Smithfield United Church of Christ's stained glass windows are a major element in its design and construction. A point of special significance about them is that at the behest of the pastor – Dr. Carl Voss – an equal number of women and men are depicted, apart from Jesus. This determination was quite in line with the congregation's admitting women as voting members in 1921, a year after ratification of the 19th Amendment (the "Women's Suffrage" amendment) to the Constitution of the United States.

The first two windows one encounters are those at the head of the first flight of stairs leading to the second floor sanctuary. The figures portrayed are Moses and Paul: Moses above the Lord's Prayer in German; Paul above the prayer in English

In the narthex, at the top of the stairs, are the Faith, Love, and Hope windows, inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:13: "So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

The inscription for the Faith window is "Have faith in God.   Mark XI.22." For the Love window: "A new commandment I give unto you 'That ye love one another.'   John XIII.34." And for the Faith window: "For we are saved by Hope.   Rom. VIII.24."

The sanctuary windows occupy over 60 percent of the wall space and were designed and created by the Von Gerichten Art Glass and Ecclesiastic Studios, Columbus, Ohio. Starting at the front left and moving counter-clockwise, the upper windows tell the chronological story of the life and teachings of Jesus. The lower windows depict people and places important to our German Protestant and Pittsburgh heritage.

1. Above, Ruth and Naomi; below, Martin Luther at Wittenberg
2. Above, The Birth of Jesus; below, Zwingli, the militant preacher, at Zurich
3. Above, The Child Jesus in the Temple; below, Washington and Von Steuben, 1778
4. Above, John Baptizing Jesus; below, Smithfield's first pastor, Johann Wilhelm Weber, crossing the Allegheny Mountains in 1782
5. Above, The Parable of the Good Samaritan; below, The Penn Family deeding the land on which the church still stands, in 1787
6. Above, The Parable of the Prodigal Son; below, Lincoln in Pittsburgh, 1861
7. Above, Christ the Good Shepherd; below, Smithfield Church, 1875-1924
8. Above, Jesus and the Woman at the Well; below, Pittsburgh Bridges, wooden and first suspension bridge, 1860
9. Above, Jesus and Mary and Martha at Bethany; below, Courthouse and Markethouse, 1825
10. Above, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane; below, Pittsburgh in 1817
11. Above, Easter Morning; below, Fort Pitt Blockhouse, 1764, which served as an early meeting house for Smithfield Methodists
12. Above, The Risen Christ and Disciples at Emmaus; below, Collage of early Smithfield church buildings: 1791-1814, 1815-1832, 1833-1875

See also:

Abraham Lincoln in Pittsburgh, 1861
The Children's Window
Our First Pastor J.W. Weber, Crossing the Mountains 1782
Pittsburgh in 1817
Washington and Von Steuben 1778
Early Wooden Bridges and First Suspension Bridge
Protestant reformers


620 Smithfield Street – 2007
The "Smithfield" Churches

  – through you and me!