124-year-old stained glass company teams up with artist Cbabi Bayoc

A University City church is changing how Biblical figures are represented in stained glass.

Mike Angell, pastor of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, felt there were too many images of white Jesus in his church for a congregation that is 40% Black.

The church integrated in the 1960s. “But we have not integrated the art,” Angell said. “It becomes very important that people see themselves in the sacred story. They see themselves in the biblical story. They see themselves represented in their church.”

To that end, Holy Communion leaders enlisted the help of 124-year-old stained glass company Emil Frei and Associates. The St. Louis company has created art for more than 7,000 churches around the globe, including St. Francis Xavier College Church in Grand Center and St. Francis de Sales off Gravois Road. It also helped design the mosaic patterns for the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.