Beautiful panes

It was a jaw-dropping offer that led to eye-catching art.

And Country Homes Christian Church has never looked quite so lovely since Edward Spray installed his stained-glass windows.

The project was put into motion last January when Spray, a congregant, told the Rev. John Temple Bristow his plan to craft and donate 22 stained-glass windows to the church at Country Homes Boulevard and Wall Street.

“It came out of the blue,” said Bristow, re-enacting his reaction with a look of amazement. “I knew his work was so special.”

Eleven months later, the Country Homes Christian Church is decorated with 18 stained-glass windows in its main sanctuary and four at the two entrances. Spray estimates the value at $20,000. Daryl Triplett, a chartered member of the 46-year-old congregation, installed the windows along with his volunteer crew.

“I am so pleased at their generosity and the creativity. We’re just blessed with Ed and Alice,” Bristow said, referring to Spray’s wife.

Spray, a retired tire store zone manager, took up stained-glass making six years ago. He learned by working at a store and eventually set up his own studio in his home near Five Mile Road. His shop is called Iwan Stained Glass, and all the work is custom.

Within two weeks of committing to the church project, Spray had completed two of the 18-inch by 7-foot windows that hang in the sanctuary. Within four months, he had finished all 18 sanctuary windows, which were dedicated by the congregation in June. The larger entrance windows were finished and installed by October.

Spray said each stained-glass window took about 40 hours to complete. Although every window is unique, the common themes are the Christian cross, doves and the chalice cup, which is a symbol of the denomination. The iridescent glass is either hammered style or a swirly texture, made to look like wind.

The original windows – gold-colored plastic and clear plastic a la “The Brady Bunch” – were installed when the sanctuary was added in 1974.

“The windows in before were so ugly,” said Bristow, pastor at County Homes for the past 3½ years. “People’s eyes would just go somewhere else.”