Windows Into Christ Church
During 2018, Stephen Kuhrt and Nathan Larkin undertook research into the ten stained glass windows of Christ Church. Primarily through the use of old church magazines, editions of the Surrey Comet, burial and particularly census records we were able to find out a great deal about the people associated with the windows.
In every case, it was extremely moving to find out more about the lives of those who had worshipped at Christ Church before us. Part of this was through the way in which they brought us into particular contact with tragedy and how the Christian faith had responded to this. At other points, the windows witnessed themes perennial to church life: faith, compassion and selfless service to others; alongside the less attractive ones of confusion, folly and conflict.
Once the research was completed, sermons were preached on the windows. These sermons sought to proclaim the biblical truths contained within them, informed by the context which had brought them about. Members of the congregation spoke of how the setting in which we worship Sunday by Sunday came alive to them so much more and how the stained glass windows and the stories behind them assumed a much greater relevance to church life.
The sermons are available from our Sermon Downloads pages as part of the Windows on the Gospel sermon series that ran at our three services.
Booklets on the windows can be obtained through our Contact Us page.
Acknowledgements
The Kingston History Centre could not have been more helpful to our research, and local historian Robin Gill was amazingly responsive to our constant requests for him to locate reports from the Surrey Comet. The section on Monty Davison is indebted to the research of Elizabeth Manterfield of Epsom College. Graeme Ferrero and Hugh Griffiths provided the photographs of the windows.