A service to
commission and dedicate the newly installed
“Trinity Window” as the East Window of
All Saints Goodmayes, to commemorate a century of worship at the church, was held today.
The Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, the Bishop of Chelmsford, conducted the Service and dedicated the Centenary window.
Bishop Stephen said that it was lovely to be at All Saints Goodmayes for Palm Sunday and to dedicate their beautiful centenary window. He noted that the window encompasses all the colours of the liturgical seasons and reminds of God the Holy Trinity. He spoke of God's promise to open the window of heaven for us and led the congregation in praying that as the light shines through the many colours of the window, so our lives may show forth the beauty of God's manifold gifts of grace.
Bishop Stephen is a patron of
commission4mission and the Trinity window at All Saints Goodmayes is the 13th commission completed by the group. The window was made and installed by
Richard Paton to a design by
Henry Shelton. Richard and Henry have previously worked together on commission4mission commissions at
All Saints Hutton where they created two sets of etched glass windows.
Henry’s colourful abstract design for the three light East window features, in his inimitable minimal style, imagery representing the Holy Trinity. Henry is a member of the congregation and previously created
etched glass windows for the Reindorp Chapel at All Saints.
The window commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the church and has been funded, in part, by donations from the congregation in memory of loved ones.
Richard Paton says: “The last few weeks has seen the making and fitting of a new East Window at All Saints Church, Goodmayes celebrating the church’s Centenary. This very colourful design by Henry Shelton symbolises the Holy Trinity depicted in just 3 lines. The space inside has been transformed from anonymous small square glass making a large space more intimate and warm.”
Richard Paton has over 20 years experience working with glass. When he is not creating works of art in glass, he teaches glass-making classes in the various techniques, passing on his tips, tricks and considerable knowledge to others. Also in 2015, using
Craigie Aitchison’s final design, he made a window for the Prayer Chapel in
St Martins in the Bull Ring and a 3 meter high
stained glass window set into a light box hung on the wall of a North London Synagogue depicting an 11th Century poem visualised in a design by Michael Hall.
Richard graduated from Liverpool with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art in 1990 and was awarded an MA in Visual Culture at Middlesex University in 1998. He is a self-taught stained glass artist with 20 years in the trade who started Rainbow Glass Studios, based in Stoke Newington, North London, in 2001. In that time Richard has had hundreds of commissions which have required different techniques and designs to fulfil very diverse briefs. These range from corporate work to individual commissions from the rich and famous through to work in churches. The variety of glass techniques at his disposal uniquely puts him at an advantage to explore interesting and original work. He teaches regularly at his studio on weekday evenings and runs Saturday workshops for beginners. His work has been featured on TV and at the National Gallery. He is also on the committee for the Contemporary Glass Society who promote the work of glass artists.
Henry Shelton is a noted painter of religious art in a contemporary style. He trained as an apprentice draughtsman in a London studio developing his drawing skills in lettering and fine art. After 15 years he set up his own studio receiving many commissions from such clients as the Science Museum, borough councils, private and corporate bodies. He then worked designing in studios across the world, including Hong Kong and the USA.
Throughout this time and up to the present he has painted Christian art and his commissions include an Ascension installed as an altarpiece in the Church of the Saviour, Chell Heath; the
Millennium clock tower in Goodmayes, and the memorial etched-glass windows in All Saints Church, Goodmayes, depicting events in the life of Jesus. In 2007 he had a one-man exhibition in York Minister of the Stations of the Cross. Most recently, he has completed commissions for
St Luke’s Chapel in Queens Hospital Romford, a contemporary set of
Stations of the Crown of Thorns for
St Paul’s Goodmayes and etched glass windows for All Saints Hutton.
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