UUSD to dedicate new stained-glass window June 9
After years of painstaking work, a 46-inch, circular, stained-glass window is scheduled to be dedicated during the Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware worship service Sunday, June 9.
Local artist Ron Parks created the window. His inspiration was the mylar image by Gabriel Zepecki, a UUSD congregant and artist, that currently occupies the window space in the church sanctuary. Zepecki died before the window was completed, and it is in her honor the work has carried on and will be dedicated, said Parks.
The Rev. Heather Rion Starr said the window is stunning. It’s the culmination of hours and hours of love and community, she said.
“It’s really beautiful. We’re thrilled,” said Starr. “It’s definitely a labor of love, dedication and perseverance.”
Getting started was the hard part because he’d never used lead, said Parks, who has years of experience making stained-glass art using copper foil. It’s a very different process using copper foil when compared to working with lead, he said.
Parks began with the middle and then worked his way down before finishing with the top half. The window contains 381 total pieces of glass, 128 pieces of colored glass and weighs in the neighborhood of 50 pounds, he said.
Following the dedication, the window will be available for viewing at eye level for several weeks before it is permanently set into the sanctuary wall in a space, said Parks. Once it’s installed, it will be inaccessible for close inspection, he said.
Starr said there are several congregants working together to figure out the best way to install the window. If there’s ever a reason to have it moved, or the wall needs to come down because the church needs to expand, the congregants are working on a way to make that happen safely, she said.
The Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware worship service begins at 10 a.m., Sunday, June 9. The address is 30486 Lewes-Georgetown Hwy., Lewes. For more information, go to uusd.org, call 302-313-5838 or email info@uussd.org.
