131 Reflections of Faith: Making Stained Glass Windows for Bryn Athyn Cathedral and Glencairn

On Sunday, April 22, 2007, more than 400 people visited Glencairn Museum to enjoy the 2nd annual “Reflections of Faith: A Stained Glass Sunday at Glencairn.” An exhibit of historic photographs and original tools used in the creation of windows for Bryn Athyn Cathedral and Glencairn allowed visitors to explore the techniques and materials employed in the Bryn Athyn glass factory (see photo, below). Live demonstrations of glassblowing techniques used by the Bryn Athyn craftsmen were presented by Jason Klein of Historical Glassworks throughout the afternoon (see photo, left). J. Kenneth Leap from the Stained Glass Center at WheatonArts led two workshops where participants painted their own piece of glass using medieval and Bryn Athyn techniques. A special guided tour and a family project were also part of the afternoon’s offerings.

The history of stained glass production in Bryn Athyn dates to the early 1920s, when a factory was built on ground only a few hundred yards from Bryn Athyn Cathedral, a New Church house of worship. The factory was in continuous operation from July, 1922, to April, 1942, when it was shut down because of the war. The building was torn down in 1952, but many of the tools and materials were preserved Continue reading » » » »

129 Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the Academy of the New Church at Seaside Resort (1886)

“I traveled to Beach Haven [a resort town on Long Beach Island, New Jersey], to be present at the celebration of the Decennial of the Academy, which lasted over a week. I will never be able to do justice to that occasion. It was a milestone in my life, a foretaste of heaven. It was the very culmination of the glory of the old Academy. About eighty persons were present, from different parts of the world, all being together as guests of Mr. John Pitcairn in a magnificent hotel at the seaside [see photo, left]. There were services, ceremonies, discussions and feasts, every day. What sublime spirituality, and yet what intense natural gaiety and innocent enjoyment! We ‘boys,’ of course, especially enjoyed the ‘nachspiels’ under the leadership of the indomitable Walter Childs. Fred Waelchli and I roomed together. One morning we awoke to witness a glorious sunrise over the ocean, and seriously discussed whether we were in the natural or the spiritual world!” (New Church Life 1920, 285-6).

The passage above, from the autobiography of Carl Theophilus Odhner, expresses some of the excitement associated with this event (June 14 – 19, 1886), which was remembered with great fondness by the participants for many years afterwards.

According to a report written a few weeks after the decennial, “the subjects discussed were of great importance, and many teachings, new and valuable in their application to the Academy, were presented” (College Letters, August 15, 1886). The subject of New Church funerals is a striking example of how many of the traditions Continue reading » » » »

124 Easter Service in the Club House, April 15th, 1900

The Easter service in Bryn Athyn on April 15th, 1900, took place in what was known as the “Club House.” Bryn Athyn was a newly formed community in 1900 (the name “Bryn Athyn,” meaning “Hill of Unity,” had been selected by the Village Association in 1899), and no permanent place of worship had yet been built. The Club House was designed by Benjamin Smith, a young New Church architect, and constructed by Henry Stroh, who also built the original churches in Berlin (Kitchener) and Toronto. John Pitcairn owned the land and the building, located on Central Avenue (now Alnwick Road).

“The interior is entirely finished in Virginia pine, ceiling and walls being alike covered by this beautiful wood. The furniture of the chancel is of the noble California red-wood (Sequoia). The chancel, which measures 10 x 15 1/2 feet, is lit by a window in the roof; the light being shaded from the congregation by an ornamental tent-like contrivance of wood that rises in the form of a Japanese roof Continue reading » » » »