Workshop at Milford educates students about stories in church's windows

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
February 16, 2006

MILFORD - Religious education students at St. Joseph Parish in Milford had a unique learning experience last week as they participated in a stained glass workshop that focused on the windows in their own church building.

According to Karen Schwaller, the director of religious education at St. Joseph, this workshop was presented to students in kindergarten through sixth grade during the regular religious education class time.

"It was a chance to teach the students about our own church here in Milford so that when they come to church on the weekend, they can look at these windows with a whole new insight. Now they know the story that is on each of the windows and it will give them something to think about when they are in their quiet time at church," she explained.

All of the children gathered in church as the workshop got underway. Parishioner Georgia Sheley, a lifelong parishioner at St. Joseph, offered a narrative on each of the windows.

The windows, which came from Munich, Germany in 1921, center on the life and ministry of Jesus. One window features the wedding of Mary and Joseph and another is of Jesus in the temple at the age of 12. Some of the other windows include Joseph on his deathbed, the resurrection of Christ and Jesus giving the keys of the church to Peter.

Sheley spoke about symbolism in some of the windows, explained when things related to the Mass and tied it into their personal lives.

"Then we went to the parish center for activities. We offered two 20-minute activity workshops," noted Schwaller.

The younger students made a stained glass candle. They decorated baby food jars with colored tissue paper. A tea candle was placed inside. The older students made a stained glass cross out of construction paper, cellophane and tissue paper. For the second workshop, the older students made a stained glass candle and then the younger ones colored a transparency with markers to create a stained glass effect.

"They were all simple, inexpensive ideas but I think the kids liked it," she said.

The children also received a trivia sheet - a list of questions - relating to the stained glass windows. One question asked how many sheep were in the Nativity window? Another asked which window contained St. Peter's Basilica. If students didn't have time to complete the trivia sheet, they are invited to bring it to church with them.

Msgr. Kenneth Seifried, pastor at St. Joseph Church, pointed out that he has been at the parish for seven months now. He acknowledged that with his attention given to the altar, he hadn't paid as much attention to the windows in the church.

"If you would have asked me before this program what the stained glass windows were about - I would have said, 'I will have to take a look.' Listening to the presentation, I discovered that every window is about the life of Christ," he said. "Now, as I walk into the church, I can be reminded that while I am still focused on the altar, we have some wonderful stained glass windows that are helping us in our spirituality with the life of Christ in the windows."

While intended for the young students, the pastor said the workshop woke him up to the stories in the windows. Prior to serving at the Milford parish, Msgr. Seifried was pastor in Granville. He noted that those windows mainly focus on the saints.

The art projects that the students brought home, he added, will serve as a reminder to the children of the lessons in the windows.

Schwaller said they offered a stained glass workshop about six years ago.

"We had hoped that the kids would gain a whole new appreciation for these windows, that they are not just part of the church. They are a work of art and a part of history," she said.

If other parishes have stained glass windows in their church, the DRE recommended that other religious education programs try this type of workshop.

"I think this is a valuable experience for the students - to have them learn. Each window is like a mini-Gospel or a little prayer in itself. It's fun for the kids to see and know that their church is unique and special," said Schwaller.

Msgr. Seifried said he was amazed at how attentive all of the children were for the workshop.

"There was good interest, a good excitement and I think they will remember it," he said.