St. Paul’s Windows
St Paul’s Painted Windows
St. Paul’s is blessed with exquisite painted windows that not only enrich the worship space but also narrate the lives of the parish’s early founders. The information provided about the church windows is from the book – The Windows of St. Paul’s, Uxbridge/Their Symbols and the Parishioners Who Had Them Commissioned by David Rehill and Katherine Gebhardt, Sept. 2017
The Sanctuary Windows
The Sunday School Window
The grandest window at St. Paul’s pays homage to the scriptures foundational to the Christian faith. Its lower section comprises six columns illustrating the chronological evolution of the Bible. Starting from the far left, the tablet bearing the Ten Commandments is depicted. Following are representations of the four Gospel writers, rooted in Old Testament imagery. Saint Matthew, symbolized as a divine figure, begins with Jesus’ familial lineage. Saint Mark, portrayed as a winged lion, highlights Jesus’ royalty. Saint Luke, depicted by a winged bull, emphasizes Christ’s sacrificial nature. Lastly, Saint John, symbolized by an eagle, presents the loftiest gospel of the four writers.
The upper panels depict three famous scriptural images: Jesus welcoming the children, depicted in Matthew 19:14; Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, taken from John 19; and the portrayal of Jesus as the Good Shepherd from John 10:11.
The Reynolds Family Window
Samuel Reynolds immigrated from England with his parents, Samuel and Mary Reynolds.
The inscription at the window’s summit reads “IHS.” In the early Christian church, specific letter combinations from Greek and Latin were adopted as symbols for Jesus Christ. “IHS” is understood as either “Hominum Salvator” (Jesus the Saviour of Man) or “In hoc salus” (In the cross is salvation).
Ganton Family Window
The bird at the top is a Pelican, long an ancient symbol of sacrifice. Other symbols of the Eucharist fund in the window include the chalice, wheat and grapes, signifying the Body and Blood of Christ as received in the Eucharist.
The Thompson Family Window
At the top of the window is a dove, the Christian symbol of the Holy Spirit. The symbols originates from the Gospel account of the baptism of Jesus, and the window is completed with a baptismal fount surrounded by lilies.
Samuel and Mary Reynolds
Samuel Bawtree Reynolds married Mary Davison in Staple, Kent in 1824. They emigrated to Canada prior to 1850 and bought a farm on the 8th concession. This window was erected in their memory by their son, Samuel Reynolds.
The oak leaf pattern on the window is much simpler than the well-preserved motif of God breaking the chains of death on their tombstones in Uxbridge cemetery.
Robert and Sarah Fair
Robert and Sarah Fair were Irish immigrants who first appeared in the records of St.Paul’s when they were married by the Anglican minister in 1858.
The use of a fleur de lis pattern was used as the Fair surname was originally French- Phair. It also detects an anchor with the related emblem of the fish. The fish is a Christian symbol used for the first century.
Lillie Bertha Harrison
The abridged words of Matthew 11:28 are found in this window -“Come unto me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Lillie was 15 years old when she died.
The figure at the top of the window is the earliest and best-known form of the monogram. It is a combination of a P placed over and X, the CHI and RHO, the first two of a group of Greek letters meaning Christ. The scrolls are a congenital heraldic pattern.