WINDOWS FOR THE SOUL: SOME SOUTHEAST MISSOURI CHURCHES HIGHLIGHTED IN STAINED GLASS BOOK

Churches in Missouri are proud of their stained glass windows and love to tell people about them, says the author of a new book about Missouri's churches.

"They're proud of their windows, even if they don't know a lot about them," said Ken Luebbering, who wrote the book "Gospels in Glass" with his wife, Robyn Burnett, a photographer.

The book is available at local bookstores and from Pebble Publishing Co.

Several windows in Southeast Missouri made the list of those highlighted in the book. Those windows are First Presbyterian Church, St. Mary Cathedral and St. Vincent de Paul Church in Cape Girardeau; St. Henry Catholic Church in Charleston, Mo., Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in New Madrid, Mo.; Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Poplar Bluff, Mo.; and Ste. Genevieve Catholic Church in Ste. Genevieve, Mo.

Narrowing the list was probably the hardest part of writing the book, Luebbering said. The authors started with 2,300 slides taken of the various windows they'd seen or been referred to. Only 120 of them made it into the book.

Most of the windows included in the book were from the early 20th century and are traditional in style and design. Some are similar to the Renaissance art but others incorporate more modern designs.

The windows in Ste. Genevieve may be among the oldest included in the book, while the newest were installed in 1999 at Happy Zion General Baptist Church in Annapolis, Mo.

Not all the slides were publishable quality, Luebbering said. "But one of the things we did was get geographical and denominational variety."

Change with the seasons

The book limited itself to windows of figured and stained glass that shows symbolism.

The windows "show something of the artistic diversity" around the state, he said.

Part of the appeal with stained glass windows is that they are constantly changing with the seasons and the amount of light in a particular place. Some of the best photography Burnett took were on overcast days during the winter.

Stained glass windows are the perfect way to talk about history, church architecture and German migration in the state, said Brett Dufur, whose company published the book.

Luebbering and Burnett first became interested in stained glass windows after they researched a book on German migration in Missouri. "We would visit these little churches in German communities and learn more about them," Luebbering said.

What they found were interesting stories about how the churches were founded and built and how the windows came to be included in the construction. "There is a really rich tradition of stained glass making in Missouri," he said.

Some of the best companies are located here, including a nationally recognized firm in St. Louis.

Each window tells a story and people like the art included in that story, Luebbering said. That's the biggest appeal about stained glass windows.

"People always say Well, they're beautiful,' but if you begin paying attention to the windows they will talk about them and what it means to them in terms of spiritual concerns and what it can mean in the life of the church as a whole," Luebbering said.

"Part of the appeal when you look at it, especially with the glass that is not so darkly colored you can almost see through it, is that it changes with time."