Stories in Stained Glass in ‘This Old Chapel’

Stories in Stained Glass in ‘This Old Chapel’ June 29, 2016

This-Old-Chapel-Mike-Harvey-Father-David-GuffeyYes, this is a plug for my little Facebook reality series over at the page for Family Theater Productions, a Holy Cross apostolate/production company in Hollywood, where I’m Social Media Manager. But it’s also really interesting.

Inspired by “This Old House,” “This Old Chapel” chronicles the remodeling of the chapel in our building on Sunset Boulevard.

(Bet there aren’t too many TV/film production companies with a priest, a chapel and Consecrated Hosts inside!)

With the help of my partner-in-crime — and on-air talent — contractor (and actor and lay Dominican) Mike Harvey of St. Elmo’s Fire Rigging, and FTP editor James Zambrana (I’m behind the camera as the thus-far unseen voice), we’ve taken an occasionally improvised, semi-serious, semi-comic look at a very real construction project … with painless lessons about the Faith layered in.

As a longtime journalist, it’s great to use some of what I’ve learned on TV and movie sets (including “This Old House”) to produce a show that I think is both entertaining and informative.

You can watch the whole series here , along with some of our other original videos, but episode 8, called “These New Windows” deals with the final look of the stained-glass windows in our chapel .

In a previous episode, with a nod to “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Harvey told me how we were going to manage to have windows in our windowless chapel.

But when we actually look at the finished windows in “These New Windows,” something has changed …

Along the way, I asked my boss, Holy Cross Father David Guffey, CSC, our Head of Production, to explain the history and symbolism of the iconography in our windows. I then had to post the whole thing, because it’s absolutely fascinating and touching at the same time.

You may never look at a stained-glass window quite the same way again — and you might start wanting to know what’s up with the artwork around your own church.

I urge you to watch the whole series. The episodes are pretty short, and they include polka-dot walls, an art-history mystery, unboxing a holy-water font, and a visit to the Daughters of St. Paul.

Just like windows, every remodel tells a story!

Image: Kate O’Hare/Family Theater Productions

Don’t miss a thing: head over to my other home at CatholicVote and like my Facebook page; also like the Patheos Catholic FB page to see what my colleagues have to say


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