Courtyard

In 1989, funds were donated anonymously for a new contemporary bell tower to be placed in the courtyard in a specially landscaped area. It was built to house the solid cast brass bell that had been refurbished by Jan Bass through the

Bass & Hays Foundry. The bell was cast by H. Stuckstede & Co. in 1889 which made its new appearance an appropriate 100th birthday marker. The bell was given to St. Andrew's around 1960 by Carlyle Smith, Sr., who was offered the bell by a friend if he could find a use for it. Fr. Holliday accepted the gift, and it has been rung by St. Andrew's numerous times since then as a call to worship.

Cloister

Mosaics, though common in ancient churches, are rare in contemporary churches which make this artwork especially significant. Designed by Roland Miranda, this mosaic of inlaid ceramic tile symbolizes the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Narthex

The cross of bricks incorporated into the east wall of the Narthex has a unique history.  As was the custom when congregations did not have any money, members tried to raise enough to make the down payment on the church. The building fund for the new church building was started with a "Feast of Bricks" as noted in the church history. A large number of bricks were offered to anyone willing to raise $100 for each one. At a special service three months later the "Ingathering of the Bricks" established the building fund.

When the church was built, a certain number of these bricks were embedded into the Narthex wall to form the 'cross. As many more bricks were sold than used, only Father Fox knew for sure whose bricks were actually placed there, ... and he never told! 

The stained glass door panels are explained along with the clerestory windows in the Nave.

Stained Glass

Stained glass was originally used in churches in medieval times. At that time it was not used so much for decoration in churches and cathedrals but rather as a way of teaching illiterate people. Few persons in medieval Europe could read and write, so the stained glass told the stories of the church in pictures. The same was true of the ancient tapestries and murals. Today, stained glass in churches and cathedrals continues to tell religious stories in pictures and, as in medieval times, enhances the beauty of places of worship.

In the late 1960's and early 1970's The Rev. Mark Holliday set about the task of replacing the plain glass windows with the beautiful stained glass that is such an integral part of the beauty of St. Andrew's. Father Holliday interviewed three stained glass companies before awarding the commission to Smith's Stained Glass Studios of Fort Worth. Faceted glass was chosen as the medium to complement the contemporary architecture of the church, and many weeks were spent by Father Holliday and Smith's Studios in coordinating the design phase of this great artistic endeavor. Each of the windows was donated as a memorial in a grand outpouring of generosity by the membership of St. Andrew's.

Descriptive details of individual windows are given in sequence with the amplification on each section of the church building.

Walsingham Chapel

This lovely chapel that has become so endearing to many who come here to pray was originally intended as a shrine to the Blessed Virgin. However, at the time the church was built, there was much debate between the "high" and "low" churchmen as to the suitability of a shrine at St. Andrew's. The philosophy of the "low" churchmen prevailed, and what was planned as a shrine was called the children's chapel. The Walsingham Chapel is sometimes referred to as "The Lady" Chapel. 

The focal point of this chapel is the Blessed Virgin Mary, as depicted in the Our Lady of Walsingharn statue. On a trip to Great Britain Father Fox bought the statue at the shrine in Walsingham, England. It was painted by the late Enid Chadwick who, during the late 1940's and early 1950's, was a renowned church artist in residence at the Shrine of Walsingham. Father Fox commissioned this statue to be done by Miss Chadwick because of her outstanding reputation in Europe. When the statue arrived in Grand Prairie, however, it was shattered having been broken to pieces in shipment. The first inclination of Father Fox was to dispose of it in a suitable manner, but church members Tom and Dorothy Mary Rogers persuaded him to let them have it. Six months later they invited Father Fox to their home where they unveiled the restored masterpiece.

The prie-dieu and hanging lamp were custom-made for the Walsingham Chapel by Vick Gill. a retired metal worker in Athens, Texas. A dear friend of The Rev. Mark Holliday, he was a member of the parish in Athens where Father Holliday was Rector before coming to St. Andrew's. The needlepoint covering the prie-dieu was created by Ann Damron as part of the "Communion of Saints" needlepoint project. Honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary, the crafted symbols include the letters of the name "Maria" in ancient monogram. Violets and lilies of the valley represent humility while the blue background is the color of St. Mary.

Each of the windows of stained glass in the Walsingham Chapel represents devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and events in her life:

• The clasped hands represent the time when Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was John the Baptist's mother.

• The two turtle doves were the offering made at the time of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple when they went for the Purification of Mary.

• The lilies traditionally represent the girlhood of Mary as does the fleur-de-lis which is a stylized version of a lily.

• The scroll is a symbol of the prophecy from Isaiah which foretold that a virgin would conceive and bear a son ... "and his name would be called Emanuel."

• The sun signifies Christ who is the morning star.

On the east wall of the chapel stands the columbarium which was purchased in 1992. It was designed by Liturgical Designs in Hurst and manufactured by Solomon Company in Arlington as an eight-by-five foot, fifty-unit structure that incorporated cast bronze face plates with symbols of the resurrection. The plates are engraved with names designating the final resting place of those whose ashes are placed there. The Rev. Charles Hough guided the construction and placement of the columbarium so that it would be a quiet and appropriate Christian memorial for members and friends of St. Andrew's Parish.

A plaque near the columbarium with a rubbing from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, was presented to the church at the special Eucharist on February II, 1996, marking St. Andrew's fiftieth year. It was given by Clyde and Vema Bargsley in honor of Thomas Frederick Fanning, Jr., the first communicant of St. Andrew's to die in the service of his country. Freddy was the younger son of Fred' and Lucie Fanning, devoted parishioners for many years until their deaths. He was an acolyte and participated in many youth activities.

Baptistery

The Baptismal Font designed by Roland Miranda, whose creative talents arc evidenced on art objects throughout the church, was one of the first acquisitions for the church commissioned by The Rev. William H. Fox. It was given by the youth group of St. Andrew's. The marble basin was mounted on a pedestal of white oak and placed in the Baptistery; it contained a silver stopper and a drain that allowed the blessed water to flow directly into the earth. The wood was stained by Clyde Bargsley in the late 1970's to match the refurbishing of other woodwork in the church. It was moved in recent years to a spot more prominent in the church as the Sacrament of Baptism became more a part of public worship than a private family ritual.

Each stained glass window in the Baptistry depicts ancient symbols of Baptism or Resurrection:

• The butterfly, the peacock, and the phoenix are traditional symbols of the Resurrection.

• The pomegranate: with its many seeds symbolizing the many members of the Body of Christ, is a traditional emblem for the church.

• The shell with dripping water is an obvious mark of Baptism.

• The crown signifies the crown of life which is given to the Christian at Baptism.

Nave

The majesty of the nave of the church is heightened by the magnificent stained glass panels which dominate the north wall of the church. The panels depict the four evangelists, St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John:

• Saint Matthew was a tax collector, a fact represented by the bag of money in his hand. While assuming the divinity of Christ, Matthew is always assigned the symbol of a winged man in Christian art because his entire Gospel is approached from the idea of our Lord's manhood. Because of his predilections and interests, Matthew emphasized the human nature of Christ.

• Saint Mark is holding a scroll and quill to denote his writings. Mark has as his symbol the winged lion because the lion is the king of the beasts and because Mark chose to emphasize the kingly, the royal, and the regal dignity of Christ in his Gospel.

• Saint Luke was a physician who emphasized the sacrificial aspects of Christ's life in his Gospel. Hence, the sword and the winged ox are used as symbols of sacrifice.

• Saint John was the only one of the four Apostles that was not martyred; he died of old age, exiled on the island of Patmos. John, thought to be the youngest disciple at age 20 when he was chosen, lived the longest of any of them and is shown clean-shaven. Tradition says that someone tried to kill John by putting poison in his chalice; but, as he started to drink, a snake miraculously began to come out of the cup so that he threw the cup aside and did nof drink it. The eagle is his symbol because he emphasized the overarching salvation for all mankind as the eagle files high and over everything. In John's account of the Gospel, a prominent theme is the universality of the Christian witness of faith.

The statue of St. Andrew that overlooks the congregation from a column on the right-hand side of the nave while the congregation is at worship is a Faithcraft statue made ,in London and purchased and donated by Father Mark Holliday. The Greek icon lamp is a tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church as a symbol of devotion.

The lectern of contemporary motif to represent the cross of St. Andrew was designed by Roland Miranda and constructed of solid white oak and was used originally as both lectern and pulpit. Later, a pulpit was added in memory of Mark Steven Proper by his parents and featured a crucifix on the front hand carved by Stanley House. When a pulpit more in keeping with the contemporary style of the St. Andrew's cross lectern was executed by Mr. Miranda, the Proper pulpit was given to St. Joseph's Church in Grand Prairie.

The Stations of the Cross on the north and south walls of the nave were done in lead in 1963 to match the Chris/us Rex. The lead was melted in a cauldron on the stove in the parish hall with the help of Pat Young and Ronald Marlowe and poured into plaster molds made by Jim Hodges. The red numbers alongside the crosses were made by Pat Young and painted by Ken Terrell. In 1986 under the guidance of Father Robinson, Elwood and Esther Gerlitski provided beautiful new hand carved stations depicting the passion of Christ. This gift was a thank offering from two members who have served St. Andrew's faithfully and devotedly for many years, Esther as church secretary for sixteen years and Elwood as church treasurer.

The solid brass paschal candle stand was found by former church secretary Maxine Palmer in an antique store in Abilene, Texas. It is used at Easter to hold the Paschal Candle; the remainder of the year it is used at baptisms and at funerals.

The clerestory windows on the south wall highlight the dimensions of the nave and use variations of color in the stained glass rather than a specific theme except for one:

• The window depicting Noah's Ark and God's Covenant with Noah never to destroy the earth with water again is the only clerestory window behind the altar and the only one with a story; it is especially loved by children.

• Symbolic progressions of color were a popular form of Christian art in the medieval period. The following are generally accepted interpretations of the significance of colors as used by the church and are used in the rest of the clerestory windows:

  • White - Innocence of soul; purity; holiness of life. The Epiphany, Easter, The Ascension, Trinity Sunday, The Transfiguration, All Saints.

  • Blue - Heavenly love; unveiling of truth. Traditional color of St. Mary, the Blessed Virgin. In the English scheme of liturgical colors, blue is used in Advent and on the Pre-Lenten "Gesima" Sundays.

  • Green - Spring; triumph of life over death; charity; regeneration of soul through good works, hope. After Epiphany and after Pentecost.

  • Red -The blood of the martyred saints; love; hate; sovereign power.

  • Gold -Same as white.

  • Purple - Royalty; imperial power; God the Father. It is used in our church in Advent and Lent as a penitential color.

The stained glass panels in the outside doors to the Narthex also fit in with the color variations of the clerestory windows.

The Chapel

The chapel altar made of two large pieces of Texas limestone was designed by Roland Miranda as a complement to the limestone front on the high altar at that time. Called the “Altar of Repose” it was given by E. H. and Mary Wright as a memorial to Mary's father. The base is flared as if hands raised toward God, and the heavy top fits on with keys. It replaced the old oak altar which had been moved from the original frame church building into the chapel. The oak altar was then placed in the educational building in the children's chapel where it was used for a preschool age service for a number of years before being moved to St. Joseph's Church.

The silver Tabernacle in the center of the chapel altar was purchased in Paris, France, at Cheret where world-renowned ecclesiastical goods are made. The red enamel Chi-rho on the Tabernacle is a symbol of our Lord formed from the first two letters of the Greek word for Christ.

A crucifix of walnut with aluminum was designed and made for the chapel by The Rev. Pat Young, a former member of St. Andrew's who later became a priest. In November, 1993, it was replaced by a crucifix purchased from House of Hansen in Chicago. Hand carved in Germany the new cross is 24" long with a corpus of 12".  The former crucifix was moved to a place over the chapel door that leads to the courtyard.

The stained glass windows in the chapel represent the five minor sacraments:

• Descending dove  - Confirmation

• Scourge – Penance

• Oil Stock - Unction

• Clasped hands with ring - Matrimony

• Stole - Ordination

The painting of Mary Magdalene on the west wall is a valuable hand-painted copy of the original by an unknown Renaissance artist which hangs in the Ufizzi Gallery in Florence, Italy. She is depicted holding an alabaster box containing ointment which she used to anoint our Lord.

Sanctuary

The sanctuary is that space between the altar rail and the east wall. The original High Altar was a table made of white oak given by Nocona and J. D. Perkins and was placed against the reredos. At a later date it was covered with limestone donated by Boyd Ridgway, Jr., and that style was carried over to the chapel altar. Both were designed by Roland Miranda. Still later, because of changing practices in celebrating the Eucharist, the altar was moved away from the wall and became freestanding.

The celebrated artist and sculptor, Octavio Medellin, has also played a distinguished and acclaimed part in decorating the sanctuary. Raised in San Antonio, Medellin came to prominence in Dallas where he taught at the Dallas Museum of Art. He studied at the Guggenheim in New York and spent two years in the Yucatan of Mexico. In the 1950's he lived in Grand Prairie and was the friend and neighbor of Roland and Mary Miranda, who introduced him to Father Fox. As late as 1987 he worked from his studio in Kerrville.

Father Fox commissioned Medellin in 1953 to create the Chris/us Rex as a gift to St. Andrew's. Made of S' x 4' sheets of I/S" lead hammered into shape, the Chris/us Rex represents our risen Lord reigning in glory in Eucharistic vestments as the Eternal Priest. The maniple across the left arm symbolizes the napkin that deacons in the early church used in their table ministrations. He is shown rising from an empty cross with hands extended in blessing above the anus of the cross. The crown of thorns on his head has taken the shape of a kingly crown and the nail holes in the hands and feet are evident. When completed, the Chris/us Rex was so acclaimed that it was exhibited during the State Fair of Texas at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts on the fairgrounds and was requested to be placed on a national tour of Medellin's work. It was installed in the church sometime in 1955.

In 1978 Mr. Medellin was again called upon to create a distinctive work for St. Andrew's. The High Altar is the focal point of the church because it is the focal point of the liturgy. The central act of Christian worship is the Holy Eucharist, the sacred meal through which the people of God are continually nourished by the body and blood of Christ. Through a generous gift by the C. P. Waggoner family, Octavio created "The Altar of the Angels" which has a top of rare pink Georgian marble supported by stylized angel wings made of lead and finished with gold leaf. Soon the credence table and candlesticks, also by Medellin, were donated by Bud and Myrle Clark to complete the continuity of the altar artwork.

In the late 1970's KERA-TV, the Public Broadcasting Station for North Texas on Channel 13, did a documentary on the works of Octavio Medellin. The sculpture at St. Andrew's was prominently featured in this documentary that aired on PBS stations throughout the United States.

The stained glass window on the north wall of the sanctuary was given in thanksgiving for the pastorate of The Rev. Mark G. Holliday at St. Andrew's. The abstract design is specifically meant to allow the viewer to interpret its meaning in a personal way. The lighter colors of glass were used in order to allow sunlight to flood the sanctuary.

The President's Chair (or Bishop's Chair) and the two attendants' chairs were designed by Roland Miranda and were constructed of solid white oak.

The original sterling silver chalice, lavabo, paten, and host bread box were donated to St. Andrew's by Sam and Daisy McIlhenny, the same founding parishioners who donated the land on which the church was built. The large chalice and ciborium were custom-made by Louis Glasier, New York silversmith, of hammered sterling and were given by many individuals in small memorial donations.

The original processional cross and. torches were designed by The Rev. Pat Young and made of cast aluminum. The cross represented the Christmas star combined with a cross. The corpus, bought by Father Holliday at the Salvation Anny Store in Chicago when he was a seminarian, was silver-plated and attached to the cross. A more recent acquisition is the solid brass proCessional cross purchased by St. Elizabeth's Altar Guild along with matching torches, a brass Sanctus Bell, and a thurible and incense boat from C. J. Almy & Son. The Resurrection processional cross combines a beautiful hand carved and hand painted wooden figure of Christ the King mounted on an elegant brass cross. The matching torches are distinguished by a simple 7" wide bobeche.

The St. Andrew Banner was designed and crafted by Robert Gaspard Co., Inc., in ivory monk's cloth and was donated by Barbara and Johnny Price in 1992.

The icon of Christ the Teacher hanging above the credence' table was painted by Shar Purcell, noted liturgical artist from Ft. Worth. It was purchased by Father Hough from the memorial fund in honor of Phyllis Matlock Smith, founding member of the parish, who spent many, many years as a Church School teacher, storyteller, and leader of the children's chapel service for preschool-age Sunday School students.

Needlepoint

The first needlepoint created for St. Andrew's was a banner designed by Fr. Mark Holliday and hand-crafted by Mae Greenlee representing St. Andrew, the fisherman and apostle. It was hung in the conference room for safe keeping in recent years.

In 1978 acolyte hassocks, chair cushions, and the prie-dieu cover in the sanctuary were designed and created by Helen Carr, directress of the altar guild, in a Christmas rose motif on a blue background.

The latest addition to the needlepoint at St. Andrew's began in August, 1985, when a needlepoint group was formed. Under the direction of Ouida Smith, thirty churchwomen and Fr. Fred Robinson worked diligently over the next two years to complete an extensive altar needlepoint project. Father Robinson selected the theme, "The Communion of Saints." Sally Harrell of Stitchcraft Plus in Austin. Texas, was chosen as the designer because of her vast experience in ecclesiastical needlepoint. The finished needlepoint pieces were made into hassocks by Ruth Gatlin and her staff at Custom Needlepoint Finishing in Austin.

The center of each hassock represents an individual saint; the border of each hassock was designed to reflect the same faceted glass look as the stained glass windows while giving a smooth flow of continuity from piece to piece. In the sanctuary the twelve apostles are represented. Saint Mary, the Virgin, occupies a place of honor at the center of the altar rail in front of the gates. Beginning on the lcft side of the altar rail, each

Christ the King Icon – 2013

 

This icon points all who view it to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Through faith in Him comes our only salvation.

 

The inspiration for this icon is from the altar reredos at Christ the King Catholic Church, Dallas, Texas. The power of this icon is Jesus Christ in His resurrected and glorified humanity seated on the throne of heaven. The theological truth of this icon is revealed through the colors, symbols and use of gold which act as a language. Understanding how to read this language deepens the experience of the icon.

 

Having accomplished His victory over death through the cross, Jesus, Son of Man and Son of God, has returned to His Father and He has carried His humanity with Him into the heavenly realm. In the icon we see the two natures of Christ as inseparable.

 

Jesus faces forward looking directly at the viewer. With His right hand He offers the blessing of God. In His other hand He holds an orb representing the universe of which He is now revealed as King. On both hands He bears the wounds of the cross. On His head He wears not the thorns of man’s curse but the golden crown of His Divine authority. The crown is bejeweled with blue and red gems. These gems represent His two natures: blue for His Divinity and red for His humanity. The white gems represent the uncreated light of God.

 

Over His shoulders is draped a red robe signifying His blood sacrifice. The white robe underneath the red represents the purity of His sacrifice. Together the two robes remind us that Christ is the light of the world contained for a period of time in human form. The red cincture at His waist speaks of binding to Himself the blood of humanity. The red slippers on His feet speak of His Passion.

 

The deep blues that are seen through the lattice work on the throne represent heaven. The footstool is rendered in greens and rich browns and represents the earth. As stated in Isaiah 66:1: “Thus says the LORD ‘Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool’”

 

The throne is a deep purple to represent royalty. It is adorned with the cross through which Christ conquered death. The gold highlights cause the throne to appear as a deep brown, the color of humility. This brown reminds us of the humility of Christ as spoken of in Philippians 2:5-11: “For Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

Using gold in the background always invites us to meditate on the eternal aspects of the icon. Gold represents the eternal light of God. Christ is seen as the Eternal King surrounded by the light of God. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Word through which the Father spoke creation. He is also our Savior who bears our humanity on His throne in heaven so that through faith we might share in His Divinity. All glory be to Christ the King.

 

 

Hand Written Icon From the Studio of Jane R. Ladik

Commissioned for Saint Andrew’s Anglican Church by the Family of

Ray and Earlene Sengbush