Though tarnished with age, the stained glass windows at the First Congregational Church aren’t just any old windows.

The big stained glass window in the church was completed by Charles J. Connick, a renowned American painter, muralist, and designer, who worked in the early 1900s, according to the Boston Public Library’s records. His works include the rose windows of the Cathedrals of St. Patrick and St. John in New York City, as well as the windows in the Princeton University Chapel.

And it is this window, and 18 smaller windows, that the members of the Mustard Seed Projects Committee are dedicated to restoring. They are asking for $60,000 in Community Preservation Act funds to restore the windows, an article on which voters will decide at Town Meeting April 25.

“I don't think you can realize the brilliance of the [stained glass] windows from the outside anymore. You really have to come in and look at it,” said Jean Smith, secretary of the church.

The Board of Selectmen seemed to agree, as it unanimously voted to recommend the article during its meeting last week.

In addition to a $5,000 consultant fee, it will cost $55,000 to repair the windows of the church, which line the north, east, and south sides of the building, in addition to the large stained glass window located in the front of the building.

The Mustard Seed Project claims a need for this restoration because of the location and history of the building. Located adjacent to the Town Green, the church was used as a sanctuary and town meeting hall from 1739 – 1904, even after separation of church and state in Massachusetts occurred in 1828. The church itself has been restored four times since 1739.

If the funds are granted, the committee hopes to start restoration in July, and finish by October of this year. However, because the windows are historic, they fall under the Wareham Historic District Commission’s jurisdiction, so no work will be done without the commission’s approval, the committee said.

But not everyone agrees that the windows are worth saving. Thomas Worthen, a member of the Finance Committee, claimed the windows are not of any “artistic excellence,” and said that they would not attract visitors to Wareham, as the church is not always open for the members of the community to enjoy.

Despite Worthen’s objections, the Finance Committee voted 3-2, with one abstention, to recommend the article, during the Board of Selectmen’s meeting last week.

The restoration would include cleaning the stained glass windows and providing a new protective covering for the outside of the windows. With new technology, Smith said the windows would be better protected for the future. As of now, the covering has “faded into a milky appearance” and the new covering would be clear.

“The work that would be done could be something seen from the outside,” she said. “It would be accessible for the public to see it, especially with the stained glass window.”

Though they are only asking for funds to restore the windows, the committee has several other projects, too. The others include repairing damage to the church building, and repainting the exterior. Smith estimated the cost for the other projects will be $115,000, which will be raised through fundraisers and personal donations.

Worthen suggested that the Mustard Seed Project Committee also raise funds for the entire project before the town grants them $60,000 for the window restoration.

However, raising funding for the windows by way of Town Meeting is part of the game plan, Reverend Katherine Schofield said.

“If the town grants us the funding, we would move forward with the window part of the project,” she said. “We're going to continue to seek out grant funding from other sources as well. Once we get the funds to do various projects we set out to do, then we'll do them.”

The Committee has raised $23,532 for its other projects, so far. More than 90 percent of that total has been from personal donations. The next community fundraiser for the other projects is a ham and bean supper on April 23 at the Rowland Thatcher Fellowship Hall. The Mustard Seeds Project Committee also hopes to host a concert in the beginning of summer, and another fundraiser at the end of the summer.