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Why & How >
Reflections > Testimonials from Friends and
Sponsors
Testimonials from Friends and Sponsors
Rutherford and
Claire Aris
There is a great tradition in handwritten bibles. It stretches back to
Benedict Biscop who caused three "great pandects" to be written
at Wearmouth-Jarrow in the age of Bede. It flowers under Alcuin at Tours,
at Worms in the twelfth century and in the glossed Bibles of the later
Middle Ages. The monastic community has often been its cradle, but it
can never have been an isolated enterprise. At its center is the scribe
dedicating a lifetime of disciplined artistic skill and well-honed craft
to the task. But he is not alone. Circles of support spread outwards through
the monastery to the local and the larger communities of both the church
and the world. Two millennia after the Old Testament was complete and
the New was as yet a pondering of the heart, the task of worthily presenting
these "lively oracles" in a dignified translation, a contemporary
script and with imaginative illustration is being undertaken for the first
time, perhaps, since the invention of printing. It is a rare privilege
to be able to support wholeheartedly this tremendous endeavor.
Robert
Chandler
I am supporting The
Saint John’s Bible Project as a memorial to my wife, Katherine Chandler.
She loved books, and in particular she loved beautifully illustrated books.
She taught children’s literature, studied art history and collected
paintings by early Minnesota artists. She lived at the corner of literature
and art.
More importantly,
she was a profound believer. The scriptures were her guide and the foundation
of her values. In the final months of her life, the scriptures were our
comfort.
This
historic endeavor to express scripture in a magnificently illustrated
manuscript would thrill her heart.
The Eugene U. and Mary F. Frey Family
We are delighted that
we are able to help finance this project, and it is an honor to be asked
to sponsor the first volume (The Gospels and Acts of the Apostles) of The Saint John’s Bible. We are humbled by the whole prospect.
The scope of the project
is such that it will outlive our family and many generations to come.
In the future, our names will no doubt be forgotten. But in The Saint
John’s Bible our legacy and the legacy of many others will live on.
At the dawn of a new
millennium we are drafting a Bible which is critically important to our
times and to future generations. The Saint John’s Bible is not simply
a piece of art. It is the living Word written down, updated and brought
into a new century and a new millennium.
Chris and Audrey
Henningson
The Saint John’s
Bible will illuminate the Word of God for anyone who participates, whether
they are scribe, committee member, observer or donor. The completed Bible
will do the same for all who see it, drawing the attention of scholars,
clergy, artists and laity. Using traditional tools, quills and ink, brushes
and pigment, flourishes and script, vellum and gold leaf, the artist will
join ancient words with contemporary art to create a timeless treasure.
Combining the Word of God with the calligraphic arts in this Bible will
capture the eyes of the beholder in a manner which may introduce the soul
to an entirely new understanding of the Word. What better welcome to the
third millennium could our generation pass on to posterity!
John and
Carol Hoffman
My parents believed
strongly in hard work, simple prayer and Catholic education for their
children. They were certain that the liberal arts education provided by
Benedictine monks at Saint John’s imparted Biblical values. Through
their enormous sacrifice, my brothers were able to attend Saint John’s.
A contribution to The Bible Project seems a most fitting and lasting way
to honor their memory.
Jim and D'Arcy
Secord
This is an opportunity
to put an imprint on something that is timeless. It will be with us forever,
similar to the Book of Kells. And it is something that our kids, our grandkids
and their kids can look to with pride, knowing that we helped make it
possible.
Jo and Bob White
For the last half
of the twentieth century I have enjoyed an association with Saint John's
University. It has led me to extraordinary adventures in calligraphy,
the book arts and the appreciation of libraries -- integral parts of the
Benedictine tradition.
In 529 when Saint
Benedict founded the Order and wrote his Rule, he could hardly have foreseen
how vital a role the Benedictine tradition would play in the transmission
of classical and Christian literature. Some twelve hundred years after
Charlemagne brought Alcuin from York and opened the door to the influence
of the English manuscript tradition, Saint John's has commissioned an
English scribe and artist, Donald Jackson, Scribe to Queen Elizabeth II,
Crown Office at the House of Lords, London, to write and illuminate a
complete Bible, using traditional methods but of contemporary artistry
and ecumenical thrust.
During the past twenty
years Donald Jackson has keynoted three international assemblies of lettering
artists and a conference that brought together collectors, artists and
scholars. I was awarded the privilege of being the director for each conference.
Saint John's was the obvious venue for these gatherings, through which
connections were established and from which ever widening circles of influence
have grown. Emanating from this circle is a network of those who have
repeatedly supported these connections on a spiritual, artistic, educational
and financial level. A new system of communication is developing and reinventing
itself. It will allow this structure to be fully supportive of the artist
in his awesome task, but leave him the artistic freedom that he needs
if the end-product is to be an authentic expression of the Word of God
for the third millennium.
The continuation of
true Benedictine tradition, the commissioning of The Saint John's Bible,
has resulted in an extraordinary adventure for me. It is a splendid adventure!
Being appointed to The Saint John's Bible Council is work of the highest
order! By supporting The Saint John's Bible, we feel confident that we
are insuring a cultural and spiritual heritage for our children, our grandchildren
and future generations.
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