Stained Glass Window - Bishop of Chelmsford
This design captures communities in Essex and East London sharing in the Gospel with abstract patterns, shapes, and symbols.
The window was designed in 2022, commissioned for the Bishop of Chelmsford's chapel, manufactured by Auravision.
Curved contours permeate the window, with spherical focal points appearing at the cross, roundel, tree, and boat. The contours are inspired by radio waves, a reference to Chelmsford’s iconic Marconi building, the first radio station. Resonating from the cross placed centrally at the top, the radio waves are transmitting the Gospel across Essex and East London.
The river is depicted vertically, alluding to the Thames and River Chelmer, along which we journey through various communities and focal points in the Diocese highlighted by spherical focal points: the roundel depicts Debden, home to an RAF site and the mouth of Essex’s River Chelmer; the wheat and willow show Essex’s rural communities; the basin portrays boating communities in Maldon. By following the discourse of the river, the design pays homage to some of the diverse communities in Essex and East London. These communities, with their individual radio waves, overlap with the Gospel emanating from the cross and with each other to share in a collective, world-facing, mission.
Implicit in the design are allusions to scripture, including the Holy Trinity, the tree of life, and the Kingdom of God. The design is brightly coloured; gold reflects the sovereignty of God, red is a metaphor for humanity living in the spirit of the Gospel, and blue conveys the heavens and the Word of God. Gold also reflects the colours of the Diocesan Blazon.