FARMINGTON – A circular stained-glass window that has long adorned the sanctuary of the Old South First Congregational Church is on its way to Philadelphia for restoration.

The Good Shepherd window, showing signs of wear with pieces of lead between the windows missing, was carefully removed from the church Tuesday. Dismantled into four pieces, the 120-year-old work of art was placed in a crate and transported to Philadelphia, where it will undergo months of restorative work, according to church member Tim Wallace.

A committee formed last June to consider restoration of a number of the church windows decided to restore the Good Shepherd window along with six other large windows within the sanctuary.

Jim Petersen, one of the workers from Willet Hauser, the company hired to do the restoration, slowly placed strips of tape across the window Tuesday before workers could even attempt to remove it. The window was originally built in four sections, worker Kevin Schreiber said.

“It’s a slow process,” he said, “but I’m not one to rush in blindly until I know what’s going to happen.”

The restoration will involve taking the window apart piece by piece, making an etching, removing the lead between the window pieces, and cleaning and restoring any damaged pieces before putting them back together like a jigsaw puzzle, Wallace said.

A private gift will cover the $20,000 cost to restore the prominent window within the church. Then fundraising will begin in January to restore the six other large windows, he said.

After a fire burned the original church, new construction in 1887 included the stained-glass windows, Wallace said.

The Good Shepherd window, with a pastoral scene of Jesus with sheep, was placed over the altar at the front of the church in memory of the church’s first pastor, the Rev. Isaac Rogers. He led the congregation for 32 years, and his birth and death dates, July 13, 1795, and Feb. 5, 1872, are inscribed on the window.

The memorial also states, “The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.”

The congregation will miss the window while it’s gone for the next few months, Wallace said.

The empty space will be covered with plywood during that time.