Another Event Happening This Saturday

From 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. this Saturday, May 20, Christ Church Episcopal, at Union and East Court streets, will be open to the public as part of the New York Landmarks Conservancy's Sacred Sites Open House Weekend.

The open house will highlight two ten-foot-high stained glass windows, the work of London artist Charles Booth. The windows, dedicated in 1885, are a memorial to teacher and private academy proprietor Elizabeth Peake of Hudson. The Hope and Charity window shows women holding an anchor, a symbol of hope, and a basket of bread, symbolizing charity. The Faith and Prayer window shows a cross and praying hands.

On May 2, 1885, the Hudson Daily Register wrote of Miss Peake and the windows dedicated to her memory:

. . . the graceful testimonial of her former pupils to her worth and their affection for her, has taken shape in two memorial windows in Christ Church. These were unveiled on Easter Sunday, and lent an interest of their own to the always beautiful and inspiring Easter celebration. They are designed to illustrate Faith, Prayer, Hope and Charity, and the English artist--Mr. Charles Booth, of London--is to be congratulated upon the happy effect produced.

The Hope and Charity window was restored by Lamb Studios of New Jersey in 2019.  Experts believe the window was fabricated in London rather than New York because of its high artistic and technical quality.

The church has numerous examples of stained glass, the oldest are those in the chancel, dating from 1857 to 1862. More recent windows were installed as memorials in the 1950s and 1960s, designed by Payne and Spier Studios of Paterson, New Jersey, and Cummings Stained Glass Studios of North Adams, Massachusetts. The windows depict scenes from the life of Christ, the Gospel, and Christian saints. The most recent stained glass window is the Good Shepherd Window in the MacGiffert Meditation Room, designed by Cummings Stained Glass Studios and dedicated in 2005.

Also on Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:oo p.m., the church will hold its annual Spring-A-Fair, with items for sale that include crafts, household goods, jewelry, toys, plants, knick-knacks, and garden supplies. The Fair will serve baked goods, soups, hotdogs, hamburgers, and beverages.