Churchgoer's stained-glass creations illuminating congregation
By Leah Masterson
TODAY'S LOCAL NEWS
March 22, 2008
VISTA – As the congregation of United Methodist Church in vista gathers in
the sanctuary to celebrate Easter, they will be surrounded by Larry Averell's handiwork.
During
the past two years, Averell has created nine stained-glass pieces that
provide an elegant, Old World touch to the sanctuary and chapel – and some
much-needed shade.
“When you came in on Sunday morning, you did not want to sit on (the right)
side of the sanctuary because all that bright light shines on those pews,”
said Averell, who agreed to head the stained-glass committee two years ago
with the intention of hiring someone else to do the job.
Initially, the plan was to add one large stained-glass window and three
smaller complementary pieces to the sanctuary.
To Averell's surprise, the first quote he received from a stained-glass
studio in Los Angeles was for $97,000. At the time there was only $1,400 in
the stained-glass account.
“Then I heard about a nun who makes stained-glass windows,” said Averell,
who traveled outside the San Marcos city limits to visit her.
“She lives down by an avocado grove in a house she built with the money she
makes from (selling) stained glass,” he said. “She wanted $47,000.”
After receiving the bids, Averell calculated that he could do the job for
about half of the lowest bid, not including installation. It was then that
he felt called to do more than coordinate the project.
“I wasn't thinking of doing them myself, but when I got that rice, I thought
I had to,” said Averell, who completed the last three pieces for the chapel
about six months ago. The latest addition seems to be everyone's favorite.
“Out of all of them, that one just calls to me for some reason. I think it's
the colors,” said Paula Amaro, the church secretary. She said a light shines
through the large window in the sanctuary at night, illuminating the
colorful designs.
“During the Christmas Eve worship service, it was really something special
to look at,” she said.
After a member of the church anonymously donated the money for all four
windows, Averell, 77, a retired schoolteacher, began creating the panels on
a ping pong table at his home in Vista. He made the windows for $68 a square
foot and hired someone to install them.
The largest window, which is 20 feet tall by 12 feet wide, towers over the
pulpit. A giant wooden cross hangs in front of the brightly lit sunburst
pattern, which is in red, yellow and orange. The window's blue and green
background matches the sanctuary's color scheme.
The windows on either side of the sanctuary's centerpiece depict the two
sacraments celebrated by most Protestants. On the left is a cool pool of
blue and green water, which represents baptism. On the right is a scene with
wine bottles and loaves of bread on a wooden table that celebrates
Eucharist, or Communion.
“His work is very soothing, and it reflects some real thoughtfulness of what
our teachings are,” said Barbara Mitchell, a member of the church for more
than 30 years. “He's a wonderful artist. We've done projects together in the
past, and he's very active in our church.”
Averell had little experience in stained glass before creating the
nine-piece set of windows for the church.
“A
long time ago I was flipping through the catalog of courses for Mira Costa
College trying to find one that I could take in my spare time,” he said. “I
settled on stained glass or silver jewelry making. I thought silver jewelry
probably costs a lot more money than stained glass. I wasn't right.”
After taking the class, he created a few small pieces for projects with the
youth group, but his work in the past two years by far surpasses anything
he's ever done.
