Dear Ones,
Below you will find an important update to the parish about our treasured stained-glass window (pictured above). I hope you will read it carefully and feel free to ask any questions. I am grateful that the Vestry continued their duty of care and responsibility while I was away on sabbatical, so that the necessary research into the situation proceeded without interruption. I also offer my heartfelt thanks to Pierre Neu and Janet Lane for the extraordinary amount of work they have already put into this just to get us to where we are now. I feel very confident that we are moving in a good direction and that we will have the answers we need to create a clear plan of action in due time. Disruption to the use of the space will be minimal in the coming months. And meanwhile, the light continues to shine through our beautiful window and into our worship and our lives!
Blessings,
Pamela+
Upgrades and Repairs to the Stained-Glass Ceiling Window
You might notice signs of maintenance work being done on the stained-glass window in the ceiling of the nave. This window, often referred to as a skylight, was installed in 1967; the last major maintenance done on the window that we know of was in 1979, when an earthquake retrofit was done.
BACKGROUND
On Easter Day, 2023, a small piece of glass from the window was found near the altar with a corresponding hole in the glass window above. About a year before, a tiny piece of glass had been found toward the back part of the church; we now believe this also fell from the window. The finding of this second piece of glass led us to several months of work, in which we contracted with a structural engineer to assess the structural safety of the window. We also asked the engineer to assess the large wooden cross that hangs over the altar.
Pemberton Engineering deemed the window structurally sound but determined the cross is suspended with only one aircraft cable. The cable is clearly strong enough to hold it but is not in compliance with today’s safety standards. They recommended double reinforcement for redundancy, meaning that one additional cable should be installed to hold the cross to today’s standards.
After all these years, the window needs expert cleaning and, based on the glass piece that fell, some restoration. Finding stained-glass companies that will work on such a large window at a height of 45 feet was challenging. Over the summer we had visits from both Willet Hauser, based in Winona, Minnesota, and Nzilani Glass Conservation, based in Oakland, California. The companies proposed very different approaches to cleaning and restoring the window.
The Buildings and Grounds committee, including Pierre Neu and Janet Lane who have been heading up the project, preferred the approach of Nzilani Glass Conservation, which is both more gradual and possibly less expensive. They will be cleaning and restoring one area of the window first and, based on what they learn from that process and a thorough on-site inspection, will be able to provide us with a proposal for the entire project. We could also choose to do no further work at that point, or to go in another direction.
The Vestry agreed with the recommendation of Buildings and Grounds and the Vestry subsequently voted to hire Nzilani. In order to understand the next steps, outlined below, it helps to have an idea of the basic structure of the window. The window is approximately 14 by 62 feet in size and made up of glass encapsulated by an epoxy material. Above the window are ten skylights, three of which can be opened and provide access to the 3- to 4-foot cavity where the window sits.
PRELIMINARY WORK
We “broke ground” on the first phase of the project on Saturday, December 30, 2023. E.J. Reed Construction installed a safety system inside the cavity where the window sits, so that anyone working above the window can wear a safety harness. The system was designed by Pemberton Engineering and consists of specially fabricated steel and other materials. It is an expensive upgrade, costing just over $30,000. This safety system is also essential for any future cleaning, lightbulb changing, or other work done within the cavity.
On January 11, 2024, a 10-by-10-foot scaffold was placed in the altar area by Unique Scaffold, marking the beginning of phase 2. While the scaffolding is in place, the cross reinforcement will be designed by the structural engineer and implemented by E.J. Reed Construction.
On January 30, Nzilani Glass Restoration planned to remove one panel, replace it with wood temporarily, and take that panel to their studio in Oakland to analyze, clean and restore it. They planned to use this initial restoration to provide a plan for how to restore the full window. However, due to illness, Nzilani Glass was unable to come out until Thursday, February 8th. Unfortunately, they were not able to remove the panel due to the way multiple panels are interconnected with rebar and the difficulty of safely chiseling out the resin holding the glass to the metal frames.
Nzilani sent a report on February 19th, 2024, complete with computer assisted drawings and photos on what they found. They have specific questions that they wanted us to ask a structural engineer before they made further recommendations on options for proceeding. They also placed plastic on the ceiling window in the area above the scaffolding where they were working. They asked that we keep the scaffolding and plastic in place until next steps were decided.
Pemberton Structural Engineering was on site on Wednesday, March 27th of Holy Week to meet with Nzilani Glass Restoration to address questions Nzilani had about next steps.
CURRENT UPDATES ON RESTORATION
April 12, 2024
With the full support of the Vestry, there is now a task force in place to serve as the primary liaison between those working directly on our stained-glass window project and the parish. The task force is made up of Junior Warden Beth Capell, Vestry Member Elise Keddie, Janet Lane, Pierre Neu, and our rector. All the lay members of the task force have a long history with St. Martin’s and have shown extraordinary dedication to our parish, as well as having crucial technical expertise in various areas.
The task force met for the first time on Friday, April 5, and reviewed where things stand after a meeting with the structural engineer, Pemberton Engineering, and Nzilani Glass Restoration, during Holy Week. Some key takeaways are:
- Nzilani Glass Restoration now has enough information to work on a new proposal for restoring our stained-glass ceiling window. We expect to receive that proposal in about six weeks. We have every confidence that they are working diligently on devising a feasible plan.
- It seems likely that the restoration work will be done onsite, rather than panels being taken to Nzilani’s studio, as we previously thought. We will know more about that when we receive the proposal.
- In the meantime, we are moving forward with reinforcing the large cross that hangs over the altar. We believe this work will be done by the end of the month; after it is complete, the scaffolding around the altar will come down.
We hope to have more information to share with the parish as soon as we receive the proposed plan from Nzilani. Meanwhile, we welcome your questions! Please feel free to reach out to any member of the task force or the Vestry.
COSTS
As you might imagine, the window restoration will also be quite costly. Though we do not currently know the full cost of the restoration, in addition to the $30,000 safety system mentioned above, the upcoming costs are:
- The scaffolding will cost just over $5,000. The scaffolding is necessary for Nzilani to work from both the top and bottom of the glass and ensure its safety and the safety of the workers. The cross will be reinforced while the scaffolding is in place.
- The initial contract for the restoration of the panel, including removal and re-installation, was for $26,000. We have paid approximately $11,000 for the exploratory work they need to do. See above for next steps.
The work so far has been paid for partly by contributions from a few parishioners involved in the early stages, and in large part through the 2023/2024 operations budget (the lines for maintenance and for capital reserves), with the approval of Vestry at every step and close oversight by Buildings and Grounds and our Junior Warden.
CONCLUSION
Past generations of this church installed the beautiful window that is so central to our church’s look and atmosphere. The work we are doing to clean and restore the window is not only for ourselves but for future generations of St. Martin’s. We will keep you posted on all the different phases of this project. We also ask for your prayers and encouragement. If you have questions, please talk to any of the taskforce members: Beth Capell, Elise Keddie, Janet Lane, Pierre Neu, and the Rev. Pamela Dolan.
*Updated April 12, 2024*
