Sunday, February 11, 2007

Birmingham, Alabama

Sixteenth Street Baptist. This is the church that was bombed on Sept. 15, 1963, killing four little girls and injuring 22 people, including a four-year old girl. It was undergoing major restoration while we were there.


The sanctuary of the church. The windows on the right were damaged in the 1963 bombing.


One of the stained glass windows. This window essentially survived the explosion except for the face of Jesus, which was blown out, and a very small bit of his red robe. Pictures after the explosion show the oval hole where the face used to be. Eerie.

As in more recent events, the world reacted to the horrific act. An artist in Wales designed this window, with a black Jesus being crucified, for the church after a dream. It replaced a window destroyed in the bombing. School children from Wales sent money to help in the restoration of the church.

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