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Hands of Glass

 


Drawing in those who enter Washington D.C.’s National Cathedral is the complex artistry of 215 prominent stained glass windows, emblazoned by the daylight.

The Cathedral includes more than 40 colorfully articulated windows with biblical accounts and Episcopal symbols created by the late stained glass artist, Rowan Lecompte.

Located in the nave of the church resides the Rose Window, alternatively referred to as “Creation.” Implemented in 1976, it is considered to be one of the cathedral’s most sought-out windows due to its complex artistry in the portrayal of the four Greek elements of earth, air, fire and water, according to the National Cathedral website.

   Lecompte’s work has also included a juxtaposition of space and religion, the “Space Window.” The cathedral window enshrines a seven-gram moon sample, delivered personally by the Apollo 11 astronauts, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins. The window was created in 1974.

The artistry of stained glass windows extends throughout the country, including Diane Cairns, owner of Virginia Stained Glass Company in Springfield, Virginia. Cairns’ 24-year-old business has created windows for religious congregations, organizations and homes.

“As far as the National Cathedral is concerned, they are beautiful and large windows, [and] have been there for a long time,” Cairns’ said about the National Cathedral’s windows. “I was disappointed when they removed the Civil War windows, as the reason why stained glass was invented [was] to teach stories of the Bible and history that people did not read or understand. Replacing history is not a good thing so we do not repeat our mistakes.”

The two Civil War windows that were taken down in fall 2017 were of  Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson due to their honoring of Confederate soldiers, according to NPR.

The art of stained glass has not only made a lasting impression on artists, but the volunteers of the National Cathedral as well. Docent Bob Faltynek has been at the cathedral for the last seven years.

“The thing that you can’t miss seeing is the stained glass,” Faltynek said. “I think it’s fair to say that this is one of the best collections of contemporary and modern stained glass anyplace in this country. The overwhelming color affects without even thinking of the stories or the backgrounds.”

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Gas leak at AU sparks evacuations

 

 

Firefighters stand outside Abbey Joel Butler Pavilion to ensure no cars go through the area. They swept the various buildings to check gas concentration and clear each building for reentry. Photo by Sam DeFusco, Teen Observer.

WASHINGTON — A gas leak at American University Wednesday morning sparked the evacuation of central campus, closed roads and disrupted university businesses for almost two hours. No one was harmed.

Construction workers believe they hit an unmarked gas line as they were working on an underground utilities project, according to David Osborne, AU’s Director of Energy and Engineering.

“The contractor was digging to put in the underground hot water lines as part of this big project,” Osborne said. “My understanding is they called out missed utilities before the day they were supposed to, and they ended up hitting a line that was either wasn’t marked or wasn’t where it should be, which caused it to break.”

The construction workers immediately notified campus police, Washington Gas and the fire department, and worked to seal the leak at the excavation site behind the McKinley Building, Osborne said. Police sent out an evacuation alert at 8:32 a.m. and sounded a campus-wide alarm at 8:50 a.m.

In the cafeteria, the calm eating and clanking of dishes paused as an alarm suddenly sounded and drowned out the noise of the dining hall. Students began to stand up in confusion and quickly make their way upstairs to evacuate the dining hall, some leaving their belongings behind. Workers in the campus Starbucks grabbed bagels and coffee to go.

“I was in the terrace of McKinley when the fire alarm went off at around 8:50,” said McKenna Solberg, a student attending a summer communications program at AU. “Another Comm kid and I left the building and there was caution tape all around outside and a really potent smell of gas.”

The rotten-egg smell of gas wafted over groups of evacuated students gathered on the quad in front of the Mary Graydon student center, as they waited to be relocated. Some wondered aloud why they were congregating so close to a building that could potentially explode. Several fire trucks arrived on the scene.

Campus police closed McKinley Hall, Butler Pavilion, Bender Arena, Sports Center Garage and shops in the pavilion tunnel. The police conducted a sweep to make sure that everyone was out of the buildings, then closed off the area with yellow caution tape.

Caution tape blocks the road underneath Abbey Joel Butler Pavilion after people were evacuated because of a gas leak that started from a construction site. People were barred from the area until the gas leak was contained. Photo by Sam DeFusco, Teen Observer.

Summer program teachers and counselors led the students to unaffected buildings to continue their classes.

“I have 150 students here on campus and 16 classes and so we needed to move a number of classes and spaces, but fortunately, we had already gone over the proper protocol, which is that we meet out on the Quad,” said Sarah Menke-Fish, the director of AU’s Discover the World of Communications program. “They broke out into classes and sections. I found immediate spaces that they could go to.”

AU police sounded the all clear at about 10:15 a.m., reopening all buildings and roadways.  Ian Greenlee, Lieutenant of Police Operations for AU, said no one was harmed and there will be no long-term effects from the gas leak. According to Greenlee, all of the necessary and proper protocols were followed to contain the leak and evaluate the air quality of each of the affected buildings. Gas should be restored by end of the day, though the use of hot water may be further affected, along with possible cooking operations.

[This report was compiled by Prof. Farley’s Professional Newswriting class.]