Renewing Faith Through Art and Resilience

On a winter night in northern Illinois, an unexpected fire broke out at Christ United Methodist Church in Rockford. The fire, which occurred on February 23 during an organ practice session, was quickly extinguished by firefighters. It was deemed accidental and caused significant damage to the sanctuary. Fortunately, everyone was evacuated safely, and no one was hurt.

A cherished stained glass window depicting the crucifixion of Christ was broken to vent the smoke. The nearly 10-foot tall image shattered into hundreds of colorful pieces scattered inside and outside the church. Congregant Deb Laskey expressed the community’s sorrow, stating, “It was devastating. That was one of the first things we knew, that the window had been broken out.”

“When I collected the glass, I felt a sense of urgency,” Mark West, church trustee chair, recalled. “I had to get it picked up before it got thrown out.”

Rather than disposing of the broken glass, the congregation gave the remnants a new life. A church volunteer gathered the shards and handed them to a local glassblower. These were transformed into over a hundred small round pendants for church members. These pendants symbolize resilience and hold memories of the original depiction of Christ’s crucifixion. Many worshippers now wear these pendants during services, embodying a piece of their church’s past and its ongoing restoration.

The fire’s impact on the stained glass window is a reminder of the vulnerability of religious artwork and sacred items to disasters. Fires, floods, and natural events have damaged places of worship across Chicago and the nation, endangering their holy objects. Church closures also pose challenges in preserving sacred items. War and religious persecution globally have destroyed books, statues, and relics.

There are efforts to restore sacred items through new purposes. The Archdiocese of Chicago stores and reuses items from closed churches, redistributing them to maintain service. A local artist transforms materials influenced by his family’s escape from Baghdad. His works, exhibited globally, evoke the experiences of displaced minority communities.

A project titled “Secondhand Sacred” gathers vintage Christian materials, showcasing shifts in their ownership and significance over time. This collection includes statues, crucifixes, and artifacts, revealing insights into their evolving roles.

At Christ United Methodist Church, members wore their pendants at Sunday service, held in a temporary space as restoration continues. Sue Spitzer said her green glass pendant offered a calming sensation, likening it to meditation. Despite its history of destruction, the glass has become a symbol of beauty.

Art played a key role in the window’s transformation. Laura Johnson, an artist and shop owner, handled the glass at her studio. She meticulously melted it at precise temperatures to prevent cracking before refashioning it. The reusable nature of glass allows it to be continually recycled into new forms.

“That’s one of the greatest properties of glass,” Johnson stated. “That it can be constantly recycled and remelted to make something new.”

The reuse of religious items commonly stems from sorrowful events. Hundreds of Catholic parishes have closed in the Archdiocese of Chicago over decades, decreasing from 450 to 216. Church officials prioritize careful removal and relocation of religious items before any sale of the building, preserving their Catholic identity.

Preciado noted the significant impact of closures on communities, particularly immigrants whose lives revolved around local parishes. Items such as stained glass windows, altars, and statues are stored securely, with processes for requesting them for other churches. The painstaking removal respects the mourning communities, taking months to complete.

A notable example is St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church in Lake County, rebuilt using parts from closed churches. Its limestone facade and interior elements draw from other local parishes, showcasing the creative reuse of sacred materials.

Responses to crises reveal opportunities for artistic renewal and community connection. During the organ fire crisis, the local synagogue Temple Beth-El offered space for Christian services, fostering ecumenical bonds. This shared experience led to joint worship and celebration following the incident.

Not all religious artifacts can be restored; many face irreversible loss. Artist Michael Rakowitz replicates items lost to war and persecution using Middle Eastern food packaging, intertwining their history with diaspora communities. His project reconstructs thousands of ancient items in an ongoing endeavor.

His work draws on tradition where worn-out sacred texts take on new life or purpose. This echoing revival brought to light the historical ties and persistence of displaced communities across the globe.

“The text has a second life as a kind of compost for this tree,” Rakowitz explained, reflecting on his project.

Renewal emerged in Rockford with the replacement of the stained glass window. Congregants gather in modified spaces as restorations continue, finding solace and hope in their pendants and the newly installed depiction of Christ.

Northwestern professor James Bielo examines the fate of retired sacred items and reflects on the cultural significance of their continued circulation through donations and stores. His project, “Secondhand Sacred,” follows the life of Christian religious items beyond their initial purpose.

Bielo notes the theological ambiguity surrounding these items, which remain sacred while spent or used. His research delves into the sentiment regarding these objects, remaining vital within the community.

“Some people donate to a thrift store as a way to keep something in circulation, as a way to keep a Bible in the world and available for reading,” Bielo explained.

The need for these items to find homes within museums or educational institutions stands with urgency. Bielo’s collection awaits a long-term residence, echoing the very challenge that initiated his work.