St. Mark's Tampa Shines Brightly

Art

ST. MARK'S TAMPA SHINES BRIGHTLY

A six-year journey to let the light shine with 10 new stained glass windows.

In 2015 Charlie Towater, a

long-time member at St. Mark’s, approached the Rev. Roy Allison, St. Mark’s, Tampa Rector at the time, about adorning the front windows with stained glass. Mr. Towater had some spare glass, tools, and a grinder he would donate along with his time to create the windows. He also believed other church members would donate to creating the windows.

After close to a year of fundraising and design research Mr. Towater began the process of creating the windows in 2016. Taking over the back classroom as his workspace, over the next five years he labored on his glass: sometimes for only five hours a week, and sometimes as many as 30, becoming a permanent fixture at St. Mark’s.

There were also a couple of stained glass “disasters.” Mr. Towater laughed while recalling when the triangular panel with the blazing cross was done, he stood it on a window ledge to view the final product with light behind it. In an instant it crashed to the floor - the whole thing had to be partially disassembled and remade.

Once completed and installed, the stained glass windows consisted of more than 1,400 individual pieces of glass. The two triangular panels at the peak of both windows were installed right before Christmas in 2019. The eight lower panels were finished in February 2021 and mounted the week before Easter 2021. The new windows were dedicated and blessed during the celebration of St. Mark’s Day on April 25, 2021.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

The congregation of St. Mark’s is incredibly grateful for Mr. Towater’s commitment and dedication to the ministry of the church.

“When we gather to worship God, we engage all of our senses. Stained glass has been used over the years to help illumine our faith through our sight. Having the gift of stained glass in our sanctuary is a blessing. I am grateful to Charlie for all his dedication and tireless work in making this a reality. To God be the honor and glory,” said the Rev. Robert Douglas, Rector, St. Mark’s, Tampa.

Ten stained glass windows now adorn the front windows at St. Mark’s, Tampa. Above: Two triangle windows created by Charlie Towater. Right: Volunteers from St. Mark’s install the windows.

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