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Church celebrates refurbishing stained-glass windows, becoming Washington County historic landmark

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The stained-glass windows at Church of the Covenant were originally installed in 1929.

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A view of Church of the Covenant on Beau Street in Washington

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A newly refurbished window at Church of the Covenant in Washington

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Adrianne Uphold/Observer-Reporter

An exterior view of one of the stained-glass windows at Church of the Covenant

During the Sunday service on June 16, Church of the Covenant in Washington will be celebrating a “historical change” after refurbishing its stained-glass windows.

”We will be celebrating not only our new windows, but for receiving a historical landmark designation from Washington County,” said Dr. Stuart D. Broberg, pastor of Church of the Covenant. The windows were put in by Pittsburgh Stained Glass Studios in 1929. Almost a century later, the same company refurbished the existing windows.

First, all of the glass was removed from the church. A plastic outer cover was removed, cleaned and replaced. Broberg said any glass that was damaged or cracked was replaced with the original glass from 90 years ago. 

”There’s a warehouse that held leftover glass from the first time it was put in, so any pieces that were cracked or damaged were replaced with the original glass,” Broberg said. 

Broberg said the windows are insured for $2 million.

”It isn’t just money value, but the value is more about the history behind the windows.”

The church started the “Let There Be Light” campaign in January 2018 in hopes of raising $550,000 for multiple projects including refinishing the windows, establishing scholarships for the church preschool and building a church in Haiti. Broberg said the fundraiser exceeded the goal.

”We raised more than $750,000,” Broberg said. “That was an accomplishment beyond our hopes.” 

The project was finished in March, but the remaining projects such as the church in Haiti won’t be completed until 2020.

”The ground has been cleared, but we probably won’t see that up and running until late 2020,” Broberg said.

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