See how the light floods through the windows, both coloured and clear, and fills the church.
Light reveals colour and beauty.
It allows us to see obstacles and the way around them.
It cheers and guides.
“Jesus said ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’”. John 8 v12
There are seven stained glass windows in our church building, these are detailed below.
The East Window
Dedicated in 1915 and shows the spread of Christianity in Northern England through the saints of Saxon times.
Further Information about the East Window
The Memorial Window
This window was erected to the memory of Lieutenant Charles Malin Clifton Sorby who was killed in action near Ypres in May 1915 .
It was provided by his sorrowing parents.
The Ascension Window
This window shows a picture of Christ ascending into Heaven
The window was erected by public subscription to the memory of the late Canon A. E. Sorby who fought a legal battle with Local Education Authority which ended up in the House of Lords.
This was to establish the principle that parents have the right to withdraw their children from school to attend church on Ascension Day, and the rest of the day to be a holiday. The result was the creation of the “Darfield Edict” or judgement.
The Baptistry Window
The window here was given by the members of the Mothers Union as a thanksgiving to the memory of the men who returned safely home after the 1914-18 war.
The Good Samaritan Window
This is in the North aisle – there was once a north doorway here which enabled processions to move straight through the church. It was blocked up at some point but rediscovered at the restoration of 1911.
The window commemorates this restoration.
The Tower Window
The Lady Chapel Window
This window is from 1900 in memory of the Taylor family
Our Rector David writes:
Do you know where this bit of coloured glass is in our church? I saw it for the first time a couple of weeks ago. It had remained hidden to me probably because I tend to sit in the same place week by week – well, after all, it is the seat that the Bishop installed me in!
However, there was a service not so long ago when I sat somewhere different. Perhaps it was the light that was just right that meant I saw this splash of colour that I hadn’t noticed before. It reminded me that someone had worked on painting this window to the glory of God, even though for most of the time the handiwork is neither seen nor commented upon. It made me think about how easy it is to sit in the same place week by week, to feel comfortable with the same routine day by day, to be happy to greet the same people, and so on … and without realising it to miss out on seeing a new bit of the glory of God.
What do you think about sitting somewhere different to discover something new about God?
How about this image in the corner of one of the windows?
“Lord I ask that you will be the light in my life, showing me the way forward.
Fill my life with your brightness.”