Latest news with #WesleyUnitedMethodistChurch
Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘Breath of Life': Exploring the beauty and power of C.B. Fisk's majestic organs
Gloucester is most associated with fishing, of course, and, artistically, with painting (Fitz Henry Lane, John Sloan, Edward Hopper, Marsden Hartley, Stuart Davis, Milton Avery, Joseph Solman) and poetry (Charles Olson, Vincent Ferrini, and don't forget T.S. Eliot's 'The Dry Salvages'). But in musical circles, thanks to Fisk, Gloucester is a world capital. The show includes models and photographs of Fisk organs that are near (Cambridge and Wellesley), far (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, and Minnesota), and quite far (Hong Kong and Japan). Opus 153, Wesley United Methodist Church, Muscatine, Iowa, 2019. Dana Sigall Advertisement As 'Breath of Life' very appealingly demonstrates, a pipe organ is about much more than the sounds it creates, regardless of how stirring or beautiful those sounds might be. Before an organ can make music, its own making variously draws on architecture, art, carpentry, acoustics, and engineering. Even when silent, it's a thing of beauty: a piece of magnificent sculpture that doubles as art installation. Fisk designates each of its organs with an opus number, the way musical composition are so designated. That seems altogether fitting. Opus 171, for example, is a continuo organ, much smaller than its more imposing brethren. That doesn't mean any less care went into its making. It's fashioned of white oak, walnut, boxwood, rosewood, curly maple, cherry, tin, and aluminum. Advertisement Opus 150, Christ Church, Philadelphia, 2018. Dana Sigall In addition to organ models and photographs, 'Breath of Life' includes drawings, decorative artwork for the organs, a pair of pipes (one the size of a chopstick, the other big enough to sit on a launching pad at a mini-Cape Canaveral), song books from the 18th and early 19th centuries, and a plaster cast of A vitrine displays a sampling of organ parts and tools used in their making. They're small wonders of elegance and utility, with names no less beautiful than the items themselves: 'languid,' 'reed tongue,' 'wooden beater and mandrel,' 'cut up knife,' 'toe cone,' 'toe hold gauge,' 'burnisher.' Opus 78, House of Hope Presbyterian Church, Saint Paul, Minn., 1979. Photo by Len Levasseur The show's wall texts are highly informative. Even so, this is the rare exhibition where visitors could forgo explanation and, simply gawking at what's on display, do so with pleasure and edification. That's how attractive the models and photographs and related materials are. In CAM Green's light-filled, white-walled exhibition space, the models look radiant. The organs are unique, like a fingerprint — or person — the design of each determined by the nature of the space it's sited in and the needs of the church or concert hall that commissioned it. Opus 110, located in Yokohama, Japan, is familiarly known as 'Lucy.' Opus 141, in Niiza, Japan, has blue lacquering. The pipes for Opus 146, in Glendale, Ohio, are arranged to form wing shapes — on wings of song, so to speak. Advertisement Opus 141, St. Paul's Chapel, Rikkyo University, Niiza, Japan, 2014. Scott Shaw The nine models are on a scale of 1:16: ¾ of an inch to 1 foot. 'They look like dollhouses to me,' a visitor was overheard to say during a recent visit. Fair enough, but lucky the dolls that get to live in such houses. 'Breath of Life' has a Fisk-selected soundtrack. It consists of organ music, of course. This is a very rare exception to the rule that music accompanying an exhibition is extremely annoying. Here it's not a distraction but an enhancement. For purists who prefer their music in person, there are organ performances in the exhibition space on Wednesdays from 1 to 1:30 p.m. A final note: The renovation of CAM's downtown campus continues, with reopening scheduled for this March. BREATH OF LIFE — C.B. FISK, DESIGNERS & BUILDERS OF PIPE ORGANS At Cape Ann Museum, CAM Green Campus, 13 Poplar St., Gloucester, through June 29. 978-283-0455, ext. 110, Mark Feeney can be reached at
Chicago Tribune
02-05-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Aurora church offers drive-thru option as part of National Day of Prayer event
Wesley United Methodist Church in Aurora offered two drive-thru prayer times on Thursday as part of its 24-hour National Day of Prayer event. Thyrothica Hill of Aurora dropped by Wesley United Thursday morning on the National Day of Prayer. 'I think having a National Day of Prayer is absolutely wonderful as well as someone offering the opportunity to pray outside of a church if they want to,' Hill said as she sat in her car. 'There are days when some people, they might not even realize that they need prayer. They need someone to let them know that things will be OK, because there may be some who, at the end of the day, are at their last hope.' The 24-hour prayer event began at the church at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the church's meeting space and continued the following day with drive-thru prayers offered from 9:30 to 11 a.m. and again from 5 to 6 p.m. A closing gathering was scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Wesley's prayer garden on the west side of the church at 14 N. May St. in Aurora. The drive-thru option drew only a handful of parishioners who talked and prayed with the Rev. Tammy Scott, Wesley United's lead pastor, who noted after the event that there was an unexpected spin-off that occurred. 'We didn't get a lot of people with the drive-thru but throughout the day more than a dozen people went into the sanctuary to pray which I thought was great,' Scott said. 'Because of that, we're thinking of opening the church one day a week during the work week and seeing if people want to continue to use it for prayer.' Bridget Hawkins of Aurora said the drive-thru option at the church on the National Day of Prayer was a good idea. 'In the times we're living, it may be even more important to take time for something spiritual rather than worrying about politics or the price of eggs,' she said. 'Having this drive-thru – it's OK if only a few come. I thinking it's a wonderful thing because a lot of people might not know about prayer. A lot of people might need this. If you're not comfortable going into a building – me, I don't walk into a church every Sunday, but I do go online and I pray every day.' The National Day of Prayer is always celebrated on the first Thursday of May. Church officials referred to the 24-hour observance as the 'Prayer of the 100th,' adding that the event also marked the 100th day of the Trump administration. Scott said the 24-hour event was actually organized by the United Methodist Church of Libertyville 'who invited other organizations to jump on board with their planning of the event.' 'This is the first time we've done something like this. On Wednesday night, we held a virtual kick-off where people came into our gathering space and we live streamed here at Wesley the event that Libertyville was doing and watched it together,' Scott said. Scott said the 100th day of the Trump administration just happened to coincide with this year's National Day of Prayer and that rather than it being something political, 'this was just an opportunity to highlight both as they occurred pretty much at the same time.' 'That idea was also organized by Libertyville and we just tagged on to their starting prayer on the 100th day of the administration and going through for 24 hours into the National Day of Prayer. It was sort of a unique opportunity that the 100th day (of Trump's administration) was the day before the national prayer day,' Scott said. 'It was just a way to sort of name both days and having some purpose and need for prayer. This was an opportunity to bring strength and unity in our community in a local setting. 'I think prayer is something that unites us even across states and setting aside a day that's not a national day of Christian prayer but a National Day of Prayer and inviting interfaith communities to come together,' Scott said. 'It helps us recognize that there's more that unites us than divides us, and hopefully we can move forward in unity as opposed to where we are different.' Hill said in her view, 'there are people who can feel that all is lost and that if nobody is there for you, God is.' Chet Donelson of Aurora said the National Day of Prayer is important, saying 'I believe in a higher power.' 'Prayer is what you make it. Prayer and wishes are the same thing,' he said. 'I went to Vietnam and didn't pray, but if prayer works – do it. I think it's good for the country to have a day like this. If you believe in something you go for it. For those who seek it or need (prayer), it's there.'
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New White House faith office draws mixed reviews
The new version of the White House Office of Faith created by President Donald Trump is getting mixed reviews locally, even from more conservative pastors. Although versions of the Office of Faith have been around since 2001 under George the executive order by President Donald Trump for creating an Office of Faith is stirring controversy for its emphasis on addressing "anti-Christian bias", and for its sometimes controversial new director. Scott Jensen, pastor Patee Park Baptist Church said he agrees with the emphasis, but has concerns about its overall effectiveness. "I like they have actually named what is happening: antisemitism and anti-Christian bias," Jensen said. "However, I think Christians should expect bias and even persecution, since Jesus promised it would come." Jensen added that the document rightly spells out protection for all religious groups, but thinks that antisemitism and even forms of anti-Christian bias are real issues that need to be addressed. "Maybe by addressing these, we as a people can be honest about these concerns," Jensen said. "However, I still think we can't legislate protection for Christians. . . .Only the Lord can save us and protect us." The naming of sometimes controversial televangelist and mega-church pastor Paula White-Cain as senior adviser of the Office of Faith has also stirred some concern. Several church leaders who chose not to go on record due to the political nature of the topic did mention that their agreement in principle with the office and were accompanied by concern about White-Cain's past controversies involving her past relationships, her lavish lifestyle and her emphasis upon what is known as the "Prosperity Gospel." Local pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church and theologian Wil Purinton addressed his concerns with White-Cain in an email. "I am deeply concerned with the tenets of the prosperity gospel that has broken away from traditional Christian views of human suffering, poverty and salvation," Purinton wrote. He added that despite the stated intentions of the overall document and the office, White-Cain has already proven to be a divisive figure. Purinton also noted that in his extensive travels teaching overseas, what many American Evangelicals call persecution would hardly register. Doug Walter, pastor of Ashland United Methodist Church echoes that sentiment. "I have traveled the world, and I've seen what Christian discrimination looks like," Walter said. "And...I've never really experienced it here." Walter said that although he agrees with the order's emphasis upon eliminating antisemitism, he feels the language about anti-Christian persecution may stem from desire among some Christians for complete uniformity about matters of faith. "If we're looking for some kind of uniform understanding of what Christianity means," Walter said, "then we've got another discussion to have." He added that his fear is that the document's attempt to appease Christians by emphasizing them and suggesting that they are persecuted may be a political appeal in the guise of a theological or religious concern. "It feels like a party line slogan to me: an attempt to get support for things that Christians don't support," Walter said. "That's not the Gospel, and I struggle with that approach." The full executive order mirrors many aspects of other versions of the office created by both Republican and Democratic presidents over the past 25 years. For many pastors, whether or not the office ultimately serves the ministry of the church in America or simply becomes a symbolic political gesture will be up to those whose faith the office says it seeks to protect. For the full executive order creating the White House Office of Faith, go to
