Gay Sorensen created this design in 1994 and it is now the official design for the 9th Confessional Banner of the Presbyterian Church (USA) ©1996 FPC Retired volunteers create stained glass windows for Florida church Paula Kincaid The Layman Online Wednesday, July 14,1999 Volunteers at the First Presbyterian Church in Port Charlotte, Fla. have taken on the task of beautifying the church facilities by designing, building and installing stained glass windows with Biblical scenes. The project began at the church's annual meeting in 1995, when committee leaders were asked "What are your dreams for our church within the next five years?" The Liturgical Guild, organized by Gay Sorensen, ranked stained glass windows as a high priority. One month later, eight people met, and the ideas began to flow. Final water color designs for six sanctuary windows were presented to the Session in June 1995, and volunteers began production on the first window the following October. It was finished in three months and in place by Christmas. That window became a motivational force, and the six windows evolved into 18 with an average completion time of one to two months. ©1998 First Presbyterian Church of Port Charlotte, Fla. One of six sanctuary windows, this one represents Easter. The cross is a wooden shape suggesting timber; the crown of thorns, the humiliation and suffering of Jesus; the draped cloth, the color of Lent and the Crucifixion; the palm leaf, triumph of true faith and Palm Sunday; lily, transfiguration of Christ - also represents innocence; and the white light, God's presence over the world. "All the volunteers were retirees," said Ms. Sorensen, designer/director of the project, adding that while most volunteers were between the ages of 70 and 80, two were 89 years old. All of the construction was done on church property, said Ms. Sorensen, in two rooms in back of the fellowship hall. The six sanctuary windows had the cross as the main theme and included a window on baptism and communion, reconciliation, preaching of the word, Easter, Christmas, and Pentecost. By the end of 1996, work began on a Chancel window, which measured 16 feet by 17 feet. The window was completed and installed behind a suspended wooden cross after six months of work. Three chapel windows which used the theme Sky, Earth and Sea – "and God saw that it was good," four Narthex door windows, a Good Shepherd window for the library and the Ninth Presbyterian Confessional Banner window were next on the list. As a gift to the children, two windows were installed in the youth hall; one depicting Noah's Ark and the other, Jesus with the children. All windows were purchased by church members, either to glorify God or in memory/honor of family and friends. Since the completion of the 18 windows, work has begun on three small windows for the youth hall. Full scale window patterns and directions may be purchased from First Presbyterian Church. For more information about the windows, or to view the windows, contact the First Presbyterian Church, 2230 Hariet Street, N.E., Port Charlotte, FL 33952-5599 or call (941) 625-5045. website: http://pages.prodigy.net/pborst/fpc/fpcpc.htm ©1998 First Presbyterian Church of Port Charlotte, Fla. Built as gifts to the children of the church, the rainbow joins together Noah's Ark from the Old Testament and Jesus with the children from the New Testament. The dove in flight, carries an olive branch as the animals leave the Ark. Lily, hyacinth, iris, poppy and castor bean are plants named in the Bible. Jesus with the children is self-explanatory.

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