Free Press – November 29, 2007

George Sotter Stain Glass Windows at St John’s UCC Richlandtown

 

Dear Friends,

            Good morning. A few weeks ago, Mighty Betsy and I attended the 200th anniversary celebration of St. John’s United Church of Christ in Richlandtown. Family friends are very connected to that old church. As I sat there, I marveled at the stained glass windows, which had just been renovated.

            Those 13 stained glass windows were designed and built by one of Bucks County’s famous artists, George W. Sotter. They were installed between 1936 and 1937 in the depths of the Great Depression at a cost of $2,525. Reverend Wilbur Jere Kohler was the pastor back then.

            His daughter, Harriette Smith, was the reason for our attendance. She celebrated her 95th birthday that weekend and all of her children were present. Mariellen, Jack, Jere, and Andrew, plus most of their children, filled the front rows. Mariellen is an ordained pastor and gave the sermon.

Harriette is simply amazing. Her mind is sharp and her sight and hearing remarkable. It was quite a reunion. Her children have their parents’ genes. They’ll live to be 120, I’m sure.

The Sotter stained glass windows had just been cleaned and repaired. It took two months for the Nef-Chattoe Co. of Allentown to get them ready. And the cost?…about $7,500. That was quite a bargain because a well-known Philadelphia stained glass firm gave St. John’s an estimate exceeding $25,000.

That same company appraised the St. John’s windows at $204,000 in 1990. They probably didn’t realize that George Sotter was the artist. If they had, I’ll bet that the appraisal would have approached $1 million. I say that because I had a chat with St. John’s pastor, Reverend William Neiman. He noted that a Sotter painting had recently sold at auction for $180,000. Mighty Betsy knows someone who has an 18” by 24” painting appraised at $40,000.

If you do a Google search of George Sotter, you’ll discover that he came to the New Hope area in 1902 to study with Edward Redfield. Both Redfield and Daniel Garber were lifelong friends. Sotter was a member of the New Hope impressionists [painters].

“Many Bucks County artists worked and trained with Sotter in his stained glass studio (in Holicong), and his work helped establish Bucks County as a center of stained glass art,” Google reports. As a matter of fact, in that Google search, you’ll find St. John’s Richlandtown mentioned.

My friend, John A. Moyer, is a member of the St. John’s Church Council and sings in the choir with his wife, Ruth. A few weeks before the 200th anniversary of St. John’s, he gave me a tour of the church. That’s when I really focused on those stained glass windows.

But I did notice that a clock was hanging below the balcony in full view of the pulpit. It must have been there for decades. I wondered whether some church council installed it so the pastor would be reminded about the length of the weekly sermons?

“No, the clock’s not an influence,” Reverend Neiman replied with a laugh. “But the clock in my Indiana church was purposefully set five minutes fast”…undoubtedly a reminder for the previous pastor.      

            Reverend Neiman told me that George Sotter had created an excellent sketch of the St. John’s stained glass windows. It used to hang on a nail in the church lobby. For those readers who might consider violating the Eighth Commandment, don’t be tempted. That Sotter sketch is no longer at the church.

            And speaking about the 10 Commandments, you’ll find them in those Sotter stained glass windows. References to the Old and New Testament are everywhere. I saw a Hebrew Menorah and the six-point star of King David. But I needed Reverend Neiman to explain the significance of the pelican.

            “The mother pelican will feed her blood to her children when there’s no food,” he began. “The symbol is, that just as the pelican gives her life so her young might live, so did Jesus sacrifice his life for us.”

            The 200th anniversary of St. John’s Richlantown has come and gone. Just 20 years after establishing the U. S. Constitution, the church opened its doors. Although its congregation has witnessed two centuries of change, that old church has a special atmosphere. I have no doubt that it will be standing tall in 2207.

            Sincerely,

            Charles Meredith