St. James Episcopal Mission in Tanana, AK has had its 113 year old stained glass windows restored. The four windows had been damaged severely by the shifting logs of the mission. They were originally created for a mission three miles from Tanana, the Mission of Our Saviour, made in Ohio, and had been moved to St. James. Mary Starr, the church treasurer, collected the pieces of glass as the windows were cracked by the shifting foundation. Working with the village priest and a local pilot, she raised enough money to have the windows removed, repaired, and reinstalled. The glass was sent to Debbie Mathews, an artist in Fairbanks. A local carpenter, Craig Robinson, built new window frames, and the pilot, Dan Treakle, flew the packages back to Tanana.
The windows were reinstalled by a group of volunteers from North Carolina who had been to Tanana several times on mission trips. During the trips, they had lead vacation Bible school for the children, built a bell tower and restored the pews in the church, among other things. They returned to the village to restore the windows with joy. The windows were dedicated on August 20, with Rev. Helen Peters and Archdeacon Anna Frank presiding.
More on the story, and more photos, can be found here.