Windows at First Presbyterian Church

The First Presbyterian Church of Orange, Texas will be doing a special series of sermons on the life of Jesus Christ during the season of Lent featuring the six stained glass windows in the church's sanctuary. Pastor Bobby Daniel will gear his sermons at the six Sunday morning services of Lent on the portion of Jesus' life depicted in each one of the six windows.

The window series of sermons from Pastor Bobby Daniel will begin on Sunday, February 25 at the First Presbyterian Church during the 10:00 AM service with a different window to be covered on six consecutive Sundays. The final sermon of the series will be on Easter Sunday, March 31. The First Presbyterian Church is located on Green Avenue between Eighth and Ninth Streets in downtown Orange.

The series begins on the west side of the sanctuary with THE ANNUNCIATION window which was done based on a painting by Frederick James Shield depicting the Archangel Gabriel telling Mary she will give birth to the Messiah. The scene is taken from Luke 1:31, "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus."

The second sermon will be THE HOLY FAMILY window done from a painting by Martin von Feuerstein. The painting is based on Luke 2:7-15, "And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn...And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe laying in a manger."

JESUS IN THE TEMPLE by William Holman Hunt is the third window which covers a Passover trip to Jerusalem when Jesus got separated from his parents Mary and Joseph. They frantically looked through the city for Jesus before Luke 2:46 tells where they found Him, "After three days they found Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers listening to them and asking them questions."

Across the sanctuary on the east side is the only window in the Lutcher Memorial Building produced from a painting by a female artist Sibyl C. Parker. THE GOOD SHEPHERD is filled with symbolism regarding Jesus including the structure of the beams behind Him. John 10:11 tells, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."

There are no depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus in the Lutcher Memorial Building. However, the window entitled PILATE'S WIFE'S DREAM based on a painting by Gustave Dore' does depict the time of the crucifixion and displayed two crosses. Matthew 27:19 relates the story concerning Pontius Pilate and his wife, "And while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, 'have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much over him today in a dream'."

The sixth and final sermon on the windows will be THE ASCENSION done by a work from Carlotti. Jesus is seen rising up on the return to heaven as told in Luke 24:51, "While He blessed them, He was parted from them."

The Lutcher Memorial Building is an historical landmark built by Frances Ann Lutcher to serve as the house of worship for the First Presbyterian Church of

Orange located in the downtown section of the southeast Texas city 112 years ago. The impressive building opened on January 28, 1912 with the first worship service being held in it, and the First Presbyterian Church in Orange has worshiped in the beautiful building for over a century.

Frances Ann Lutcher was the wife of lumber tycoon Henry Jacob Lutcher. The couple moved to Orange, Texas in 1878 and joined the First Presbyterian Church which at the time was located further south in town than the present building and near the Sabine River.

Mrs. Lutcher had a dream to build a church to glorify God based on scriptures in the Bible from Proverbs 3:9-10, Leviticus 23:10-14, II Chronicles 31:5, and I Kings 9:1-3. These Bible scriptures all refer to giving first fruits to Him. "Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce;" (Proverbs 3:9).

While visiting the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893 Mrs. Lutcher saw three opalescent stained glass windows from the Lamb Studio that she knew would be

the center pieces for the church building she planned to build. Those three windows are now located on the front of the Lutcher Memorial Building facing

the sanctuary inside.

The Lamb Studio was hired by Mrs. Lutcher to be the contractor for the new church building she was having constructed. On Mrs. Lutcher's instructions Lamb produced opalescent stained glass windows for the first floor of the building which served as classrooms for the Sunday school and the second floor where the sanctuary was located.

Each window represents an event or circumstance in the life of Jesus Christ. The first floor deals with Jesus either as a child or Him reaching out to children

while the second floor gives more of a chronological history of Jesus' life.

Pastor Daniel will speak on the windows found on the second floor along the west and east sides of the sanctuary. The stories in these six windows begin with the announcement of His coming birth and concludes with Jesus returning to be with His Father in heaven. To view a short video featuring these windows and dates and times of the sermon series, click this link: https://fb.watch/qjlPc3rfvj/