LAURINBURG — Instead of century-old stained glass windows, members of First United Methodist Church have stared at plywood for the past eight months.
That changed this November when the vibrantly colored windows were returned to the church after being cleaned.
The windows — originally made in 1917 — were taken to East Bend, North Carolina, where they were taken apart and cleaned. The process started in March and is part of a $1.3 million renovation project that began in 2015. The church hopes to have all the refurbishments completed before its 100th year anniversary in 2018.
Nancy Sandgren, a long-time member of First United Methodist Church, could hardly wait for the stained glass windows to be re-installed. An artist herself, Sandgren traveled with around 25 others to Salem Stained Glass in East Bend to watch the process. Each tiny, individual piece of the windows has been washed, leaded and reassembled.
“It was a painstaking and amazing project to see,” she said. “All the beautiful colors brought back to life.”
Trustee Chairman Marvin Womble said he thought everyone who saw the windows being worked on was impressed.
The restoration and installation of the main windows completes phase one of the project. Other windows will now be sent to be worked on.
Rev. Jonathan Jeffries, the pastor of First United Methodist, said the process have give the windows a new life.
“This is as vibrant as the windows have ever been,” Jeffries said. “From 1917 … think about every season of pollen, every time leaves fell and anytime something was built, you can imagine dust getting in behind those layers, so that is what took the color out of the blues and the white in Jesus’ shirt.”
Established in 1872, the church’s current sanctuary was completed in 1918. The adjoining education building was built in 1952, and the neighboring Ed Guest building was acquired. Thirty years later the Nettie Hammond building that houses the fellowship hall, kitchen, classrooms, choir room and administrative offices was added.
Jeffries learned from the artist who cleaned the windows that some of the panels may have come from Europe after World War I, because of churches being destroyed and glass window panels being re-purposed.
According to Jeffries, when window were first made, the U.S. was not yet capable of making the deep red in glass as seen in the two main windows. The red panels most likely came from Europe, who was capable of making red glass and had some for export after the war destroyed churches, he said.
In the 1960s, churches began covering stained glass windows with acrylic glass to protect against riots where some stained glass windows were broken from bricks, according to Jeffries.
The next steps in the renovations will include the ceiling, walls, carpet and the pews, Jeffries said.
Along with the windows, First United Methodist Church spent $500,000 on roof work to stop leaks, which were causing water damage on the ceiling. One of the next steps in the renovation project is to restore the ceiling and get rid of the water stains. The current capital project, Foundations for the Future, covers repairs and improvements to all four buildings, including roofing and other exterior and interior renovations. Repairs are expected to take three years, with a completion date in 2018.
“Bats have been in the bell tower and all over for years,” Music Director Ed Williams said. “Because of the bat droppings, every pipe from the organ will have to be individually cleaned and put back together. The organ will have to be tuned. That will happen at the end of the other renovations.”
Jeffries, who came in 2013 as pastor to the church, said some doubted they could raise the original estimate of $1.1 million.
The entire project is being funded by the congregation through donations, according to officials.
“It was too large for any one of us. It was too large for all of us put together. No effort, however, is too big for God. We didn’t accomplish it,” he said in characteristic fashion. “God provided what we needed and a little more in case we ran into something unexpected.”
