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.

More miscellany

We just had a random update, but apparently there are lots of little bits of news to report these days, from the mundane to the sublime.

The circus came to my little town last week. Half a block from my house. I thought about running away with them, but then I remembered that clowns make me a little nervous. I also thought about recruiting some circus folk for some kind of clown ministry or liturgical acrobatics so I could get out of writing my sermon, but I restrained myself.





My landlords, who live upstairs, found a stray kitten. They're calling her Lucky, and she now lives in our garage. She is tiny and adorable, and very affectionate. She is clearly not quite healthy. Something's up with her eyes, at the very least, but she's such a little sweetheart. I hope she survives.





And, finally, First Lutheran got a new baptismal font. It's been in the works for a while, and I got to help my supervisor shop for the pottery bowl and ewer (pitcher). We found them at The Grand Hand Gallery in St. Paul, and what a fun project to get in on!





The two pieces were made by different artists but they coordinate beautifully, and they both complement the wood finish perfectly. The base was made by Nerstrand Custom Cabinets. It matches the rest of the chancel pieces and it is stunning.

Back to the cathedral

Last week I had a chance to make a (fairly brief) stop at the Cathedral of Saint Paul. I've said before it's one of my favorite places in the Twin Cities, and I hadn't been there since last summer.

During a busy day of visits and errands in the Cities last week, I finally had a chance to stop by with my supervisor. As an extra delight, the organist was playing while we were there, so the space was even more sublime than usual with the addition of music. Pictures and details about the cathedral organs here...together they have 4,560 pipes!

You can check out the pictures I posted before. Even better, take a look at the photo album on the cathedral website or take a virtual tour. Meanwhile, here are a few from my August trip that I haven't shared yet.

















And here's a new addition this time (at least, I hadn't seen it before): Lego cathedral. I cannot fathom having the kind of patience necessary to create such a thing. Very impressive.

Another Trinity

A congregation named Trinity, that is. Not a triune replacement for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, of course.

I mentioned that the the technology workshop I recently attended was held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Wanamingo. This is not to be confused with the Trinity Lutheran Church in West Concord, which I serve as an intern. (To add to the confusion, their pastors are both named Chris.)

The Kenyon-Wanamingo baccalaureate service was held at Trinity in Wanamingo this year as well, so I was back again for another lovely event. And here's the beautiful sanctuary.





I love the center window with the resurrected Christ.







The side windows are all relatively simple like this, with interesting little windows in the centers depicting things like this one, the calling of the disciples.

Holy Week highlights

The holy chaos of Holy Week is over, and it was a wonderful experience. I spent Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday at Grace and had a great time doing first communion instruction with them...more on that soon.

On Good Friday, we did a Stations of the Cross service at First in the morning. It was quiet and contemplative, a good way to start the day.





Then we had community Good Friday worship in the evening, involving almost all the internship congregations. It's been hosted by different churches in recent years, and this year it was at First. It was a wonderful experience to serve with almost all my pastors together, and to enjoy the gifts of so many different soloists and choirs.

To celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord, I started with sunrise worship with the Trinity folks, this year at the cemetery...more on that soon. Then I worshiped with the people of Gol, and hit both of their Easter breakfasts in between, of course.

After worship I stopped at First again to meet my supervisor for a nursing home visit, and here's the transformation from Good Friday to Easter. I love the spring flowers!





Meanwhile, I have plenty of less-than-holy chaos to clean up at home. After the craziness of the last couple weeks, my sorely neglected sanctuary is in danger of becoming a biohazard. The kitchen table is just the tip of the iceberg, so thank goodness for a low-key post-Easter week!

Chapel at St. Mary's Hospital

I've commented before that St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester is a beautiful facility. And I had heard that they had an amazing chapel. On a recent visit with one of my pastors, I finally got a chance to see it, and I was blown away!

I did my clinical pastoral education at Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville, which was also a very nice facility. But the chapel there was intentionally inter-religious and quite simple, containing very little symbolism. It was really just a small, quiet room in which to escape the noise and activity of the hospital.

So, with that concept of a "hospital chapel" in my mind, I was not prepared for this....
















Stunning! It seats 400. Check out the 360-degree panorama views here.

Hegre, 1943

I recently noticed this calendar and advertisement from 1943 hanging on a bulletin board at Hegre. It's pretty much the coolest thing ever.





It says the church is located in Skyberg, Minnesota. There's still a sign for Skyberg, but it really isn't a town anymore. (There are many such signs around here. Some just say the town name and some say "former site of..." whatever town.) The pastor must have come from Wanamingo.





This one is blurry, but you may be able to tell that Sunday school was held every week, but worship only every other week. The pastor must have had several churches to cover.





Such an interesting piece of history!

(By the way, you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them, which is true in all the posts.)

United Redeemer Lutheran Church

Our recent Cannon River Conference assembly was held at United Redeemer Lutheran Church in Zumbrota. In the fellowship hall, we did some business and got an update from the Southeastern Minnesota Synod.

I had a perfect view of this fascinating contraption. The arc across the top swings up and down a little, and the gears click around in circles, and the pendulums swing back and forth. It's made entirely of wood and is totally mesmerizing.





In the sanctuary, we enjoyed a presentation about one pastor's adventures in Columbia. Here are the shots I managed to get of the chancel, working around the portable screen that was set up for the presentation.








And one of the beautiful windows.

Trip to St. Olaf College

One of my pastors recently took me to St. Olaf College ("the shining beacon on the hill"), where our primary destination was Boe Memorial Chapel. It's a stunning space that has some of the most fascinating stained-glass windows I've ever seen, particularly for the uniqueness of their subjects.

Here's a broad view of the chapel. I heard a tour guide say the flags represent every country from which a St. Olaf student comes, or where a St. Olaf student currently is (big study-abroad program there).

The chancel window depicts the resurrection of Christ and includes a portrayal of the institution of the Lord's Supper that flows off the window and into the chapel itself.





Closer view of the chancel. The organ console controls the organ in the chancel as well as the one in the balcony.





View from the chancel looking toward the back of the chapel. The rear window depicts the transfiguration and the New Jerusalem.





Along one side of the chapel the biblical story is told in the windows, from creation to crucifixion, with the resurrection depicted in the chancel window. On the other side is the history of the church, from Pentecost to the Reformation to Lutheranism in North America.

This window is "Promise," showing several Old Testament stories, including the flood, the promise to Abraham, and the giving of the law.





This window depicts Jesus' miracles.





Pre-Reformation Christian history, including St. Olaf himself, symbolizing the spread of Christianity into Northern Europe.





The Reformation era, including Martin Luther nailing the 95 Theses to the door and standing at the Diet of Worms.





Perhaps I've found an supplement to the Cathedral of St. Paul as a good place for prayer and contemplation. I certainly wouldn't mind studying those windows further.

First English Lutheran Church, Faribault

The pastors of First English Lutheran both had conflicts that kept them away from their Saturday evening worship service last week, and they invited me to fill in as pulpit supply.

So I got to preach and lead worship with the good folks of this congregation, which was lovely. It's nice to meet more people from the area.

Also lovely is their building. My favorite part is the painted beams, which you can see on the last couple pictures.

United Lutheran Church, Red Wing

We had another meeting of the Cannon River Conference clergy this month, the first one since October. In November we had synod Fall Theological Conference instead, and there was no meeting in December. So we're back at it, and this month we heard about the Care Clinic in Red Wing and some other great resources for Goodhue County.

We met at United Lutheran in Red Wing. Check it out. The amazing organ was made in Iowa, for the record.

Details at Holden and Dale

I led worship at Holden and Dale Lutheran Churches this weekend, which was delightful, as always. Just thought I'd share a few fun details that weren't among my previous pictures of these places.


A view of Holden as I approached from the east. I mentioned before that they call it the "cathedral in a cornfield," and now you can see why.




This might be my new favorite stained glass window. (At least until next week, when I'm sure another will catch my eye somewhere else and it'll be my new favorite until the cycle starts over.) Anyway, it's over the altar at Holden but I hadn't really paid close attention to the subject matter before. It's the women and the angel at the empty tomb. Love it!




It's still Christmas until Epiphany on Thursday. Here's the tree at Holden. The bottom branches are about waist-level on me, and my head hit around the second or third tier from the bottom. Very large tree. I wish I had been around as they wrestled it into the sanctuary.




The new doors at Dale. The etching was inspired by one of Dale's stained glass windows.




The cute little archway by which one enters the Dale sanctuary from the narthex. This building has lots of fun nooks and crannies and interesting bits of character like this.