. Johnson fused the salvaged glass in a kiln, and the United Methodist Church of the Northern Illinois Conference reported that she made pendants and worry stones from the fragments.
More than 100 pendants and worry stones have been created from the window's remains, according to umcnic.org, and the first 25 found homes with church members almost immediately. Worshippers now wear the glass pendants at services, a tangible link to the sanctuary they lost and the one being rebuilt.
A Synagogue Opens Its Doors
The fire forced Christ United Methodist Church to cancel or relocate activities planned for its main building, the Northern Illinois Conference reported, and the congregation needed somewhere to worship while repairs got underway. A nearby synagogue, Temple Beth-El, immediately contacted the church and offered worship space for that Sunday, according to the same account. The congregation held services there through early April.
In August, the two congregations held an outdoor joint worship service. Rabbi Binah Wing and Rev. Caleb Hong have spoken about connections between the congregations and their common ground. On Aug. 2, the congregations held an outdoor joint worship service, mystateline.com reported.
Restoration crews continued working inside the main sanctuary even after the congregation moved back onto campus, according to wifr.com, which reported the church held services in a temporary space on the property while the work dragged on.
The Replacement Window Arrives
The Northern Illinois Conference reported that a replacement stained-glass window matching the design of the one lost in the fire had arrived and was awaiting installation.
The Secondhand Sacred exhibit explores how religious objects circulate and was presented at McGill (mcgill.ca).
For the members of Christ United Methodist Church, though, the renewal has stayed close to home — carried not in a gallery case, but around the necks of the people who filled the pews before the fire and returned to the church campus afterward.
