corner of the chancel which is used by the congregation today and by several neighboring congregations who do not have a place to practice immersion. Although the peaked ceiling is as high as the center aisle is long (some 76 feet), the overall effect of the room is warm, quiet, and peaceful. One enters the sanctuary discreetly, from vestibules at the rear on either side of the room, in contrast to the central doorway of typical cathedral architecture which would face the chancel. Beneath the sheltering arches along the sanctuary walls, the entire room is in full view. Worship is led from a raised but exposed chancel with no separation from the people. And, throughout the room, 8 foot stained glass windows may be viewed at eye level, and even touched, in an openness which art historian Rolf Achilles has referred to as a kind of "radical accessibility."

Legacy and Future in Stained Glass
The sanctuary was initially fitted with clear glass in anticipation of the stained glass which would be added over time. Stained glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Franz X. Zettler, and C.J. Connick studios was donated to the church by its members and their families over a period between 1906 and 1961. All the windows, with the exception of one, were gifts made in the distinctly American tradition of memorializing beloved church leaders and members in the artwork of the church building. Because of their shared history in the Northern Baptist Convention (now American Baptist Churches, USA), much of the early leadership of the church overlapped with the leadership of the University of Chicago, and many of the window dedications reflect the development of the two institutions.

The subjects of the windows, though chosen in memory of individuals, are also a reflection of the values of the church: the centrality of scripture in the giving of the Law, the four Gospel writers, and the preaching of Paul; the place of children and young people through Jesus' welcome of the children, the friendship of Jonathan and David, and even the windows which memorialized the young lives lost in the Great War and the second World War. A profound ap-preciation of the life of sacrifice and service is represented in the variety of clerestory crosses and the communion of saints in the rose window; and the grave importance of ethical living as symbolized in the Hebrew prophets and the parables Jesus taught. In the medieval period, stained glass served to educate Christians in church history and in scripture, which they often could not read for themselves. In modern times we often consider its purpose more aesthetic and worshipful, and yet the stained glass at Hyde Park Union serves its pedagogical purpose in children's sermons on Sunday mornings.

Churches are counseled to understand the lessons held within the art which fills their sacred space which, in our case, includes not only its subjects and themes but the artists themselves. It is well documented that Tiffany and Connick represented more than different schools in the art of stained glass; they defended warring factions in the craft with alternating volleys in harsh public critique of one another's work and sensibilities. In the 1950's, the Tiffany and Zettler windows, which were originally located on the east wall, were moved to the north and south walls to accommodate Connick and Associates' rose window design. Here we understand that, despite deeply held and contrary convictions, Louis Tiffany and Charles Connick can contribute, separately and together, to our worship of God and our sense of sacred time and place.

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