St. Paul United Methodist
The Methodist church on Washington Street in Gainesville is flanked with stained-glass windows in the old sanctuary and the new sanctuary, which was built in 2004.

“It was put in the new sanctuary in 2004, and then in the old sanctuary it was put in in 1937,” said Susan Page, church secretary.

The new stained glass pieces were created by Jennifer’s Glass Works in Smyrna. The windows are tall rectangles surrounding the building that burst into an array of colors when hit by the sunlight, including purples, blues and whites.

“It’s beautiful,” Page said of the new windows. “It resembles the old sanctuary a lot. It’s not the same but it resembles it a lot — along the same lines — and I like that connection, the old and the new.”

Grace Episcopal Church
The stories behind the stained-glass windows at Grace Episcopal in Gainesville inspired the church to produce a book on the windows. The project will hopefully be complete in 2009, according to church officials.

St. Michael Catholic Church
At St. Michael in Gainesville, there are five hand-crafted stained glass pieces.

One of the largest pieces is a circular stained glass window that can be seen from Enota Avenue, which runs alongside the church.

The stained glass window was placed in the building during renovations in 1997 and was donated in memory of Matthew Gerard Tollett.

“Stained glass has a long history in the Catholic church back to the days of the mosaics,” said the Rev. Kizito Okeke. “What is attractive about the stained glass here is the fact it has the Catholic symbols, such symbols that ... tell everything about the Catholic faith.”

The window, which is Gothic tracery — a type of window construction featuring elaborate ironwork —  features many symbols in the Christian faith such as the crucifix and a silvered figure surround by a sunburst of purple hues blending into a mix of gold and amber.

There is also a palm olive branch, a butterfly, an Easter Lily and the cup of salvation, among other symbols.

“It looks so pretty and at times some people share with me that it is so amazing to see how it glitters,” Okeke said. “Some of them will tell me ‘God was manifesting himself in special ways’ ... it creates that awesome presence of God.”  

The other stained glass pieces in the church include Our Lady of Guadelupe, St. Michael, the Eucharist and a smaller piece that was placed in the front doors of the church.