DARLINGTON — The windows at the Immaculate United Church of Christ (IUCC), 339 E Louisa St, Darlington, have been in place for more than 100 years. Recent renovations to the stained glass windows are taking place and are expected to be reinstalled before the re-dedication ceremony that is planned for Sunday, October 11, beginning at 10 a.m. It is the sincere wish of Pastor Dana Caldwell that the church service will bring all members of the parish family together to celebrate the success of the recent renovations.

When taking a step into the Immaculate United Church of Christ front doors, it is obvious that great care went into the building of the church as well as the construction of the stained glass windows. When the sunshine filters into the parish through the stained glass, the light that cascades across the pews is colored by the deep-pigmented glass fragments, which acts like a kaleidoscope.

The front door windows were donated by the Adam Anschutz family. Upon entering, while looking down the aisle, just above the altar is the stained glass window that was donated by three families. “Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane” was donated by the Jacob Leuenberger family, the Adam Hefty family, and the Fred Pulver family. It is an intricate depiction of deep-colored stained glass from Matthew 26.

On the left hand side of the parish is “Jesus the Comforter” dedicated by the John Karlen family in memory of their son that passed away at a young age. “Jesus the Good Shepard” was donated by the Christ Ruf family, and “Jesus with Maria” as dedicated by the Albert Mueller and Christian Hirsbrunner families. The stained glass window that took the longest to create in the early 1900s was donated by the Gottlieb Kaempfer family and Milton Zurfluh family. The length of time to create the “Let the little children come to me” masterpiece was due to the many faces of all the children. Some of the windows on the left hand side are still the white plastic temporary replacements which are stand-ins until the windows receive their full restoration. They are expected to be installed just in time for the rededication ceremony.

On the right hand side of the IUCC church, there are three windows, which have recently been fully restored and reinstalled. “Jesus walking on the water” was originally dedicated by the Peter Steger family. “Jesus knocking on the door to our Heart” was originally paid for by the Alfred Glanzman family and Gottlieb Reber family. “Jesus and two men walking to Emmaus” was donated by the Alexander Rolli family along with the Gottlieb Rolli family. All other stained glass in the Immaculate United Church of Christ building was paid for by the congregation, including the detailed grapes and wheat handcrafted windows that are on either side of the church, located nearest the stairs which lead to the choir loft.

The history of the church dates back to 1902 with the gathering of Swiss settlers in the Darlington area. A few years later, they created a congregation which they called the ‘Deutsche Evangelishe Immanuel Germeinde’. It was decided in December 1916 that the church families would build their own church. The piece of land at Louisa and Ohio Streets was purchased for just over $2000. The little white house that was at the location was lifted onto logs, and was pulled by a team of horses just next door, near the lower entrance, now known as the Darlington Thrift Store location. The building was a wonderful example of Gothic Architecture, and was constructed in 1917. The cornerstone laying ceremony took place on July 29 of that year. The church building was built by Fritz Adler, a contractor and builder, who also installed the stained glass windows. Adler was a member of the church. His invoice was written in the German language and was dated December 27, 1917. For reference to the age of the document, the paperwork shares his contact information as “Bell Phone 493”. The invoice and documents from that time show that all of the 11 church windows cost a total of $1144.00, and were dedicated by several families of the church.

The first dedication of the church took place on Sunday, May 5, 1918. Reverend Paul Alfred Schuh welcomed the parishioners to the church. He traveled to Darlington once a month on the 1:30 afternoon train for church services, then leave in time to catch the 3:30 train back to Monroe, until the late afternoon train stopped running. Then parishioners would take him home as he was also the pastor at St. John’s in Monroe. Since that time, several ministers have stood at the altar and led the people in scripture. Pastor Dana Caldwell, who ministers to the IUCC church community encourages everyone to attend the stained-glass window re-dedication ceremony on Sunday, October 11, beginning at 10 a.m. with a luncheon to follow in the fellowship hall.