The Stained Glass Windows

You can tour the building on your smart phone, beginning with the stained glass windows at the back of the church.

Visitors to Scots who look carefully at the stained glass windows are sometimes puzzled to find that there are two windows that depict Jesus as the Good Shepherd. (John 10:11)

The reason is that in 1957 the stained glass from the Flinders Street church was installed in Scots Church North Terrace in the west wall. On the west side, moving from north to south, the windows depict Christ the King, Jacob, The Good Shepherd and Saint Andrew. The Chalmers Church windows, in the east wall, moving from north to south, are Suffer the Little Children, The Light of the World, The Good Shepherd, Ascension of Christ and The Good Samaritan.

Many of these were given by families in memory of former church members. An exception is the Elder Memorial Window picturing the Ascension of Christ, which was purchased by congregational subscription in 1898, in memory of Sir Thomas Elder (1818 – 1897).

The most striking, and most recent, windows are those in the north wall. Donated by the McGregor family in 1962, they are the work of Lawrence Lee of London who was one of the three creators of the windows in Coventry Cathedral. The windows depict ‘Nature’, ‘The Glorified Christ’ and ‘Man’. They are of semi-abstract design in rich colours against a pearly white background.

The central window shows the Glorified Christ, in the midst of his own creation, yet acting as priest between humanity and God. Below is the seed bursting into new life, and above a dynamic pattern suggests the energy of the universe. In the left-hand window, ‘Nature’ is depicted by living and growing shapes and colour, while the right-hand window is concerned with the artifice of ‘Man’ within ‘Nature’. The jewels at the base of each window are a reference to the foundation of the Heavenly City (Revelation 21:9-26). The shafts of light that pass through all the windows emphasize the essential order and structure of creation.

The rose window above these shows a beautiful abstract pattern which may be thought of as symbolizing the splendour of the Godhead.[i]