THE BEAUTY SHINES THROUGH
The sun brings out the beauty of the stained glass circles that hang in the north windows
of our small white clapboard church with its shingled roof. Their colorful designs, by member
Terry Lee, express symbols meaningful to us, such as the offset chalice and cross. Sometimes
like poinsettias for Christmas, they depict the seasons. We feel that art, as well as music and
words, shows the beauty of God’s world to us, as it has from our church’s very beginning.
Our Unitarian Universalist Church of Stockton has stood proudly in the northwestern
Illinois town of Stockton since 1900. After the Universalist Society of Stockton was established
in 1892, members met in a rented Carpenters’ Hall with sporadic services, varied preachers,
and with the help of the newly-formed Ladies Aid Society.
However, in 1899, fourteen members organized the First Universalist Church of Stockton
at the home of Abigail Parker. Within one year the church building was financed, built and
dedicated in December of 1900, free from debt. It has since attracted those looking for a
spiritual home that welcomes questions and seeks answers, whether in the Stockton community
or in other northwestern Illinois areas as Galena and Freeport.
Part of that attraction is the beauty of the large stained-glass window at the rear of the
sanctuary, given as a memorial to Benjamin Franklin Parker by his wife Abigail, his son
Abraham Lincoln Parker, and daughters Jane, Mary, and Martha, and Edmund and Emily. As is
evident from the church’s Universalist beginnings, it shows a benign Christ representing the
parable of the sower.
The Pierce family also recognizes the appeal of such beauty. When the entry doors of
the church had to be replaced, two stained glass panels were installed in the new doors as a
welcoming entrance. They were designed by Sharon Pierce Melliker, daughter of Leland Pierce
Jr. and great great granddaughter of B. F. Parker. They are memorials to Parker family
members, Florence Parker Pierce, a granddaughter of B. F. Parker, and Hugh, a great
grandson.
In 1998, after the death of long-time minister, the Rev. Harold Patterson, a remodeling of
the front area of the church was undertaken at the request of his wife, Sally, as a memorial to
him. Architect members of the church, J. Eric Anderson and Christopher Fye, worked together
on the design of an enlarged semicircle of open space for the altar and pulpit. The curved walls
in a warm cream color are like a welcoming embrace. At each end of this semicircle are vertical
panels inset with varied shapes and colors of stained glass designed by John Rawleigh, a local
artist. It’s possible that plain blocks of glass in these panels may be replaced with designs at
the request of members wishing to memorialize a loved one.
Our church members have often requested copies for themselves of the circle designs
made by Terry Lee. Terry has always had a strong connection to the Stockton U.U. Church. His
mother, Eleanor (Dick) Lee, was a member since 1933, and his uncle, Robert Dick, served as
minister in several U.U. churches. Terry’s love of this art form was always inspired by the
examples he saw in his church. From the time he was a young boy, he was intrigued by the
myriad colors of stained glass as it reflected on his hands or on the floor. The beauty of it stayed
with him through his growing years and later, when his life involved pursuit of a career. He has
been a barber since 1968, running his own shop, The Yankee Clipper.
His interest was stirred up again in 1996 when he learned of stained glass classes being
offered in Stockton. He enrolled, and for nine months, one day a week, he learned. His first
project was a small sun catcher which still hangs in his window.
His work has grown considerably since then. Because he wished to give back to the
church through his work, he has created a dozen of the stained glass circles. His very first gift to
the church was designed to show multiple symbols with which we identify, as Buddhism,
Judaism, Catholicism, our own offset chalice and cross, and four others. Another circle depicts
the church steeple which, while never used as a bell tower, lends a certain dignity to the 120-
year-old church. He has also designed and fashioned light chalices for the altar, to be used for
the lighting ritual.
Other denominations in the area have had him make stained glass windows for them.
One church had colored glass from its old windows removed, from which Terry made over
ninety sun catchers, to be sold by them as a fund raiser. Other groups in the area order them to
be used in silent auctions for charities. Some of his work is shown in a Fredricksburg Civil War
museum. But more unusual areas for his work many be found in transoms, or in sidelight
windows for front doors.
He does his work in a basement room in the home he shares with his partner Sara
Abbott or a room behind his shop. With glass ordered by mail, he uses copper foil and lead
solder for some designs, lead came for others. An average twelve- or eighteen-inch piece can
take twelve hours, but may vary according to size and detail. The circles, due to their special
features, took approximately twenty-five hours each. Because of its three-dimensional shape,
the light chalice took him thirty hours.
To fulfill a request, Terry first makes a drawing in pencil, filling it in with colored chalk,
and shows the person how the finished design may look. He can then easily make changes and
adjustments to satisfy their requirements. If it’s something he’s making on his own, he just starts
drawing, he says.
A stained glass circle by Terry hangs on the wall behind the altar each Sunday, with a
light behind it to bring out its beauty. For beauty shines through the stained glass richness of our
Stockton Unitarian Universalist Church. But it brings out not only beauty, but an expression of
the love we all know and share. For “Love is the spirit of our church, and service is its mission.”
- Leone Castell Anderson
The sun brings out the beauty of the stained glass circles that hang in the north windows
of our small white clapboard church with its shingled roof. Their colorful designs, by member
Terry Lee, express symbols meaningful to us, such as the offset chalice and cross. Sometimes
like poinsettias for Christmas, they depict the seasons. We feel that art, as well as music and
words, shows the beauty of God’s world to us, as it has from our church’s very beginning.
Our Unitarian Universalist Church of Stockton has stood proudly in the northwestern
Illinois town of Stockton since 1900. After the Universalist Society of Stockton was established
in 1892, members met in a rented Carpenters’ Hall with sporadic services, varied preachers,
and with the help of the newly-formed Ladies Aid Society.
However, in 1899, fourteen members organized the First Universalist Church of Stockton
at the home of Abigail Parker. Within one year the church building was financed, built and
dedicated in December of 1900, free from debt. It has since attracted those looking for a
spiritual home that welcomes questions and seeks answers, whether in the Stockton community
or in other northwestern Illinois areas as Galena and Freeport.
Part of that attraction is the beauty of the large stained-glass window at the rear of the
sanctuary, given as a memorial to Benjamin Franklin Parker by his wife Abigail, his son
Abraham Lincoln Parker, and daughters Jane, Mary, and Martha, and Edmund and Emily. As is
evident from the church’s Universalist beginnings, it shows a benign Christ representing the
parable of the sower.
The Pierce family also recognizes the appeal of such beauty. When the entry doors of
the church had to be replaced, two stained glass panels were installed in the new doors as a
welcoming entrance. They were designed by Sharon Pierce Melliker, daughter of Leland Pierce
Jr. and great great granddaughter of B. F. Parker. They are memorials to Parker family
members, Florence Parker Pierce, a granddaughter of B. F. Parker, and Hugh, a great
grandson.
In 1998, after the death of long-time minister, the Rev. Harold Patterson, a remodeling of
the front area of the church was undertaken at the request of his wife, Sally, as a memorial to
him. Architect members of the church, J. Eric Anderson and Christopher Fye, worked together
on the design of an enlarged semicircle of open space for the altar and pulpit. The curved walls
in a warm cream color are like a welcoming embrace. At each end of this semicircle are vertical
panels inset with varied shapes and colors of stained glass designed by John Rawleigh, a local
artist. It’s possible that plain blocks of glass in these panels may be replaced with designs at
the request of members wishing to memorialize a loved one.
Our church members have often requested copies for themselves of the circle designs
made by Terry Lee. Terry has always had a strong connection to the Stockton U.U. Church. His
mother, Eleanor (Dick) Lee, was a member since 1933, and his uncle, Robert Dick, served as
minister in several U.U. churches. Terry’s love of this art form was always inspired by the
examples he saw in his church. From the time he was a young boy, he was intrigued by the
myriad colors of stained glass as it reflected on his hands or on the floor. The beauty of it stayed
with him through his growing years and later, when his life involved pursuit of a career. He has
been a barber since 1968, running his own shop, The Yankee Clipper.
His interest was stirred up again in 1996 when he learned of stained glass classes being
offered in Stockton. He enrolled, and for nine months, one day a week, he learned. His first
project was a small sun catcher which still hangs in his window.
His work has grown considerably since then. Because he wished to give back to the
church through his work, he has created a dozen of the stained glass circles. His very first gift to
the church was designed to show multiple symbols with which we identify, as Buddhism,
Judaism, Catholicism, our own offset chalice and cross, and four others. Another circle depicts
the church steeple which, while never used as a bell tower, lends a certain dignity to the 120-
year-old church. He has also designed and fashioned light chalices for the altar, to be used for
the lighting ritual.
Other denominations in the area have had him make stained glass windows for them.
One church had colored glass from its old windows removed, from which Terry made over
ninety sun catchers, to be sold by them as a fund raiser. Other groups in the area order them to
be used in silent auctions for charities. Some of his work is shown in a Fredricksburg Civil War
museum. But more unusual areas for his work many be found in transoms, or in sidelight
windows for front doors.
He does his work in a basement room in the home he shares with his partner Sara
Abbott or a room behind his shop. With glass ordered by mail, he uses copper foil and lead
solder for some designs, lead came for others. An average twelve- or eighteen-inch piece can
take twelve hours, but may vary according to size and detail. The circles, due to their special
features, took approximately twenty-five hours each. Because of its three-dimensional shape,
the light chalice took him thirty hours.
To fulfill a request, Terry first makes a drawing in pencil, filling it in with colored chalk,
and shows the person how the finished design may look. He can then easily make changes and
adjustments to satisfy their requirements. If it’s something he’s making on his own, he just starts
drawing, he says.
A stained glass circle by Terry hangs on the wall behind the altar each Sunday, with a
light behind it to bring out its beauty. For beauty shines through the stained glass richness of our
Stockton Unitarian Universalist Church. But it brings out not only beauty, but an expression of
the love we all know and share. For “Love is the spirit of our church, and service is its mission.”
- Leone Castell Anderson