Nestled against the rocky side of a mountain high above the Lehigh River in Jim Thorpe sits the 145-year-old St. Mark and St. John Episcopal Church. The Gothic Revival-style church is filled with artifacts from long-ago wealthy benefactors, stained-glass windows created by Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Mary Packer Cumming's bird cage elevator.

From now through Oct. 30, the church will be open for tours from noon to 4 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday."It's too beautiful not to give tours," said tour guide Mary Shorten. On average, she and the other tour guides give 20 to 60 tours per weekend.The Episcopal Church is listed as a National Historic Landmark, because its construction was heavily funded by Asa Packer, who owned the Lehigh Railroad and founded Lehigh University. After his death in 1879, his widow, Sarah Packer, built a connecting memorial chapel in his honor, and their daughter, Mary Packer Cummings, continued funding changes to the church up to her death in 1912.Tour director John Horvath said the church began giving tours more than 30 years ago in order to qualify for federal grants through the National Historic Landmark program. Over the years, they have received a total of $100,000 in grant money, which has been used on major improvement projects such as the re-leading of three stained glass windows. The grant provided $50,000, which was matched by the parish to pay for the $100,000 repairs.Their next major improvement project is repairing the slate roof, which was placed there in 1869. Because of its historic designation, the slate roof has to be repaired with the same or similar material, he said.Horvath said in the late 1800s, there were eight millionaires who were members of the church. In the entire United States, there were only 65 millionaires."The endowments they left keep us alive," he said.On a recent tour, Horvath said the land cost only $50, but the church cost more than $69,000 to build. He said a smaller church once stood on the site, but was torn down to make way for this one. From the stained-glass windows and baptistery to pews and floor tiles, he had a story about its history, maker and benefactor.For instance, the reredos (an ornate sculpture that covers the lower half of the wall behind the altar) is a replica of the one in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Sarah Packer wrote to Queen Victoria of England to get permission to have a replica made for St. Mark's in Jim Thorpe. The queen said yes, because she and Sarah were friends.The Packers hired three Italian sculptors to come to this country and create the reredos out of a soft marble. It took them a year and a half to complete the project.Two of the Louis Comfort Tiffany windows in the church include an image within the layers of the glass. One window titled "Abide with Us" was commissioned by Alex and Anna Butler in 1895. It shows Jesus standing behind an altar and an image of his face is embedded in the cloth on the table, Horvath pointed out. The candle flames made of a deep golden yellow glass look like they are flickering when the sun hits the candles, he said.Another window commissioned by Asa and Sarah's daughter, Mary Packer Cummings, in memory of her sister, Lucy Packer Linderman, shows a young Jesus standing among a flowering tree. A shadow of his arms and legs can be seen through his tunic. The window was created by Tiffany's apprentice, the only person to whom he ever taught the technique. But the apprentice died before Tiffany."That's why the secrets went to the grave with him," Horvath said. "He did things with glass no one else can do."The windows in the chapel are also Tiffany, but Sarah didn't commission them until after Asa passed away. He wouldn't allow Tiffany windows in the main church, because Tiffany refused to donate to Lehigh University, Horvath said. In all fairness though, he said, Tiffany was married to the daughter of the president of Lafayette University in Easton, so his allegiance was with his wife.Most of the other stained-glass windows are from the Gibson Stained Glass Co. in Philadelphia. One though was imported from England. It's the 2,000-piece rose window positioned up high at the back of the church. The unique and priceless feature of this window is its royal blue glass. It contains Munich blue sand that no longer exists, as well as cobalt, Horvath said."When I'm in there by myself when the light comes through the rose window in the early evening, it's literally breathtaking. It makes you feel like there is something else," said Shorten, one of the tour guides.The stories are numerous, but visitors will have an opportunity to hear more of them as they use Mary Packer Cummings' elevator to the main church. She specifically requested that it be large enough to carry a casket and six pallbearers, Horvath said."She died a day before it was completed," he added.Tours cost $5 per person and groups are encouraged to call the church at 570-325-2241 to make arrangements.