Stained Glass and Painting Story Windows

When Artisan met in the other building and the guys started trying to include kids and families in worship, the walkers and talkers were in a foyer area with floor to ceiling windows. It was a temporary space so hanging pictures every week didn't really happen. It seemed like a fun idea to find Bible stained glass pictures. Looking at posters, the cost was steep. I also tried looking for translucent stained glass Bible coloring pictures but I never found them. That's why I was excited about the Dover books.

My understanding is that in the early cathedrals one of the most significant reasons for the stained glass windows was to present the scriptures visually to a largely illiterate population. It was a beautiful and artistic expression but bottom line, it was a way to tell God's story to people who couldn't read.

That's why I was excited about the stained glass coloring pages. Whether they'd be better colored by adults and older children and hung in windows for younger children or colored and viewed by mid-elementary aged kids, is a matter of preference. Older kids could probably design their own with the right kind of paper, pencils for tracing and thick black permanent markers.

We also considered using window paint and painting a part of the advent story on the patio doors each week, adding a scene each Sunday leading into Christmas. (One wall of the entry hall consisted of patio doors.) The other option was to have someone outline the pictures and give adults and children opportunity to fill in the colors, but it could get messy and it wasn't our building. It also helps to have someone with a significant amount of artistic abiltity willing to draw the outlines and work with the painters. :) It never really got off the ground. If you have lots of big long windows in your building it might be a way to celebrate Christmas or Easter.