Location: Over rear balcony, west wall.
Studio: Henry Wynd Young, New York City.
Memorial Inscription: In Memoriam Elbert Adrian Brinckerhoff, 1838-1913. (Mr. Brinckerhoff was an Elder, Trustee and devoted friend of this Church.
Date: 19 18.

If you turn around to face the rear balcony and raise your eyes above the handsome pipes of the antiphonal organ you will see the first of our festival windows—the Christmas Nativity scene.

Because of its circular shape, we call this a rose window, though strictly defined, a rose window consists of unfolding patterns in uniform sections or leaves, opening around a central point like the petals of a full blown rose. Exquisite examples of true rose windows may be seen in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris and in Chartres.

A delicate frame of colorful jewels and grisaille surrounds the picture and the dark outline of a Greek Cross (i.e., with all four arms of equal length) is superimposed overall. In the outer frame, at each end of the vertical arm of the cross, is an angel swinging a censer burning incense; at each end of the horizontal arm of the cross, two angels kneel, one in prayer and one blowing on a trumpet. In a narrow inner frame appear the words of the angels' Christmas song, "Gloria in excelsis Deo"—Glory to God in the highest, and at the base of the inner frame appears the memorial inscription.

The proper title of this window is "The Adoration of the Shepherds" and we see three of them on the left side of the manger scene with their shepherds' crooks. One carries a lamb in his arm while a second lamb looks up curiously at the figure of the Christ Child in the center of the cross, with the visible beams of the Christmas Star shining on His head. The crude stable is indicated in the background with Joseph standing behind the kneeling figure of Mary in her outer robe of traditional blue. At the far right we see the heads of an ox and an ass, watching the Holy Family sharing their shelter for this Holy Night.

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