The Art and Artists of
Saint Michael and All Angels 

The Stained Glass Windows
The stained glass windows in the main church, and in the Harry Tunis Moore Memorial Chapel, were designed by the noted artist Cecil Casebier of San Antonio, Texas. 

The windows of the main church building tell the story of the Old and New Testaments in the Christian faith.  The East window, the large window over the entrance, is the “Creation” window.  The story begins on the North side of this window with the “Creation of the Universe by the Spirit of God."  Following, on the North side of the Church, and culminating with the large panel window on the North side of the Altar, the story is of the fall of man, the coming of the Law through Moses, the birth and life of Jesus, the climax of His Crucifixion and the shedding of His Blood.  This has been purposely designed to make it possible for the panel on the North side to unite with the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Communion at the Altar.  The birth, life and death of Jesus culminate in the Resurrection which is the new creation.  This power, which flows through the individuals as they make their Holy Communion, is presented in the design of the colors on the South side of the church.  Beginning with the panel immediately south of the Altar, the colors depict the now creation and result of the power of God as it flows through individuals and changes everything in life.  As the windows go back toward the East, under the eve of the South side all the creations and actions of man are represented in colors: philosophy; art, literature and other intellectual creations; and the evolution of politics, economics and social action.  And, finally, the perfection of the “Last Day” is optically represented in the East window again. 

The large windows flanking the Altar are twenty-seven feet high by nineteen feet wide.  The windows on the North and South sides (clerestory windows) are seven feet high by twenty-seven feet wide.

The Marble Reredos in the Church
Looking toward the Altar is the base relief on the marble reredos, Saint Michael and the Angels.  Their worshipful attention is directed toward a gold Latin cross mounted on the marble.  The scene, executed by noted artist Charles Umlauf, is from the Epistle for Saint Michael and All Angels day.  “There was a war in heaven; Michael and his Angels (Raphael, Uriel and Gabriel) fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and prevailed not, and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”  The marble was personally selected by Mr. Umlauf and shipped from Carrara, Italy to him at the Vermont Marble Company.  The scene is ten feet wide by fifteen feet high.  The marble reredos is thirty-five feet in height.

The Silver and Vestments 
John Szymk, a Dallas silversmith and artist, is the designer and craftsman of the Aumbry, office lights on the reredos, pavement lights, Baptismal font and Baptismal candle stand.  He also crafted the silver Baptismal liner and lid for the Chapel.  His use of enamel with silver reflects the color symbolism of the stained glass in Saint Michael and All Angels.  His designs have a sense of motion, compatible with the architecture, movement and power of the Angels in the base relief on the reredos.

 As part of our fifty-year anniversary celebration, Saint Michael and All Angels has received other silver gifts for the church:  alms basins; torches and processional cross; and pew-marker candles.  Along with our new vestments, banners and flags, our next fifty years will be in thanksgiving for the glory of God.

(Quotes extracted from The Reverend Charles Brooks)