Just about six months ago, a fire came within minutes of wiping out the historic (175 years or so sold) First Presbyterian Church of Gallatin that my wife and I attend. Much of the smoke and water damage to the newer parts of the building has been repaired months back, while some sections directly under the sanctuary, where the fire began and was contained, are being remodeled (for the better).
The sanctuary, though remains closed and largely as it was a few weeks after the fire, as the various committees work toward decisions about redecorating, what kind of organ to buy, whether to carpet the floors, and so on. Many of the decisions are interlocking - for instance, replacing the old plaster walls with drywall affects the acoustics, as does carpeting all or some of the sanctuary. That in turn affects the choice of organ and sound system. I'm glad I am not on the organ committee - their puzzles are many. For instance, tuning some kinds of big pipe organs can be expensive (and ours needed it long ago), but you can buy organs that are much easier to tune and require it less often - but cost more on the front end.
My visit was to discuss replacing the only stained glass window that perished in the fire - which started basically at that window. The window memorialized my father-in-law and brother-in-law, and was installed about 25 years ago. Since then, my mother-in-law also has passed away, so we will add her name to the window, and use some remnants of the original glass in the new design.
I learned a lot about how stained glass windows and pieces are made - artists such as Louis Tiffany layered different colors and textures to produce his stunning works - and also about our church during the tour. It was used by Union forces as a hospital in The Civil War, and under the current hardwood floor is another floor, made of poplar and stained in places by soldiers' blood. We could glimpse the handmade brick walls where plaster had been broken away, and see old beams and supports, cut log before anyone much dreamed of sending messages along copper wires to distant places.
No one seems to know when the restoration will be done, but all seem to agree it needs to be done right, with an eye to more generations of usefulness. There are windows that survived - but need attention - that are more than 100 years old, and I hope our new window makes it that long. I didn't ask the question, but figured there is some way they could someday add my name and my wife's name. That would be nice, I've always loved stained glass and would probably enjoy the light.
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