A collection of essays by contemporary artists and writers about the relationship between art and faith. This book follows the tradition set by the first edition published in 2000. Includes work by Sandra Bowden, Ned Bustard, Edward Knippers, and Krystyna Sanderson.

Published by Square Halo Books, paperback, 400 pages, 2007, $24.99

Illuminating the Word:
The Making of The Saint John's Bible
By Christopher Calderhead; Design by Jerry Kelly

A behind-the-scenes tour of the project to create an illuminated modern version of the Bible. Commissioned by Saint John's Abbey and University in Minnesota, Donald Jackson has headed a team of calligraphers and artists since 1998 to create what is to be a seven volume manuscript book. It "It chronicles the artistic techniques, the tools and materials, and the workshop practices extraordinary project.

Published by Liturgical Press, hardcover, 240 pages, 2005, $39.95,

“Christopher Irvine weaves artists and poets’ works into his thesis that God forms Christians through worship and the sacraments. Through sculpture and poetry, Rodin and Rilke have made an inner reality present. During liturgy, God brings forth the reality of Christ within us. It is in worship, Irvine says, that God shapes Christians more into the likeness of Christ. Understanding ritual prayer as a time of formation, Irvine writes in The Art of God, has implications for the design of sacred space.”
(from the book jacket)

Published by SPCK (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge), paperback, 192 pages.

Many congregations today are examining the role the arts play in creating sacred space and in inviting people into the presence of God for encounter and engagement. They are realizing that the work of the artist and the work of the church are inexorably bound. Both seek a response, a transformation of thought in those who come to see and enter to hear. When art and art-making become embedded in the religious community, work side-by-side, look at each other face-to-face, and listen to each other, each helps the other do its work. Art in Service of the Sacred encourages congregations to take seriously the role of visual art in worship and in the broader life of the church.

Published by Abingdon Press, paperback, 176 pages, 2006, $25.00.

Morris’ latest book is a forward-focused read, cover to cover. Through his reflections on the church's ministry of hospitality, the author shows how congregations can carry baptismal ecclesiology throughout their community life - into liturgical space, usher training, acolyte programs, and other lay ministries. Morris’ experience as a church musician and founding member of Episcopal Church and Visual Arts deepens this highly recommended, informative discussion.

Published by Church Publishing, paperback, 120 pages, 2005, $15.00.

This 32 page, full color booklet documents a remarkable parish project by weaving together text and photographs of needlepoint stitched for the renovated Church. Explanations are given of Christian symbols used to express the story of this community of faith. The needlepoint colors, taken from the interior architecture of the Church, contribute to the warm glow of the worship space. This publication also serves as a guide for other churches contemplating such a project.

Booklets may be purchased by sending a check made payable to "Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields" in the amount of $15 per copy plus $2 shipping to: Daphne Raasch, Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin's Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19118.

The Very Rev Alan Jones, Dean of San Francisco's Grace Episcopal Cathedral, explores the place of Christianity and spirituality in today's world and invites seekers to "reconnect" the spirit. Jones writes, "Art is an area where we may, in relative safety, face our fears, confusions and longings and see the world generously, if sometimes threateningly. The arts help us mitigate our narcissism and fuel our imaginative grasp of what is beyond ourselves, to transform our anxious discomfort at not knowing into a kind of wild pleasure and joy. They withhold information so we have to stretch to enter the reality into which they invite us."

Published by John Wiley & Sons, hardcover, 288 pages, 2004, $24.95.

Tracing "40 years of creativity covering issues important to every Christian in the visual arts", this is a beautiful book on the artistic and spiritual journey of artist Sandra Bowden.

Square Halo Books, hardcover, 200 page book with over 150 full color images, 2005, $50.00

A Broken Beauty
Edited by Theodore L. Prescott

A Broken Beauty explores nontraditional concepts of beauty as it relates to the human body through suffering, loss, injury, and spiritual awareness. “In variously striking and often moving ways these works challenge viewers to contemplate the body's capacity for beauty despite the brokenness that characterizes the human condition.”  Theodore Prescott, a sculptor and art writer, who is a founder and past president of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA), is editor of the A Broken Beauty that also contains five informative essays on art and religion. The book features the work of fifteen contemporary artists including ECVA artists Erica Grimm-Vance and Edward Knippers.

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, hardcover, 135 pages, 2005, $35.00

In 1893, Louis Comfort Tiffany constructed a chapel of stained glass and glass mosaics for the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago. More than a century after it was first displayed and rescued from near disaster twice, the chapel has been restored and installed at the Morse Museum of Art in Winter Park Florida. The book covers the history of the chapel and its restoration, with information on Louis Comfort Tiffany and his work. Available from the Morse Museum Shop (407) 645-5316.

Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, paperback, 112 pages, illustrated, 2002, $24.95

Christ Church, South Hamilton, Massachusetts, held an invitational exhibit of art during Lent 2003 and invited parishioners to contribute poetry. "As the images were compiled digitally and matched with poems – so that words and images complimented each other – a book emerged." Please click here to visit the ECVA article on the creation of the Lenten Journey book.

Christ Church, South Hamilton, Massachusetts, paperback, 30 pages, illustrated with 30 color and b&w images. For purchasing information please contact Ruth Susen Riley at ruth@rsrileyfineart.com.

An illustrated book offering one hundred masterpieces of art with an explanation of their story by artist, writer, Episcopal priest, and ECVA member Christopher Calderhead. "Drawing on the spiritual classics, each miracle story depicted is briefly retold. Author Christopher Calderhead’s accessible and masterful commentary deepens and expands his readers’ understanding of these wondrous narratives and accompanying artwork."
 
Welcome Books, hardcover, 240 pages, 2004, $40.00

A classical composition by Robert Sirota created along with a painting by ECVA artist Deborah Patterson titled Triptych. The three panels of the painting and the three movements in the musical composition share the same subtitles – Desecration, Lamentation, and Prayer – as well as composition title. Triptych memorializes the victims of September 11, 2001, and is available on CD performed by the Chiara String Quartet. Patterson's painting is included in the fold-out CD case.

CD, 2004, $14.99

Beginning in 1988, Ben Long spent two years creating a very large fresco for historic St. Peter's Catholic Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Over 1500 square feet and 30 feet high, the fresco depicted "The Agony in the Garden", "The Pentecost", and at the center "The Resurrection". Richard Maschal documented the creation of this incredible work of art and tells the story of the artist - Ben Long.
 
John F. Blair Publisher, paperback, 212 pages, 1993, $12.95

A handbook of symbols in Christian faith containing information and line drawings.
 
Morehouse Publishing, paperback, 96 pages, 1990, $9.95

A view of aesthetics and Christianity and how it effects the human spirit. An exploration of "the many ways in which worship, prayer, and learning are inextricably – and gloriously – connected with art and beauty."
 
United Church Press, paperback, 102 pages, 1998, $12.95

Based on interviews with 100 accomplished artists including painters, sculptors, writers, singers, dancers, and actors, this book explores the relationship between the creative and the sacred. Combining personal stories with his own insight, Wuthnow finds that "if there is a single key to artist's perspectives on the spiritual, it is this: spirituality, like art, must be practiced to be perfected."
 
University of California Press, hardcover, 313 pages, 2001, $45.00
paperback, 319 pages, 2003, $19.95

This book is the third of a three volume series that combines artwork with lectionary readings.
 
United Church Press, paperback, 280pp, 1995, $35.00
hardcover, 280pp, 1996, $45.00

Walking the Way of Sorrows:
Stations of the Cross
By Katerina Katsarka Whitley,
Illustrated by Noyes Capehart

A new book of monologues written by Katerina Katsarka Whitley, former editor of the newspaper for the diocese of East Carolina, and illustrated with Noyes Capehart's woodcuts.
 
Morehouse Publishing, paperback, 86 pages, 2004, $9.95

The Benedictional of St. Aethelwold
Introduction by Andrew Prescott

Those interested in medieval art or illumination will find this book of great value. The book reproduces the full manuscript and matches the size, weight, and feel of the original created by the scribe Godeman for the personal use of Aethelwold, Bishop of Winchester from 963 to 984. It is considered one of the greatest achievements of Anglo-Saxon art and a masterpiece of manuscript art.
 
British Library, hardback, 272pp. 240 color illustrations
Facsimile edition, 2002, $95.00

Who Are You, My Daughter
Reading Ruth Through Image and Text
by Ellen F. Davis,
Margaret Adams Parker (Illustrator)
Westminster John Knox Press
hardcover, 216 pages, March 2003
$19.95

A Treasury of Anglican Art
by James B. Simpson and George H. Eatman
Rizzoli New York
hardcover, 224 pages, January 2003
$50.00

Vestments for All Seasons
by Barbara Dee Baumgarten
Morehouse Publishing
paperback, 144 pages, December  2002
$17.95

Objects of Grace
Conversations on Creativity and Faith
by James Romaine
Square Halo Books
paperback, November 2002
$19.99

Searching for Sacred Space
Essays on Architecture and Liturgical Design in the Episcopal Church
Edited by John Ander Runkle
Church Publishing
paperback, 216 pages, September 2002
$27.00

Through the Window of the Ordinary
Photographs by Anne Wetzel;
Text by Janet B. Campbell
Church Publishing
paperback, 146 pages, November 2001
$24.00

It Was Good
Making Art to the Glory of God
Forward by Sandra Bowden
Edited by Ned Bustard
Square Halo Books
paperback, September 2000
$17.99

Teach Us to Number Our Days
A Liturgical Advent Calendar
by Barbara Dee Baumgarten
Morehouse Publishing
paperback, 160 pages, September 1999
$16.95

Spaces for Spirit: Adorning the Church
by Nancy Chinn and David Philppart
Liturgy Training Publications
paperback, 72 pages, July 1998
$26.00

As We Gather to Pray
An Episcopal Guide to Worship
Edited by Marilyn Haskell and Clayton L. Morris
Church Publishing
paperback, 160 pages, 1996
$24.00