St Mary Redcliffe Church launches stained glass window competition

St Mary Redcliffe Church is inviting individuals, community groups, organisations and schools both locally and nationally to enter an exciting competition to create new designs for four stained-glass panels for their Good Samaritan window reflecting the theme ‘And who is my neighbour?’. 

The church, which has been a place of Christian worship for over 800 years, is looking for creative and imaginative designs that will work well across the four small panels of glass that run along the bottom of the North Transept’s central window and will complement the window as a whole. 

The North Transept window tells the story, commonly known as The Good Samaritan, in which a lawyer tests Jesus by asking him, ‘And who is my neighbour? 
The story has many messages, but one of them is that the lawyer’s concept of ‘neighbour’ needs to be challenged, broadened and expanded. That lesson is as much a challenge for 21st-century Bristolians as it was for people in Jesus’ time. The competition offers us the opportunity to open up this question once again within the context of this window. Rather than the four panels at the base of the window quoting the conclusion of the story (which Edward Colston took as his motto) we will use them to provide the context of the story and allow the window, with its the Victorian artistry, to provoke the contemporary viewer with the same challenge to broaden and expand our understanding of the question “And who is my neighbour?” just as Jesus provoked the lawyer. 

The competition is open to everyone, including those under 18 years old and the judging panel will consider all types of design. The winning entry will be recreated in stained glass and subject to legal permissions, will replace the plain panels currently installed in the window after the original panels were removed due to their association with the slave trader, Edward Colston. 

The shortlisted entries will be displayed in an exhibition at St Mary Redcliffe Church and on the church’s website from 20 August to 18 September. Members of the public will be invited to view the designs and make comments before the judging panel make their final design. Comments made by the general public will be considered in the final judging process. 

Over the last five years, St Mary Redcliffe Church has been proactive in addressing contested heritage arising from our history in the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans. In 2020, following the removal of the Colston statue during the Black Lives 

Matter demonstration, St Mary Redcliffe was encouraged to act in coordination with Bristol Cathedral and four Victorian stained-glass panels dedicated to Edward Colston that formed part of its North Transept window were removed. 

In the spirit of openness and inclusivity, St Mary Redcliffe decided to run this competition to find new ideas for stained-glass panels that are in recognition of the deep wrongs inflicted on so many in the past. 

What has become increasingly clear, as we understand more of our history, is that philanthropy built on the back of injustice is immoral and should not be commemorated. The removal of the stained-glass commemorating Colston forms part of an ongoing process of historical evaluation and analysis designed to ensure that the church’s presentation of its past accords with its modern values, vision statement and mission. 

Canon Dan Tyndall said, “The successful design will help us to remember our past, enable everyone to experience the gospel and leave us all feeling a sense of hope in our shared future. Rather than hurriedly create new stained-glass panels, we wanted to take the time to reflect, consult and design a solution that is well-considered, represents our world view today, and will stand the test of time. I am very much looking forward to seeing all the designs.” 

Rt Reverend Vivienne Faull, Bishop of Bristol added, “I am delighted to see this fantastic competition being launched by St Mary Redcliffe Church. It’s an excellent idea to go out to the community to seek ways to reimagine what the stained-glass panels might look like today.  I am so pleased to see SMR engaged in this work as it aligns strongly with my personal commitment to racial justice and my desire to see positive change in the Diocese of Bristol.”

For more information about the competition and how to enter, please visit their website or email Parish.Office@stmaryredcliffe.co.uk  also check out all the latest news from the Diocese of Bristol on their website.