Photo – Peter Swanson

Children’s Window

1963 – Church of The Epiphany, Washington, DC

The first thing you notice about this window and its companion on the back wall is that it is not stained glass, it is etched glass. There are two basic methods for etching glass. One is sandblasting, and the other is using acid. In both cases a design is created on a film that is attached to the glass. The part to be etched is cut out of the film, exposing the glass. Then this exposed glass is either sand-blasted or painted with acid to give the glass a texture.

The other curious thing about this window is that the two panels are almost exactly the same as two windows that Rowan and Irene did in 1957 and now adorn the Church of the Servant in Wilmington, North Carolina. We do not have an official record of where those window were originally housed, nor why these panels recreate those scenes almost exactly, but we do have a slide of Rowan’s that shows the North Carolina window and is labeled “Epiphany Washington, Dixon window, 1957.”

Iconography

There are two scenes in this window. On the left is a story that is recounted in the three synoptic gospels: Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14, and Luke 18:16 all describe a scene in which parents are bringing their children to see Jesus and they are rebuked by the disciples, who think that Jesus has more important things to do. However, Jesus turns to the disciples and says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” It is a very poignant and comforting scene for parents that illustrates the Lord’s concern and compassion for children. Unfortunately, throughout history, children have not always received such love and affection.

The right lancet is a scene from the account of the feeding of the 5,000, which is told in all four gospels (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-14; John 6:1-14). Jesus had withdrawn with his disciples to Bethsaida, and the crowds pursued him there. Jesus had pity on them, taught them and cured them. It became late, and the twelve disciples told Jesus to send the crowds away to get food and lodging. As Luke recounts, Jesus responded, “’You give them something to eat.’ They said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish–unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.’ For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, ‘Make them sit down…’ And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And all ate and were satisfied. They took up what was left over, twelve baskets of broken pieces.”

 Rowan and Irene’s window captures the critical moment: As a boy holds up a basket containing some bread and fish, Jesus, looking up to Heaven, breaks the bread and blesses it. The scene is a familiar one that has been used again and again in various works of art throughout the ages.

Year Completed

1963

Artists

Rowan LeCompte

Irene Matz LeCompte

Fabricator

Rowan LeCompte

Irene Matz LeCompte

Location In Building

Rear Wall of Nave