RAYMOND — A two-year project by members of the congregation to create colorful window panels depicting seven major passages from the Bible will come to an end Sunday, June 24, when the panels are formally dedicated during the regular Sunday service at Raymond Village Community Church, 27 Main St.
Everyone in the community is invited to attend the service and dedication.
More than 20 of the church’s parishioners had a hand in painting the panels, spending over 200 workhours during a series of seven workshops. The panels were made possible through a Vital Worship Grant from the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship. That grant paid for all materials and made it possible for the church to retain the services of UCC pastor and artist Rev. Diane Wendorf, who designed the panels and facilitated the parishioners who collaborated to paint them.
Each of the seven pairs of 15-foot-high panels frame one of the seven large windows in the church. The panels can be closed to darken the church during special services and to allow the projection of multi-media presentations during worship. Most of the time, they are open, “looking like stained glass, only sitting beside each window, not in it,” said RVCC’s pastor, the Rev. Nancy Foran. “And when they are closed, they look like stained glass from the outside.”
The sanctuary of the Church is already decorated with trompe l’oeil designs on each wall and the ceiling, painted by a former pastor approximately 150 years ago. “The new panels are meant both to complement and contrast with the historic decoration,” explained Foran. “They add new life and vibrant color to our almost 200-year-old church, reminding everyone that no matter how old an institution, the Church needs to be vital, and always growing and changing.”
The panels depict seven different passages in the Bible from Genesis, Psalms, Isaiah, Matthew, John, and Revelation. For further information about the panels and the dedication, email Foran at nancy1@maine.rr.com, or call the church at 207-655-7749.
Raymond Village Community Church is a United Church of Christ congregation with a diverse faith community embracing tolerance, committed to missions and outreach, singing joyfully, and welcoming all people no matter where they are on their faith journey.
PHOTO: Some of the more than 20 Raymond Village Community Church parishioners and friends who painted the church’s new window panels, from left, Deb Feagans, Martha Morrison, Laurie Lambert, the Rev. Nancy Foran, pastor, Judy Munson and Fran Mains. (Submitted photo)
