St. Mary, Oak Bay, parishioner publishes new book
Over the last year, Elizabeth Laugharne, a parishioner at St. Mary the Virgin, Oak Bay, has used the free time created by the pandemic to pen Messages in Glass, a book about the history and biblical messages behind the 54 stained glass creations in or hanging on windows at St. Mary. The book also features colour images of the windows.
St. Mary was established as a parish church in 1911 and received its first stained glass artistic creation in 1924. Each window is dedicated to the memory of an individual or church group. Messages in Glass will be published in May 2021 and promises to be an insightful read for parishioners and anyone interested in the history and artistry of stained glass. When St. Mary is able to open its doors to visitors again, the book will also serve as a useful guide to the church’s windows.
Elizabeth Laugharne is a retired health care professional and has been a parishioner at St. Mary for over 10 years. Laugharne is also a volunteer church archivist at St. Mary, and her interest in the stained glass windows was prompted by the many enquiries she receives about them. As her interest slowly grew, Laugharne was determined to ensure that the windows were properly documented and that their magnificence would be acknowledged. It is Laugharne’s hope that readers of Messages in Glass will receive as much joy in reading it as she has had in writing it.
All profits from the sale of the book will go towards the fund for the preservation and restoration of the windows. For further information or to pre-order your copy, contact St. Mary the Virgin, Oak Bay, at 250-598-2212 or [email protected]. You can also contact the author directly at 250-658-2548 or [email protected].
