Nancy Elizabeth Miller Raabe (born 1954) is an American

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

member, author, and composer. She is the

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of Grace Lutheran Church in

Hatfield, Pennsylvania Hatfield is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,290 at the time of the 2010 census. It is part of the North Penn Valley region that is centered around the borough of Lansdale. The borough is surrounde ...

Early life and education

Raabe was born in 1954. She graduated from

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became ...

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

in music, in 1977. She completed two master's degrees in theology from

Trinity Lutheran Seminary Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University is an Evangelical Lutheran seminary in Columbus, Ohio. History In 1830, the German Theological Seminary of the Ohio Synod, later known as the Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary (ELTS), was f ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, and doctoral coursework in

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

, focusing on the works of

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

. Raabe completed her preparation for ordination into the ministry at

Wartburg Theological Seminary Wartburg Theological Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Dubuque, Iowa. It offers three graduate-level degrees (MA, MA Diaconal Ministry, and M.Div.), a Theological Education for Emerging Ministries certificat ...

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...

Career

Lutheran pastorship

Raabe served as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

at Luther Memorial Church in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

from 2014 to 2016. From 2016 to 2018, she was pastor at Atonement Lutheran Church in

Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. History Twelve men in Colebrook, New Hampshire, created the "New England Emigrating Company" in October 1836 and sent ...

. In January 2018, she was ordained as a Lutheran pastor and became the pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Marshall, Wisconsin. , she is the pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in

. She is a chaplain for the members of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.

Musical compositions

Raabe's compositions are included in the ''St Olaf Choirbook for Women'' (2017) and the ''St Olaf Choirbook for Men'' (2015). Every year, Raabe writes and shares an original tune for an ancient Christmas carol, including ''Carol of the Birds'' and ''The Clanging of Joybells''. Raabe's setting of ''Savior of the Nations, Come'' was featured at the 2019 Christmas Eve concert of the

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

Chapel Choir, telecast on CBS. Her original arrangement of the

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

poem ''I Dream A World'' was a finalist for first prize at the 2010

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

Choral Composition Festival. Raabe and her husband have commissioned about 80 hymn settings, concertatos, anthems, organ suites, and other music for the Christian church since 1990. They also established the Raabe Prize For Excellence In Sacred Composition, which is awarded by the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians biennially. The Raabe Prize also supports other activities aiding composers and worship leaders. Raabe is the president of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. She is a member of the advisory board for the Center for Church Music at

Concordia University Chicago Concordia University Chicago is a private university in River Forest, Illinois. Formerly a college exclusively for parochial teacher education, Concordia-Chicago now offers more than 100 undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and enrolls more t ...

Writings and academic work

Raabe's academic interests include "

hymnody Robert Gerhard's Hymnody is a contemporary classical work from 1963, which was an assignment from BBC. This piece was written during February and March of that year. Composer notes A note from the composer: First citation comes from Psalm ...

, psalms, Gustav Mahler, and a theology of the arts." Her books include three volumes of ''One-Minute Devotions for the Church Musician'' and a critical biography of the Lutheran composer Carl F. Schalk. Her books are published by Concordia, MorningStar, and Lutheran University Press. Raabe's devotional writings have been published in ''Bread for the Day'', ''Prelude Music Planner'', ''Christ in Our Home'', and ''The Word in Season''. She has written for the ''Faith Matters'' column of ''

The Lansdale Reporter ''The Reporter'' is the local newspaper based out of Lansdale, Pennsylvania owned by Journal Register Company. It primarily serves the communities in the North Penn Valley and the Souderton Area School District, including Lansdale Borough, Mo ...

,'' and her monthly column ''Faith and Culture'' appeared in the ''

Beloit Daily News The ''Beloit Daily News'' is a daily newspaper that has served Beloit, Wisconsin and the stateline area of Rock County, Wisconsin and Winnebago County, Illinois since 1848. The newspaper was owned by Duane Hagadone and the Hagadone Newspaper Group ...

''. Her columns ''Prairie View'' and ''Both Sides Now'' have been published in ''In Tempo'', a resource of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. Prior to entering the ministry, Raabe was the classical music critic for the ''

Milwaukee Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently ...

'' and ''

Birmingham News ''The Birmingham News'' is the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States. The paper is owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its founding through September 30, 2012. After that day, the ''News'' and its two ...

''. Her articles on music also appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''Performance Practice Review'', ''Keynote'', ''

Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's pr ...

'', and ''

The Diapason ''The Diapason'' is a magazine serving those who build and play organs. Content includes concert and recital announcements, information on building and maintaining organs and profiles of notable organists. As of July 2013, ''The Diapason'' reac ...

''. Nancy Raabe is a 2022 Engle Preaching Fellow at

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of ...

Personal life

Raabe met and married William Alan Raabe in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

in 1989. He is an author and retired professor. Raabe was a member of the Board of Directors of the Space One Eleven Arts Center in Birmingham, and of the Milton (WI) Community Foundation.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raabe, Nancy Liturgists Women Christian religious leaders American clergy American women composers American music critics American women music critics American women journalists American women hymnwriters Women organists American biographers American women musicologists American biblical scholars Mahler scholars People from Pomona, California 1954 births Living people Pomona College alumni Wartburg Theological Seminary alumni