Weekly beauty: All Praise to Thee...

The evening hymnody of the church is unparalleled in beauty, in my humble opinion, and we don't have much opportunity to sing it unless we pray vespers (evening prayer) or compline (prayer at the close of the day). I was blessed to do some of that during my internship, so I got to discover this rich treasury of hymns with which I was not very familiar.

My favorite is this one, "All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night," written by Thomas Ken to a lovely tune by Thomas Tallis. It is the standard suggested hymn for opening compline in the LBW and ELW.

Both morning and evening hymns often draw parallels between the cycle of the day and the cycle of our lives, so evening hymns connect our sleeping with our eventual deaths, in very peaceful and hopeful ways, trusting in Christ's promise of eternal life. It makes them excellent for bedside pastoral care for the dying and their families, if you happen to make evening visits.

So here's a video of the hymn. I've included words below for two reasons: 1) The video skips my favorite verse, and 2) some of it is sung in canon (the tune is called Tallis' Canon) so it could be difficult to understand if you don't already know the words.





All praise to thee, my God, this night
For all the blessings of the light.
Keep me, oh, keep me, King of kings,
Beneath thine own almighty wings.

Forgive me, Lord, for thy dear Son,
The ill that I this day have done;
That with the world, myself, and thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.

Teach me to live, that I may dread
The grave as little as my bed.
Teach me to die, that so I may
Rise glorious at the awesome day.

Oh, may my soul in thee repose,
And may sweet sleep mine eyelids close,
Sleep that shall me more vig'rous make
To serve my God when I awake!

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heav'nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Weekly beauty: He Qi

I've featured the work of artist He Qi before (here and here), but I thought I'd offer a bigger sample. He's based in Roseville, just minutes from Luther Seminary, so we have a lot of his work around campus.

I like the variety in his painting, from the softer lines of the last example below, to the sharper lines and brighter colors of some of the others, to the slightly mish-mashed shapes in a couple of these examples. Anyway, check out the gallery here.


Joseph's Coat (Genesis 37)




Ruth and Naomi (book of Ruth)




Peace, Be Still! (Mark 4)




Martha and Mary (Luke 10)




Resurrection (John 20)




As always, you can check out more on the artist's website.

Beauty and transcendence

One of my favorite blogs, Beauty Tips for Ministers, is written by a Unitarian Universalist minister in Massachusetts. It focuses primarily on the importance of presenting ourselves in a way that communicates to others that we have something of value (the gospel of Christ!) to share with the world and deserve to be taken seriously.

She recently posted some reflections on her recent trip to London. Much of it is specific to particular museums and other experiences, but in the midst of the post was this gem:

I feel very strongly that a huge part of the poverty of soul in America right now is that we are surrounded by mass-produced products and living in aesthetically depressing wastelands of strip malls and chain stores. Signage is utilitarian, our forms of entertainment are an assault on the eyes, and human beings have given up and resorted to the sloppiest, most “comfortable” forms of dress and attire.

My work with this blog and issues of clergy image are deeply connected to the visual arts as a means toward transcendence. I feel that many clergy are enamored of the literary arts (we are people of the Word) and desperately need to attune ourselves to the visual realm of beauty and help our people do the same. We are bombarded by so many manipulative images every day (images designed to get us to purchase or use particular products that are all essentially the same under their packaging), we have lost the appreciation for, and language about, art for art’s sake, and fear to be thought shallow if we speak on behalf of Beauty.

It articulates some of why I post experiences of beauty every week, which I explained way back when (over a year ago already!). We are embodied people with five different senses that enable us to engage with God, with each other, and with the created world in different ways than our linguistic/cognitive abilities allow.

The connection with manipulative imagery was particularly interesting. I think the church has alternative imagery to present (architecture, art, icons, and more) that speaks to invitation rather than manipulation, and abundance rather than scarcity of beauty. But do we pay enough attention to these great gifts?

Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

I finally made it to the beautiful Big Woods State Park near Nerstrand. Check out a few pictures from a hike around part of the park. I loved the variety of scenery...mostly woods, but with a stream and waterfall thrown in, and a few spots of meadow and open sky. Breathtaking all around.

Weekly beauty: Rainbow

There was a rainbow in Dennison a few weeks ago. It was a double rainbow, actually, but the second one wasn't bright enough to show up well on camera (at least on my camera). It was very pretty, and it's always fun to catch such a relatively rare event.

Weekly beauty: Adagio for Strings

Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings is from the second movement of a longer string quartet.

It's a very common piece for film and television soundtracks, and has frequently been played on occasions of public mourning in countries around the world. Check out a partial list of both on ye olde Wikipedia.

It's quite sad but also quite moving and very beautiful.

Weekly beauty: Pottery

I mentioned that First recently got a new baptismal font, and I got to help shop for the pottery. So the beauty of pottery is fresh in my mind, and here are a couple of the artists we checked out.

Guillermo Cuellar and James Grittner made the bowl and pitcher we selected; sadly, I can't remember which artist made which piece!





We also visited Bungalow Pottery, studio of Ken Chin-Purcell. It's in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul, just a couple blocks from Luther Seminary.

His pottery is gorgeous; I adore his glazes. I think it would have been a strong contender if there had been something fitting already available. You'll see from the chalices below that he's done work for other churches. (Photos are from the artist's online kiln log.)














Then, just this week when I had lunch at Central Park Coffee Co. in Owatonna, I saw these ridiculous and delightful little mugs for sale. Once again, I love the glazes. They're made by Bob and Corina Neher of Clay in Motion Pottery Studio. They have an online catalog full of these handwarmer mugs, table settings, and many other pieces. (Photo is from the artists' website.)

Beautiful chapel

I went on a visit this week to the Fairview Seminary Home in Red Wing. It was my first time there, and it was a great place to go. It's in a beautiful neighborhood up on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi river and full of historic homes. And, as soon as I walked in the main door, I was greeted by a lovely chapel.





These panels behind the altar, and the framed pieces below, are painted fabric. They are quite impressive.








There is also a gorgeous series of stained-glass window panels above the clear windows. They depict the six days of creation.

Weekly beauty: Flowers

Flowers don't really need explanation. They're just pretty. Here are some that have crossed my path in the last month or so.


Daisies I bought myself. I love fresh flowers in the house.




A couple different lilies I noticed during my travels.







Hydrangeas from my brother and sister-in-law's garden, cut for their table. Historically not one of my favorite flowers, but they have really been catching my eye this summer!




An my favorite...a stunning bouquet of lilies at Grace on my last Sunday there. They're from someone's garden, and someone else went over to cut them a day or two early to spare them from the rain that was on its way. A group effort to bring us such beauty.

Weekly beauty: "All People That on Earth Do Dwell"

One of my favorite hymns of late. We sang it at Holden and Dale when I was there in mid-June, and I was enchanted by the stunning poetry.

I'm all about communicating the gospel in ways that people can understand. I'm also a lover of language, and this is beautiful language, even if it isn't as easily accessible as more contemporary formulations.

Another thing I love about this hymn is its sense of the holiness and transcendence of God. It's a paraphrase of Psalm 100 (hence the name of the tune, Old Hundredth), and it's no surprise for the psalmist to speak this way. But it's a bold claim to say "without our aid he did us make," in a culture like ours, where we like to think we can handle everything just fine on our own, thankyouverymuch.

Here's a video from the BBC; the music starts 22 seconds into it. It's a magnificent arrangement by Ralph Vaughan Williams, originally for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.





I'm transcribing the verses below so you can enjoy the words even without watching the video. The Old Hundredth tune is very familiar (same as the doxology, "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow"), so perhaps you could even sing if you're so inclined.


All People That on Earth Do Dwell (ELW 883 or LBW 245)

All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with mirth, his praise forth tell;
Come ye before him and rejoice.

Know that the Lord is God indeed;
Without our aid he did us make.
We are his folk, he doth us feed,
And for his sheep he doth us take.

Oh, enter then his gates with praise;
Approach with joy his courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless his name always,
For it is seemly so to do.

For why? The Lord our God is good:
His mercy is forever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.

To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
The God whom heav'n and earth adore,
From us and from the angel host
Be praise and glory evermore.

Beautiful bank

Check it out: the Wells Fargo Bank in Owatonna.








Originally the National Farmers' Bank, it was designed in 1908 by architect Louis Sullivan. He designed several other Midwestern banks (photos and locations here) but the one in Owatonna is the most grand.








There's a brochure with more information here (it opens as a PDF). What a fun surprise to encounter such beauty on a routine errand!

Weekly beauty: Green fields

Okay, so cornfields aren't exactly a unique sight in the upper Midwest. But I am reveling in the beauty of the lush, wide open fields of green. Apparently I'm savoring my last few weeks of rural life before I move back St. Paul, which has its own charms, of course, but they are quite different.





I have had such a good time this spring and summer watching the crops mature. The rows of tiny little leaves were so cute, and then before I knew it the corn was over my head. And now it's tasseling, and the addition of that shoot of gold gives the fields a totally different look from the solid sea of earlier summer green.





Just look at those perfect rows. My sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Sackett, used to ask us to make our rows of desks "corn-row straight." Order and abundance. It's beautiful.

Weekly beauty: Sandra Bowden

I can't remember how I stumbled upon Sandra Bowden's art but I know I like it.

Her gallery is organized into categories: text series, archaeology series, collage series, crucifixion series, art history, artist's books, and geological forms.

Samples from the text series demonstrate Bowden's trademark: the inclusion of Hebrew text in the piece. It's compact and not necessarily intended to be read, but becomes part of the art.


Heavens Declare (Psalm 19)




Aaron's Breastplate (a reference to Exodus 28:29, the inscription of the names of the 12 tribes of Israel on Aaron's priestly vestments; the piece also includes Jacob's blessing of his 12 sons, from Genesis 49)




Law and Gospel (a depiction of the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, with an additional horizontal cut to form a cross)




From the crucifixion series, a piece called He Was Wounded for our Transgressions (a San Damiano cross surrounded by words from Isaiah 43)




And from the geological forms series, this is Burst into Song, O Mountains (from Isaiah 49)




There's something quite compelling about such simple forms carrying so many layers of meaning.

Weekly beauty: Missouri mural

On our way to Kansas City last weekend, my parents and I stopped at a rest stop / welcome center near Eagleville, Missouri, where we found this lovely work of art.





The woman working in the welcome center saw me taking pictures and kindly brought me a brochure explaining the piece's history and images. It's a glass tile mosaic and was created by Carl and Sandra Bryant, owners of Showcase Mosaics of Lynden, Washington.

Images below include outlaw Jesse James (born and later killed in Missouri), tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins (a nod to the great KC jazz tradition), explorers Lewis and Clark, the Liberty Memorial and National World War I Museum (in Kansas City), and a baseball player representing the Negro National League, organized in Kansas City in 1920.





Depicted in this half are Missouri wildflowers and wildlife, artist Thomas Hart Benton (born in Neosho, MO), President Harry S. Truman (born in Independence, MO), and the barn from Walt Disney's youth (in Marceline, MO).





Finally, the center portion features pioneers using the many major wagon trails that passed through Missouri.





As a lover of both beauty and history, I thought this mural was captivating. And what an unexpected place to find such a work!