We’re looking at a window that’s more than 100 years old. I’ve photographed it many times and, each time, it reveals new truths, often only about me. It looks out from the one-room Chapel on Naskeag Road known as Beth Eden.
It sees a line of bare maple trees that cast their shadows and reflections on it, as if trying to get to know it by feeling its face. It draws us in to see through the Chapel’s darkness to another window brightly looking out at other trees. And when we do this – this looking in and out – we can get a sense of the hope, joy, grief, and solace the Chapel has hosted. It’s usually vacant now, but it once was the place for a small rural community’s christenings, weddings, funerals, and hopeful prayers. (Brooklin, Maine)