Recently, St. Luke’s, Smithville, was honoured by a visit from Bishop Susan Bell. Of course, it is always a pleasure to have Bishop Susan take time out of her extremely busy schedule to visit with us. Our parishioners enjoy the opportunity to meet and chat with Bishop Susan on a one-to-one personal basis. However, this visit was more than just an opportunity to renew acquaintances. Reverend Eleanor Clitheroe extended an invitation to Bishop Susan to come to St. Luke’s for the purpose of officiating at a dedication service for the newly installed stained-glass windows of our church.
It is easy to become complacent and accept things as they are. For St. Luke’s, this was the case with our existing church windows. Many were in a sad state of repair, as can be seen in these pictures. Some were cracked, some had slipped down out of their frames, and one even had a hole in it. It wasn’t until member Jim Wilson inquired about the possibility of dedicating a stained-glass window in memory of his late wife, Jenni, that the congregation took a serious, hard look at the condition of all the church windows. As you can imagine, the costs associated with having stained glass designed, fabricated and installed are no small matter.
When our church leadership presented the parish with this challenge, they rose to the occasion. Various members stepped forward to undertake the costs of individual windows to be dedicated to the memory of loved ones, near and dear to them. With the help of the diocese, a stained-glass artist was found. Sue Obata (Toronto) and her installation team, Sattlers Stained-Glass Studio (Nova Scotia), proved to be extremely talented, creative, and skilled in their craft. Nine windows were individually designed to satisfy the vision of the donors. The resultant change was remarkable and exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Parishioners who participated in the window revitalization project were;
• Jim Wilson, in memory of the Wilson Family,
• Reverend Eleanor Clitheroe, in memory of her mother Lois Clitheroe,
• Organist Ken Durham, in memory of the Durham Family,
• Barb & Rob Cosby, in recognition of their over 100-year Family Farm,
• Cosby Family, in memory of Dave & Beverly Shoesmith,
• Karen Tylee & Dave Gordon, in memory of the Tylee Family,
• Doris Lampman, in memory of her husband Randy,
• Jim & Judy Higginson, in honour of their granddaughter, Brooklyn,
• Kathy Cunningham, in memory of her mother, Janet Komaritsky.
But the window project didn’t stop there. For the dedication service, a full colour pamphlet was created that showcased each individual window. Along with a picture of the window, the personal design thoughts from the artist, Sue Obata and the donor of the window were included. This pamphlet was given as a gift to each member of the congregation to have as a keepsake. Parish member Nancy Poole took the window project even further. She used the pictures of the stained-glass windows and created a 2026 calendar, which has been well-received and sold throughout the community. One member of the parish, Peter Forsberg, commented that on a dark night, when an event is being held in the church with all the lights on, the warm, colourful glow radiating from the stained-glass windows makes him proud to be a member of St. Luke’s Smithville
Remembering Nicodemus