These are the Tiffany glass angels under the copper-covered dome of the First Presbyterian Church in Orange, Texas as they were BEFORE Hurricane Rita. I took this picture in August when I attended a presbytery meeting at the church. As I wrote at the time, my family has a long-time connection with this church so I have a sentimental attachment to it.
Initial reports after Rita were that the magnificent Tiffany glass windows of the church survived the storm. And that was true. But when the pastor and members of the church were able to get into the church about a week afterwards they found that the angels pictured above were damaged. The copper covering the dome had been ripped half-way off by the winds. Although the damage may be repaired, they will never look the same again.
Initial reports after Rita were that the magnificent Tiffany glass windows of the church survived the storm. And that was true. But when the pastor and members of the church were able to get into the church about a week afterwards they found that the angels pictured above were damaged. The copper covering the dome had been ripped half-way off by the winds. Although the damage may be repaired, they will never look the same again.
To me this is symbolic of all the havoc left in the wake of this storm, which hasn't had the national press' attention since it missed the major metropolitan area of Houston and "only" devastated east Texas and southwestern parishes of Louisiana. Yet there are still thousands of people unable to return to their homes in Orange, Port Arthur and Beaumont (the "Golden Triangle") and most businesses, including the important oil and gas refineries of the area, were badly damaged.
First Presbyterian Church of Orange was constructed with hurricanes in mind. The sanctuary where most of the magnificent windows are is on the SECOND floor of the original church building so that a storm surge could pass underneath it. It has survived a number of powerful storms since the early 1900's when it was finished. But the angels in the dome didn't make it through Rita unscathed. And neither did the people of the church, the area it serves or the larger region where it is located.
Hearing the news of this damage yesterday saddened me in a way that following all the news accounts of Katrina and Rita did not because now I felt a sense of personal loss. How much more devastating are the losses of home and business to those in the paths of Rita and Katrina? It's that personal connection to a tragedy that gives you an empathy that is otherwise only second-hand.
I'm sure glad September 2005 is over. A monumentally monstrous month that I hope never to see repeated in my lifetime. Please God.
First Presbyterian Church of Orange was constructed with hurricanes in mind. The sanctuary where most of the magnificent windows are is on the SECOND floor of the original church building so that a storm surge could pass underneath it. It has survived a number of powerful storms since the early 1900's when it was finished. But the angels in the dome didn't make it through Rita unscathed. And neither did the people of the church, the area it serves or the larger region where it is located.
Hearing the news of this damage yesterday saddened me in a way that following all the news accounts of Katrina and Rita did not because now I felt a sense of personal loss. How much more devastating are the losses of home and business to those in the paths of Rita and Katrina? It's that personal connection to a tragedy that gives you an empathy that is otherwise only second-hand.
I'm sure glad September 2005 is over. A monumentally monstrous month that I hope never to see repeated in my lifetime. Please God.
4 comments:
How beautiful. I sincerely hope the damage - to everything, not just the angels - can be repaired.
I'm so sorry about the angels. But angels have a way of coming back . . .
I'm sorry about the damage to the church. It's difficult to process emotionally having our familar old places changed.
I think we need Oct. and Nov. over, too.
Angels will surprise you sweetness. They will be back, different but somehow better.
I am also glad that September is over. On to better things...like April and getting to meet you.
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