the Mission :: history :: stained glass windows

The Mission windows

One of the finishing touches to the restored Mission building is the beautiful painted glass, specially commissioned from the artist, Dagmar Kraus.

The two larger windows contain important messages about our beliefs. They are entitled 'I am the Vine' and 'The Bread of Life'.

Then along a side passage we found seven small niches where windows had once been. The openings were restored, and the seven days of creation are celebrated by the new windows.

I am the Vine

The upper section focuses on the cross. Because it symbolises the future, it is larger than the lower section which symbolises the past.

The middle section symbolises the New Testament. Out of the candlestick grows the cross representing the sacrifice of Jesus, from which grows new life. The wood is both the cross and the vine, which bears fruit.

The lower section symbolises the Old Testament, with the seven branch candlestick and the tables of the law. The lamb (lower left) is a symbol of the Old Testament sacrificial system.

The Bread of Life

Upper section: the right side portrays Pentecost, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. To the left is the empty cross: Jesus has risen.

Middle section: John 6: 9 The Feeding of the Five Thousand
One boy has five loaves and two fishes. Jesus breaks the bread and serves it with the fish to the people. The stunned disciples look on. Five thousand people are fed, and twelve baskets of food are left over.

Lower section: Some seed fell on the path and the birds ate it. Some seed fell on the thorns and thistles, and they grew and strangled the seed. Some seed fell on good ground and bore fruit.

The Creation Windows


*Genesis 1:1-5* On the First Day, the Spirit of God, as a dove, moves over the earth. On the earth it is dark, a confusion of earth and water. A light shines from above and penetrates the darkness. On this and the other windows the angel wing is a symbol of the divine presence.	*Genesis 1:6-8* On the Second Day, the heavens separate the waters, above and below. Above the heavens the water is in various forms: raindrops, big and small, snow flakes and clouds. In some of the windows there is a small section left clear like a spy hole to bring the viewer into reality.	*Genesis 1: 9-13* On the Third Day, vegetation appears: grass, flowers, trees and the incredible variety of styles and colours we find in the plant world.	*Genesis 1:14-19* On the Fourth Day, the sun lights the earth by day and the moon by night, surrounded by the stars and planets.


*Genesis 1:20-23* On the Fifth Day, the water swarms with fish and other marine animals. The sky is full of birds.	*Genesis 1:24-31* On the Sixth Day, the earth is populated by all kinds of creatures: animals, insects and humans.	*Genesis 2:1-4* The Seventh Day is the Rest Day, with harmony between plants, animals, humans and God. God is present in the form of an angel wing and a light above Adam and Eve. This is how we imagine the new earth to be.