Art Exhibits

Our congregation has created an art gallery in our main gathering space (known as Pilgrim Hall). We are pleased to display work from various artists in our community and beyond.  We feel blessed to be surrounded by these beauty and spiritually meaningful creations. We welcome inquiries from artists about showing your work.

Current Show Running: “Piecing It Together”—Works by Cecilia Rolando

Cecilia Rolando will be displaying her fiber collages at First Gallery throughout December, January, February and into March. Cecilia lives in Ely, MN and occasionally teaches at the Ely Folk School and in Cook at the Minnesota Northwoods Friends of the Arts gallery and studio. She paints in acrylics and watercolors, makes jewelry, takes photos, and designs images on her iPhone and her MacBook Pro.

Cecilia enjoys sewing collages such as those that are on display, delighting in the 3D aspect of the materials and using her sewing machines since she is not temperamentally capable of doing more formalized quilting.     

Cecilia’s website is artRolando.com (although not complete) and she can be reached at [email protected]. The Art Team will host a reception for her in January.  

Here are some of the exhibits we have hosted in past years:

  • Life-size puppets created by children in the First Church community for the production of “Joseph’s Colorful Coat”
  • Photographs of church towers from around the world by Don Loegering
  • Minneapolis Public School exhibit of students’ artwork depicting “What Is Home to Me?” focusing on issues of affordable housing and homelessness
  • Serigraphs with religious themes by John August Swanson
  • Hooked art (textiles) by rug hooking artists Tish Murphy, Joan LeVine and Kathy Morton Mulvain
  • Nature photographs and poetry by Bob Ochtrup, photographer, and Jeff Wolvertine, poet
  • Watercolor paintings by Ann and Wayne Sisel
  • Nature prints by Jan Shogren
  • Favorite art pieces from the First Church community
  • Watercolors and pastels by Walter Breckenridge
  • Exhibit of prints by 21 different artists inspired by the poem “Laughing  Bear” by Katherine Tilton, which is about domestic abuse. “The Laughing Bear Portfolio” was the inspiration of Diane Eicher who is also one of the artists. First Church also hosted a fundraiser for the St. Paul Domestic Abuse Intervention Project.
  • Abstract paintings in oils and acrylics and pencil drawings by Amy Smith
  • Watercolors and sketches by Soon-Wai Wong.
  • Paintings by Jill Stebbins
  • Batik by Kim Gordon