From stained glass to sculpture to tapestries to illuminated manuscripts, the tradition of art in service of faith is deep. Lutheranism, in particular, from its beginning has made effective use of visual communication. Carrying on the tradition, the Christian Worship suite of worship resources will feature a new set of iconography for our time. We have worked with a distinguished liturgical artist, Mr. Nicholas Markell, to create a set of icons that provides not only ornamentation but also edification. The new hymnal’s art direction is tailored to the hymnal’s setting, theology, and function.
The icons are not abstract. Each one directly communicates a clear, overarching concept like “baptism” or “prayer.” The icons are drawn to reinforce historical Christian associations between word and image and, whenever possible, Lutheran theological distinctives. The icons communicate clearly. At the same time, each icon also includes a rich amount of symbolic and didactic detail. The subtle element of mystery and symbolism has been designed to reward repeated consideration by worshipers over the many years the hymnal will be in use. We anticipate that over time thoughtful worshipers will notice details they once overlooked along with subtle but intentional connections between the various icons in the book. Both children and adults will discover again the joy of God’s Word embedded in art.
The style of the icons employs a unique tactic—the shapes of the various elements in the icons are drawn directly from the shapes of the letterforms in the hymnal’s typeface. Such an approach allows for a wide variety of shapes and proportions among the individual icons while also preserving a visual unity to the set. Indeed, by literally connecting the words to the images, we can say that every shape on the page appears in genuine harmony—from the smallest lowercase letters to the major components of the icons.
Christian Worship will therefore enjoy an aesthetic advantage not typically enjoyed by Lutheran hymnals—and your congregation will be able to enjoy the same in your printed worship folders. The full set of 30 major icons along with dozens of variations of those icons will be available for purchase and use in congregational settings.
