About St. John's

Parish Art

The Building:
St. John’s has the distinction of being the first Richard Upjohn Church in North America; it was completed in 1837.  Almost a century later, the original church was destroyed in the great Bangor fire of 1911.  Using Upjohn’s original architecture plans, the church was rebuilt from 1912 to 1918 and was dedicated in 1919. 

The Windows:
The windows were begun during the time of the rector, Mr. Furrer, and finished during the ministry of John Brett Fort.   The first window (found in the Narthex) was installed in 1929.  All have been designed and installed by Connick Associates of Boston, America’s leading artisan in art glass.  The window in the Nun’s Gallery is the figure of Christ the King beneath the archangels and surrounded by the Old Testament Prophets and Paul, St. Lawrence, St. Edmund, and Thomas A. Becket.  It was given as a Thanksgiving for the Women of the Church.

The windows (moving clockwise from the Book of Memorials) are:
St. George
St. Alban
St. Andrew
Christ and the children
St. Luke
St. John
St. Stephen
St. Elizabeth
John Chrysostom

The Reredos and Statuary:
The Reredos was given to St. John’s by the Egery daughters in memory of their parents.  At the time of its conception it was designed in three panels of which only the center was ever  installed.  The original design was to have carried two sedilia on either side.

The statuary was given by Ethel Rowe Parke over a period of several years shortly before her death in 1968.  The central figure of Christ is surrounded by his faithful servants.  A unique feature is the inclusion of a living figure, Henry Knox (who was Presiding Bishop when the design was created).  The statues represent:

      Ignatius                             Columba
Sherill   Paul      JESUS      Peter      P.Brooks
     Luke                                    Marks
Andrew   Francis              James     Batholomew
      Mark                                   John