Stained glass window central to church's loss

JOPLIN, Mo. -- After the 2011 tornado in Joplin, the huge stained glass window at First Community Church became the focal point of church members' loss -- and recovery.

The window spanned the front of the church sanctuary, making it a backdrop for every service and church program.

It was destroyed when the EF-5 tornado demolished that wall and the roof of the church, The Joplin Globe reports.

And the window was the centerpiece for many members in December 2012 when they gathered to dedicate the rebuilt church.

Richard Massa, chancel assistant for the church, said he and other members were determined the original window would be replicated.

"The window was the focal point for so many people," Massa said. "When people talked about the church, they talked about how much they missed it and how eager they were to see it again."

Massa said he did not go to the church to survey the damage, but did talk with members who did and "were devastated."

"I didn't want to see it," he said.

After the tornado, there was not a single panel of the window that could be salvaged. The glass was in shards -- some used to make jewelry that church members keep as mementos.

Massa said three architects were involved in making sure the new window would meet building codes that had changed from when the church building was constructed in the early 1960s.

The design for the window is to represent life -- its 365 pieces, the number of days in the year, and the colors used, to illustrate the different stages of life. Like the original, the glass used in the new window is hand-blown, from Germany.

Massa credited church member Dave Mason for overseeing efforts to replace the window and restore the church and sanctuary. He said he was among many church members who contributed photographs they had taken of the sanctuary that were used by Soos Stained Glass, North Little Rock, Ark., to make sure colors in the new window were true to the original.

"People are amazed because it's hard to see the difference," Massa said. "There has been some debate that it's darker, but it could be colors in the original window had faded.

"But it was the window they wanted to see."

Members were unable to worship in the sanctuary for 18 months, though they did return for several months for services in the basement as the renovation progressed. Before that, they held services at Forest Park Baptist Church.

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Information from: The Joplin (Mo.) Globe, http://www.joplinglobe.com