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Daily News-Record (Harrisonburg, VA)
October 15, 2007 Section: Valley Virginia Pane-Staking Dedication
Couple's Artistic Talent On Display In Church Windows JENNY JONES, Daily News-Record
ELKTON - Shirley and Jim Shirron admit that when they are in church, they sometimes cannot help but stare at the newly installed stained-glass windows. They get lost in the rich colors as the sun streams through and casts a majestic glow over the pews. They contemplate the designs and think about how the next window in the series might look. It's not that the Shirrons are uninterested in what is going on at the altar or that they are simply enamored with the stained glass. Their connection goes much deeper.
Putting It Back Together
Last spring, members of Holy Infant Catholic Church began transforming their church back to its original
1950s luster.
Among other things, they turned the pews toward the pulpit, replaced the carpeting and moved the altar from
the middle of the church to the back.
With all the changes, the Shirrons thought the church's stained-glass windows should also be replaced. All
but one of the original windows had been sold years ago.
Instead of simply purchasing new stained-glass windows from a manufacturer, the Shirrons offered to make
the windows themselves - a tall order for a couple who had never worked with stained glass before.
Gaining Confidence
Shirley Shirron got the idea to make the windows after she came across a book about stained glass. She thought
it would be fun to learn the craft and started researching it on the Internet.
From then on, Shirley Shirron said she was hooked and ready to start cutting glass. Her husband wasn't quite
as confident.
"I didn't think much of it," Jim Shirron said. "It seemed almost overwhelming."
But after the couple visited a few towns where stained-glass windows are prevalent and watched an instructional
video, they committed to the project.
The church put money toward the glass-cutting equipment and supplies. With that, the Shirrons were ready
to get started.
A Labor Of Love
At the Shirrons' house, a machine that sands the rough edges of the cut glass sits on the kitchen counter
and colorful pieces of glass are scattered about.
In the adjoining dining room, a glass-cutting table takes up one end of the space, boxes and buckets of
glass line the walls and a pattern for one of the window's designs is spread out on the table.
It is here that the Shirrons, who retired to Elkton 17 years ago, hand-cut each piece of glass and then
line all the pieces up on the pattern before soldering them together.
"Believe me, it takes patience," Jim Shirron said. "You'll be cutting along on a piece of glass, and it
goes one way and you go another."
But thanks to what seems to be Shirley Shirron's natural ability to cut glass, the couple has managed to
complete 10 large windows and 11 small arches since starting the project in May.
The windows feature different religious symbols such as a lion and lamb, crosses, a pomegranate and doves.
Some even include sayings like, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy."
The Shirrons say they have 11 more panes to do before the church's windows are complete. They say they hope
to have them finished by Easter, at the latest.
While they still have a lot of work to do, the Shirrons say they don't regret starting the project.
"It's been a lot of fun," Jim Shirron said. "We love doing it."
Contact Jenny Jones at 574-6286 or jjones@dnronline.com
Website Music: All I Have To Do Is Dream
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