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A Little Something Different - Part 2


Welcome back, and we were touring the panes at the United Methodist church here in St. Pete.  They are so proud of them they give weekly tours.  Of course, at the end of the tour you are given an opportunity to donate to and/or purchase greetings cards featuring the windows.  True to form, everyone has their hand out down here. The true draw to this place however is the large stain-glass DaVinci Last Supper.  



Set back at the rear of the church in its own room, the Last Supper windows are pretty striking and when lit at night is pretty spectacular, too.




There are some interesting aspects to the work that bear mentioning.  First, the disciples are showing the exact moment after Christ states that one of them will betray him.



From left to right: Bartholomew, James and Andrew showing surprise.  Andrew, of St. Andrews golf course in Scotland,  has his hands up in a fashion saying, "Huh, not me!"




Then we have Judas, Peter and John.  Judas is looking a bit withdrawn with having his plan made public and he is holding a bag either in reference to his getting a bag of silver for his deed or because he was treasurer for the group.  He is the only one to have his elbow on the table and his head is the lowest of all of them.
Peter is angry and is holding a knife away from Christ.  John appears to be swooning.





To the right of Christ is Thomas, James the Greater and Philip.  Thomas is upset and his finger foreshadows the resurrection.  James is upset as well with his hands in the air, while Philip appears to be requesting more information.





The final three are Matthew, Jude and Simon.  Both Jude and Matthew are turned to Simon perhaps in an attempt to gather more of what Jesus has just said.  3 is a common theme in the painting which denotes the Trinity: God and Son and Holy Ghost.  The individuals are seated in threes, and Christ forms a triangle.  There are also three windows.



Now, about the stained glass process.  The molten glass is formed and shaped to bring out the particular colors of each area.  After that, artists paint in the details.  This foot, fore instance has been hand drawn and detailed.  



Same here:  Faces and detail work is done by ordinary brush and paints.  



In the upper most seating areas of the church are these pretty glass windows. 


Over in the corner is this original dais which is now used sparingly.  Many famous and renowned people have spoken at this dais 




They include Helen Keller,  Billy Sunday, J.C. Penney and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, and Branch Rickey among others.

That concludes our tour today.  We hope you have enjoyed learning just a bit about the process and please be careful leaving.  Oh, and would the last one please turn out the lights.  Perhaps tomorrow we will find something of interest a little less...ecclesiastical.  However, from the looks of some of you maybe a little theological cleansing might be just the ticket.  

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