Thursday, November 4, 2010

About the Stained Glass Windows of the Mineral Ridge Methodist Church

This is the third post in the series from the Dedication Day Program of the Mineral Ridge Methodist Episcopal Church, September 7th, 1930.  Please note that the photos of windows in this post are not from the Mineral Ridge Methodist Church. As a child I marveled at the beauty of the stained glass windows in the sanctuary of the church. As an adult, remembering, I still marvel. They were beyond beautiful: they were exquisite. Each was an image of a person or a symbol created from colored pieces of glass. I was pleased to find my mother's printed program for the event and even more pleased to find a page in the program with a list of the images and their symbolism. It refreshed my memory. Though I don't have photographs of those particular windows I photographed some other stained glass windows - not so beautiful, but still lovely - when I went to a local festival last month. Those are the windows you see in this blog post. If someone from the Ridge happens to read this post and could take photos of the real windows in the Mineral Ridge Methodist Church and share them with me, I'd be thrilled! Use the contact button on the left side of the screen to get in touch with me. Here is a transcript of the page about the windows from the Dedication Program of the Mineral Ridge Episcopal Methodist Church, September 7th, 1930.
WHAT THE WINDOW SYMBOLS REPRESENT In the Church Auditorium
THE ROSE WINDOW-- THE CENTER-- The Cross in Glory--Christ THE INSIDE CIRCLE--(Reading clockwise from the top--right) 1.--The Nativity 2.--Our Lord's Baptism 3.--The Word Made Flesh 4.--The Last Supper 5.--Our Lord's Passion 6.--The Resurrection 7.--King Forever 8.--The Triumph of the Gospel THE OUTSIDE CIRCLE--(Reading clockwise from the top) 1.--The Holy Spirit 2.--The Word 3.--The Son 4.--Eternal Life 5.--The Trinity 6.--The Rock of Salvation 7.--The Father 8.--The Church THE WEST WINDOWS-- (Reading North to South) 1.--Matthew 2.--Mark 3.--Peter 4.--James 5.--Bartholomew 6.--Thomas 7.--The Torch 8.--The Lantern THE EAST WINDOWS-- (Reading North to South) 1.--Luke 2.--John 3.--Andrew 4.--Phillip 5.--Simon 6.--Judas 7.--Baptism 8.--Ordination
IN THE EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT First Floor
THE LADIES' PARLOR-- (Reading left to right) Old Testament Symbols 1.--The Creator's Star 2.--The Deluge 3.--The Pentateuch 4.--Altar of Burnt Offering 5.--The Passover 6.--Call of Moses 7.--Patience and Sacrifice 8.--The Commandments THE KINDERGARTEN ROOM-- (Left to right) 1.--Abraham and Isaac 2.--St. Peter (the fisherman) 3.--The Mystic Rose (The Virgin Mary) THE PRIMARY ROOM--(Left to right) 1.--The Phoenix--The Resurrection 2.--The Epiphany 3.--The Star of Jacob
THE EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT Second Floor
THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S PARLOR--(Reading left to right) New Testament Symbols 1.--The Virgin 2.--John The Baptist 3.--The Fountain of Salvation 4.--St. Paul 5.--The Candlestick (Christ the Light) 6.--Seven Gifts of the Spirit 7.--The Crown 8.--The Flaming Sword THE JUNIOR DEPARTMENT--(Reading left to right) 1.--St. Peter (The Daggar) 2.--The Rope (Used to Bind Christ) 3.--St. James the Less THE INTERMEDIATE DEPARTMENT--(Reading left to right) 1.--St. Bartholomew 2.--St. Mathias 3.--St. Thomas
Learn more about the church and view pages of the program at Dedication Day Program, Mineral Ridge Episcopal Church; "A Brief Historical Sketch" of the Mineral Ridge Methodist Church; and Mineral Ridge Businesses, 1930.

15 comments:

  1. Nancy,Just wanted you to know my grandfather was William Bickerstaff. My grandmother was Lucy. My mother was Emma Elizabeth, a cousin of your grandmother. I visited
    Aunt Emmie and Aunt Mame many times with my mother. Aunt Emmie was my mothers namesake. Don't know where you reside, but my brother Curtis was the last minister of our Methodist Church. He lives in Niles. The Church has been razed. I remember the snow storm very well too. My name is Beverly, I was born in 1940, Mineral Ridge.

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  2. Beverly! Wow! I remember you! You used to babysit me occasionally and I have a photograph of you with my cousin, Belinda, and me.

    I had the hardest time when I was younger trying to figure out how your mother was related to me. They told me she was a cousin even though she was so much older than me but I always wanted to call her Aunt Emma. Your mom was wonderful.

    I remember Curtis, too. He was close to my age, maybe a year or two older. I had heard that he was the minister at the church before it was closed.

    I should but I don't remember your mom's parents, William and Lucy. I know I must have known them and visited with them but I just can't remember visiting or interacting with them. (And I think I have photographs of them, too.)

    I'm so sorry to hear that the church was razed. The last time I was in the Ridge was in April this year. My daughter and I were going to try to go inside but didn't want to try the front doors and couldn't find anyone in the back. The church was such a beautiful building. And your grandfather built it! What did they do with the stained glass windows? I hope they were saved and/or auctioned. So sad that it's gone.

    I think your mother was niece to my grandmother because your mom's father was my grandmother's brother. That is, Emma Bickerstaff Meinzen and William Bickerstaff were brother and sister. Your mom, Emma, and my mom, Audrey Meinzen Doyle, were cousins.

    It's so good to hear from you, Beverly. Thanks again for leaving a comment.

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  3. Hi Nancy,

    I started researching my ancestry a couple of years ago and just happened upon this blog. Wow! What a goldmine of information you have collected here already. You've helped me to fill in quite a bit of gaps.

    According to my genealogical software we are "2nd cousins 1 times removed" (through Beverly, above).

    I am particularly interested in the Bickerstaff and Thompson lines as well as the VanKirk line (I believe I recall a reference elsewhere on your blog to Lucy - possibly a photograph.)

    I'm really enjoying the depth of your articles based on your personal recollections and those of your loved ones. Thank you for taking the time to share the fruits of your labors.

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  4. Hi, Kirk --

    Thanks so much for the kind compliments and for leaving comments. I'm glad some of the information I've posted has been helpful to you.

    You said we are 2nd cousins once removed but you didn't say how we're related. Are you Beverly's son?

    Thanks again for your kind comments. I appreciate them.

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  5. Yes, I am Beverly's son.

    So from E.J. Bickerstaff -> W.H. Bickerstaff (Emma V's older brother - your gmother's brother) -> Emma Elizabeth Bickerstaff -> Beverly

    So, in a way, I can sympathize with any long term scars you've incurred from her babysitting you - (Just kidding Mom!)

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  6. Kirk, I wonder if you can fill in some blanks for me, too. I think I have all (or most) of William and Lucy's children, with their birth and death dates, but I'm missing marriages for nearly all of them. One Saturday coming up, tomorrow if I can get it done but probably on the 27th, I'll post their family. Maybe you could share what you have that I don't? I'd be so grateful. I won't post sources but I'd certainly be happy to identify my sources if you want them.

    I'll also dig around and see what photos I have of William and Lucy that I haven't already posted. Do you have any old photos you'd be willing to give me permission to post? If so, I would be happy to give you credit as owner.

    No lasting scars. Your mom was one of my favorite young adults when I was little.

    It's great to "meet" you.

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  7. Oh, absolutely! I would be happy to share whatever I have and would be thrilled if anything that I could provide could help to "connect the dots." I grew up in the central Florida area with only periodic visits to Mineral Ridge. I am at a considerable disadvantage growing up so far away from much of the family that I am striving to learn about. I thoroughly enjoy reading the anecdotes you document on your blog which personally help me to reconnect with my family and rejuvenate my own recollections and experiences... perhaps also to explain some of my quirks!

    I'm actually on my third run of collecting and organizing the data that I have. Since I just recently completed a move from Virginia to Florida my hardcopy files based on previous research are still in disarray. I suppose that I am somewhere between the process of initial discovery and the formal preparation to share with others who care to learn - which will hopefully include my children.

    What is your preferred format (text, GEDCOM, program data file, etc.) for me to provide you with information? I've tried using several programs including RootsMagic, Family Tree Maker, and Gramps (free). I'm still trying to find out what works best for me and to systematically document my sources and somehow rate them in terms of reliability.

    Is it possible to email you directly? I believe I saw somewhere on your blog a contact address of nancysfamilyhistoryblog@gmail.com, is this correct? I would prefer not to post this data directly to the blog until I have sufficiently verified and documented it. I'd hate to mislead anyone following my path based on any of my own perhaps overzealous conclusions.

    I will see what I have for photos. There are many photos with individuals whom I (and my mother) can't identify. Given such a relatively small community, who knows, perhaps some familiar faces with which you are familiar might turn up.

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  8. Kirk, use the "contact" tab on the left and send a note. That will privately come to the email address I use the most and you can give me your email address. I occasionally check the gmail account but not often enough.

    It sounds like you are a careful researcher, something I very, very much appreciate.

    Thanks again for contacting me.

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  9. I initially tried using the "Contact" tab. When I try to do so I receive a popup window that states:

    "We're sorry, but som..."
    "We've been notified about this..."
    "at it sh" [clipped text]
    I've tried this using 3 different browsers (Google Chrome, Firefox, & Internet Explorer).

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kirk, use the gmail email and I'll check it (in the morning). The contact tab seems to go into and out of service. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for being persistent.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The plot thickens...
    (Did I miss something on your blogger email address?)

    My email to you was kicked back:

    Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:

    nancysfamilyhistoryblog@gmail.com

    Technical details of permanent failure:
    Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further information about the cause of this error. The error that the other server returned was: 550 550-5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist.

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  12. Kirk, the email address is myancestorsandme@gmail.com. (I set up my blog before I was sure of its title and I think it might be confusing to have a different url and title.) Okay, this will work this time!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ok, thanks for the correction. I have resent it to the above email address...

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  14. Building has not been razed- I can see it from here.

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  15. Thank you, Anonymous. I'm pleased to know it's still standing. Someone else sent a photo recently showing that the steeple had been removed, but at least the building's still there.

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I appreciate your comments and look forward to reading what you have to say. Thanks for stopping by.

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