At times history needs a bit of help.

The congregation of Old Zionsville United Church of Christ, Upper Milford Township, is paying forward on its history in an extensive restoration of the stained glass windows at the church, windows installed in the early days of the 20th century.

Cumberland Stained Glass Inc., Mechanicsburg, is working to restore the windows. Two large displays are completed.

“We have a job that gets done every 100 to 125 years,” Cumberland business owner Bryan Lerew said of the project in an interview on site Dec. 1, 2021, while crew members Dan “Woody” Wood and Tim McCann worked to remove the second large window in the project.

And what a job it is.

On Dec. 1 and 2, 2021, Lerew, Wood and McCann removed what Old Zionsville UCC Pastor Lori Esslinger describes as “the Good Shepherd window,” a towering depiction of the Bible story of the significance of saving and returning a lost sheep to a flock.

Lerew, Wood and McCann dismantled each section of the window, removing oak encasements framing the glass to reach the glass panels. Removal of a section of frame revealed a surprising gem of history; the signatures of the craftsmen and the date of the installation of the stained glass window – June 27, 1910.

The time capsule of the names and date speak to the ingenuity and workmanship of those who built and installed the windows. And the inscription will remain for future generations to see.

“Everything goes back as it was intended when it was originally installed,” Lerew said, adding “at least that’s my philosophy.”

Prepping for the removal of the windows starts with covering the pews in canvas tarps, converting the church narthex into what Lerew refers to as “the stained glass hospital” to handle any unanticipated repairs, hauling in several heavy duty vacuums and special lights and constructing a 12-foot high scaffold to reach the windows.

“It’s not easy work and they do it all the time,” Ruth Stansfield, a member of the church congregation as well as the committee leading the restoration effort, said when stopping in to see the work in progress. “They are an incredible group,” Stansfield added.

Prepping for the restoration project formally began in March 2019 when a subcommittee, including Esslinger and Stansfield, met to talk about the “feasibility and scope of the project,” according to an email Esslinger shared with The Press. A timetable was set and fundraising began with an eye toward start of the project the following year.

Cumberland contracted to do the restoration, starting work with the windows flanking the church organ. The windows were removed in October, restored and returned in time for Christmas 2021.

On Dec. 1 and 2, 2021, Lerew, Wood and McCann removed the Good Shepherd window. On Feb. 23 and 24 the window returned, just in time for Transformation Sunday, Esslinger noted.

Transformation or Transfiguration Sunday celebrates the transformation of the appearance of Jesus by light.

“Light will be coming back into the church figuratively and literally,” Esslinger said.

In a video titled “The Path to Paradise: Judith Schaechter’s Stained-Glass Art,” the artist said the following of her medium of choice: “Stained glass shine’s light onto your body. It’s a powerful experience. (It is) to create radiant light.”

It is also an art of challenges.

For example, Lerew discovered several of the sheep featured in the Good Shepherd window were damaged by time and weather and needed work in addition to the expected cleaning and restoration. The face of Jesus also needed work.

Lerew’s team also includes an artist in California and one in Georgia who work with glass.

The technique of stained glass is centuries old.

According to a short film produced by the Victoria and Albert Museum, stained glass windows have long begun with a full-size working drawing, also known as a cartoon, of a design. The drawing includes lines for the lead canes used to fit the glass pieces together into a unified image. The cartoons also include the colors and details for the future window.

Next, glass is selected, cut and shaped to fit the design. Details, such as shading, texture and facial features are added with paints and other materials as well as by using techniques such as scraping the glass. The glass is then fired in a kiln.

Once the glass pieces are ready, the pieces are fit together using lead strips cut to size. Heat is applied to manipulate and join the lead strips to hold the glass in place in a completed panel.

A glazing cement is applied to secure everything together.

Stained glass windows often depict Bible stories and other scripture.

“It’s really emotional working on stained glass windows that were installed several centuries ago,” Barbara Trichereau, an engineer in France’s Research Laboratory for Historic Monuments working to restore stained glass in the Notre Dame Cathedral after fire devastated the site in April 2019, said in a brief news video “Restoring Notre-Dame Cathedral: Specialists tackle famous stained-glass windows.”

“Rediscovering the materials that were used by the master glass makers of the period, it’s always moving,” Trichereau added.

More than a century of dirt and dust rested on the stained glass windows at Old Zionsville UCC.

Each panel of glass was carefully removed and cleaned by the Cumberland team. Templates were made of the window designs to ensure reassembly went smoothly.

Assembled panels, the lead caning replaced, topped the scales at as much as 75 pounds each. Lerew, Wood and McCann then carried, lifted and installed each panel by hand.

Collectively, the crew members hold five decades of experience working with glass.

“They’re all the same but they’re different,” Lerew said of the restorations he and his team have wrested with through the years. “It’s the same process but you have to figure out how it’s done each time.”

The trio will continue their work at Old Zionsville UCC with the Nativity window depicting the Christmas story.

According to a report on the windows dated Feb. 15 and made available to The Press, the goal is set in 2022 to raise $20,000 to be able to enter a contract for the start of the project to restore the Nativity window in 2023.

Fundraising projects include quilt auctions, a puzzle raffle and a matching gift campaign. Car washes and yard sales also are possible fundraising tools.

Restoration of the stained glass windows, including the Good Shepherd window, is made possible through contributions from church members, memorial donations and fundraising activities, Esslinger detailed in an email to The Press.

The overall goal of the restoration project is a substantial one.

On the morning of Feb. 23, Lerew, McCann and Wood had a goal of slightly different kind.

“The goal is to have it all in by lunch time,” Lerew said.