High winds damage South Side church windows

Three large stained-glassed windows at the South Side church where Congressman Bobby Rush serves as pastor were blown out by high winds that swept through the Chicago area over the weekend.

Shattered glass and metal framework of two of the windows were strewn across pews Sunday at the Beloved Community Christian Church, 6430 S. Harvard, forcing Rush to hold services in an adjoining hall.

Rush sent out pleas for donations to fix the gaping holes in his church and hopefully to restore the windows to their original beauty.

“We really need a minimum of $125,000 to secure these windows,” Rush said, noting the full restoration would cost about $1 million.

The Gothic style church, built in 1949, originally housed a Lutheran congregation.

Rush said the 85-year-old Tiffany-inspired windows were a source of inspiration and hope for the community.

“It’s a gem in the community. It’s a safe harbor in the community. And these stained-glass windows have certainly inspired the downtrodden … to upward thought,” Rush said.

Rush said no one was injured when the windows were damaged sometime Friday night or early Saturday. “No one was here. Thank God no one was injured,” he said.

“We really just need the help, the generosity, of good thinking Chicagoans, good-hearted Chicagoans. We need them to assist us in our efforts to save our stained-glass windows,” Rush said.