Art at SPD

24 stained glass windows in our Sanctuary recount the entire Biblical narrative visually. Designed by Nicholas T. Markell, M.S., M.Div, of Markell Studios, the windows are ordered in number beginning with the window that sits to the right of the organ and continue clockwise around the Sanctuary. Together, they help us immerse ourselves in the sweeping narrative of the Bible each time we are gathered in the Sanctuary.

St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church takes its name from St. Philip the Deacon, whose ministry and witness are described in the book of Acts (Acts 8:26-40). St. Philip’s story is told visually in three icons by iconographer Ann Chapin. You can find them just inside the worship center doors. A small plaque posted by each icon is helpful to take in all each icon offers.

The statue of St. Philip the Deacon and the art-glass installation located in the Chapel were designed, sculpted and fabricated by Russian-born artist Alexander Tylevich, and installed just before Easter in 2014.

When the congregation approached Tylevich to consider this project, he advocated for a more three-dimensional installation in this space. The result is a brass statue and integral stand sculpted specifically for the chapel, cast using the lost-wax process by Casting Creations of Minnesota in Howard Lake.

Standing behind the sculpture is a seven-panel glass installation, designed by Tylevich and fabricated in Germany by Glasmalerei Peters Studios. To achieve Tylevich’s specifications, the studio used multiple techniques, including slumping, airbrushing, sandblasting and silver-staining.

Displayed in the atrium is a striking black walnut wood carving by Tim Sheie.

The text, by Michael Dennis Browne reads:

Even before we call on Your name To ask You, O God, When we seek for the words to glorify You, You hear our prayer; Unceasing love, O unceasing love, Surpassing all we know.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, And to the Holy Spirit.

Even with darkness sealing us in, We breathe Your name, And through all the days that follow so fast, We trust in You; Endless Your grace, O endless Your grace, Beyond all mortal dream.

Both now and forever, And unto ages and ages, Amen

Artist Tim Sheie comments: “Our place is in the arms of a loving God and we live in endless grace—Pilgrims’ Hymn captures that relationship with God so perfectly, and the walnut wood displays it beautifully.”

Displayed in the back of the nave in the southeast corner is another work of wood carving by Tim Sheie. It is an ancient prayer, found in our hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Worship on page 68, IX, a prayer of Thanksgiving at the Table.

Holy God, you alone are holy, you alone are God. The universe declares your praise: beyond the stars; beneath the sea, within each cell, with every breath.

Generations bless your faithfulness: through the water; by night and day; across the wilderness; out of exile, into the future.

We give you thanks for your dear Son: at the heart of human life, near to those who suffer, beside the sinner; among the poor; with us now.

Blessing, praise, and thanks to you, holy God, through Christ Jesus, by your Spirit in your church, without end.

St. Philip the Deacon is blessed to have two original paintings of the face of Christ from artist Ann Chapin. Each one, in its own way, evokes both an emotional response and also invites deep reflection. One hangs in the hallway just outside the pastors’ offices and the other in the Center for Faith and Life.

In 1998, Saint John’s Abbey and University commissioned renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson to produce a hand-written, hand-illuminated Bible. The Smithsonian Magazine calls the result “one of the great undertakings of our time.”

Illuminations are spiritual meditations on a text. These illuminations allow Scripture to speak to us in new ways. Jackson, in collaboration with Saint John’s Abbey and University and many from the wider community, wanted to produce a Bible, a work of art, that would ignite the spiritual imagination of believers throughout the world.

We are blessed to have six illumination prints: the Frontispiece (or title page) from Genesis, the Psalms, and the four Gospels–Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each illumination isa text supplemented with art featuring gold leaf, and overflows with imagery and story. A plaque posted nearby will help you navigate the meaning attached to the rich artwork.

Calligrapher Kirsten Malcolm Berry produces watercolor images drawn from Scripture, often including the original Hebrew or Greek. Her beautiful calligraphy and imaginative illustrations never fail to draw one in. She paints images of the Bible that translate the abstract into the tangible. Four prints hang on the East end of the narthex and a second set is displayed on the hallway outside the pastors’ offices.