Nancy Raabe

{{Short description|American pastor}} {{Infobox person | name = Nancy M. Raabe | image = Nancy Raabe 6-25.jpg | alt = Pastor Nancy M Raabe, Philadelphia | caption = Nancy M Raabe, Philadelphia 2025 | birth_name = Nancy Elizabeth Miller | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1954}} | birth_place = Pomona, California | death_date =  | death_place = | other_names = | alma_mater = Pomona College<br />Trinity Lutheran Seminary<br />Wartburg Theological Seminary | occupation = Lutheran pastor<br />Author<br />Composer | years_active = 1990– | known_for = | notable_works = ''Carl Schalk: A Life in Song'' | spouse = {{marriage|William A. Raabe|1989}} }}

'''Nancy Elizabeth Miller Raabe''' (born 1954) is a retired American clergy member, author, and composer. She served congregations in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, and was the pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Hatfield, Pennsylvania.<ref name="Gerber">{{cite news |last1=Gerber |first1=Amanda |title=Raabe takes new call, leaves Marshall church |url=https://www.hngnews.com/waterloo_marshall/news/local/article_ad50afd8-9ae7-55c9-9b87-16cd3e549b62.html |access-date=25 March 2022 |work=The Courier |date=June 14, 2021}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2025-05-30 |title=Hatfield Grace Lutheran pastor retiring after distinguished career |url=https://www.thereporteronline.com/2025/05/30/hatfield-grace-lutheran-pastor-retiring-after-distinguished-career/ |access-date=2025-07-09 |website=thereporteronline |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Early life and education== Raabe was born in 1954.<ref name="About">{{cite web |title=Nancy M Raabe, Pastor, Musician |url=http://nancyraabe.com/aboutnancyraabe.html |website=nancyraabe.com |access-date=11 October 2022}}</ref> She graduated from Pomona College, Phi Beta Kappa in music, in 1977.<ref name="About" /> She completed two master's degrees in theology from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio,<ref name="Behling 2013">{{cite news |last1=Behling |first1=Andrea |date=Nov 19, 2013 |title=From critic to composer |work=Milton Courier |url=https://www.hngnews.com/milton_courier/news/local/article_4cf28b30-5142-11e3-92bf-001a4bcf6878.html |access-date=25 March 2022}}</ref> and doctoral coursework in musicology at Brandeis University,<ref name="Kozlowicz 2018" /><ref name="Behling 2013" /><ref name="Sebesta 2011">{{cite journal |last1=Sebesta |first1=Donald |date=Winter 2011 |title=Hymns in periodical literature |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/864752743 |journal=The Hymn |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=41–44 |id={{ProQuest|864752743}} |access-date=25 March 2022}}</ref> focusing on the works of Gustav Mahler. Raabe completed her preparation for ordination into the ministry at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.choristersguild.org/document//246/|title=Composer – Nancy Raabe|website=www.choristersguild.org}}</ref>

== Career ==

=== Lutheran pastorship === Raabe served as a deacon at Luther Memorial Church in Madison, Wisconsin from 2014 to 2016. From 2016 to 2018, she was pastor at Atonement Lutheran Church in Beloit, Wisconsin. In January 2018, she was ordained as a Lutheran pastor and became the pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Marshall, Wisconsin.<ref name="Kozlowicz 2018">{{cite news |last1=Kozlowicz |first1=Cathy |title=Holy Trinity Lutheran Church installs new pastor |url=https://www.hngnews.com/waterloo_marshall/news/article_6603d123-103c-5363-8c1b-54a7b4a31c62.html |access-date=25 March 2022 |work=The Courier |date=February 1, 2018}}</ref> From 2021 to 2025, she was the pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Hatfield, Pennsylvania.<ref name="Gerber" /><ref name=":1" /> She is a chaplain for the members of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.<ref>[http://alcm.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ALCMChaplainList-20180830.pdf Chaplain list 2018] alcm.org</ref>

=== Musical compositions === Raabe's compositions are included in the ''St Olaf Choirbook for Women'' (2017)<ref>{{Cite web |title=St. Olaf Choirbook for Women |url=https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/product/9781506426310/St-Olaf-Choirbook-for-Women |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=Augsburg Fortress}}</ref> and the ''St Olaf Choirbook for Men'' (2015).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/product/9781451499032/St-Olaf-Choirbook-for-Men|title=St. Olaf Choirbook for Men|website=Augsburg Fortress}}</ref>

Every year, Raabe writes and shares an original tune for an ancient Christmas carol, including ''Carol of the Birds''<ref>{{Citation |title=Carol of the Birds | date=2 April 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XWi9o2Payo |language=en |access-date=2022-03-23}}</ref> and ''The Clanging of Joybells''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A16PA8b8tKI|title=Sing Along: The Clanging of Joy Bells|date=11 December 2016 |via=www.youtube.com}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source establishes only that the songs exist, not that she writes them every year.|date=October 2022}}

Raabe's setting of ''Savior of the Nations, Come'' was featured at the 2019 Christmas Eve concert of the Duke University Chapel Choir, telecast on CBS. Her original arrangement of the Langston Hughes poem ''I Dream A World'' was a finalist for first prize at the 2010 Ithaca College Choral Composition Festival.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Concert: Ithaca College Thirty-Second Annual Choral Composition Contest |url=https://digitalcommons.ithaca.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5361&context=music_programs |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422075708/https://digitalcommons.ithaca.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5361&context=music_programs |archive-date=22 April 2022 |website=Ithaca College Choir}}</ref>

Raabe and her husband have commissioned about 80 hymn settings, concertatos, anthems, organ suites, and other music for the Christian church since 1990.<ref>{{Citation |title="Profiles in American Lutheran Church Music" – Dr. William Raabe | date=6 July 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND0Ka5tVAmQ |language=en |access-date=2022-03-23}}</ref>{{As of?|date=October 2022}}

They also established the Raabe Prize For Excellence In Sacred Composition, which is awarded by the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians biennially.<ref name="Sebesta 2011" /> The Raabe Prize also supports other activities aiding composers and worship leaders.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 24, 2016 |title=Raabe Prize Expanded |url=https://alcm.org/raabe-prize-expanded/ |website=Association of Lutheran Church Musicians}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hymn Text Competition |url=https://alcm.org/hymn-text-competition/ |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=Association of Lutheran Church Musicians |language=en-US}}</ref>

From 2022 to 2025, Raabe was the president of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Board Bios |url=https://alcm.org/about/board-bios/ |access-date=2022-08-14 |website=Association of Lutheran Church Musicians |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=12 August 2022 |title=Local pastor named president of Association of Lutheran Church Musicians |work=The Reporter |url=https://www.thereporteronline.com/2022/08/12/local-pastor-named-president-of-association-of-lutheran-church-musicians/ |access-date=11 October 2022}}</ref> She is a member of the advisory board for the Center for Church Music at Concordia University Chicago.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the Center |url=https://www.cuchicago.edu/academics/centers-of-excellence/center-for-church-music/about-the-center/ |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=Concordia University Chicago}}</ref>

=== Writings and academic work === Raabe's academic interests include "hymnody, psalms, Gustav Mahler, and a theology of the arts."<ref name=":0" /> Her books include three volumes of ''One-Minute Devotions for the Church Musician''<ref>Reviews of ''One-Minute Devotions for the Church Musician'': *{{cite magazine |last1=Costello |first1=Michael D. |title=Book Review |magazine=CrossAccent |date=March 2012 |volume=20 |issue=1 |page=33 |issn=2151-1772}} *{{cite magazine |last1=Hall |first1=Jonathan B. |title=Books |magazine=The American Organist |date=September 2013 |volume=47 |issue=9 |page=89 |issn=0164-3150}} *{{cite journal |last1=Snider |first1=Emily |title=Reviews |journal=The Hymn |date=Winter 2011 |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=42–43 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_hymn_winter-2011_63_1/page/42/mode/2up |issn=0018-8271}}</ref> and a critical biography of the Lutheran composer Carl F. Schalk.<ref>Reviews of ''Carl F. Schalk: A Life in Song'': *{{cite magazine |last1=Alcorn |first1=Allison A. |title=Book Reviews |magazine=The Diapason |date=February 2015 |volume=106 |issue=2 |pages=12–13 |url=https://archive.org/details/diapasonfeb2015unse/page/12/mode/2up |issn=0012-2378}} *{{cite magazine |last1=Vieker |first1=Jon D. |title=Book Reviews |magazine=CrossAccent |date=Spring 2014 |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=41–42 |issn=2151-1772}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=January 24, 2021 |title=In memoriam: Carl Schalk |url=https://alcm.org/in-memoriam-carl-schalk/ |website=Association of Lutheran Church Musicians}}</ref> Her books are published by Concordia, MorningStar, and Lutheran University Press.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvzcz47t |title=Alleluia!: A Gedenkschaft in Thanksgiving for the Life of Walter R. Bouman |date=2020-03-01 |publisher=1517 Media |isbn=978-1-942304-39-5 |editor-last=Raabe |editor-first=Nancy M. |doi=10.2307/j.ctvzcz47t.20 |jstor=j.ctvzcz47t |s2cid=173233342 |editor-last2=Haut |editor-first2=Ann M.}}</ref>

Raabe's devotional writings have been published in ''Bread for the Day'', ''Prelude Music Planner'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sparkhouse |first=1517 Media's imprints: Augsburg Fortress {{!}} Beaming Books {{!}} Broadleaf Books {{!}} Fortress Press {{!}} |title=Welcome to the Prelude Music Planner Blog! {{!}} Nancy Raabe |url=https://blog.preludemusicplanner.org/author/nancy-raabe |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=blog.preludemusicplanner.org |language=en}}</ref> ''Christ in Our Home'', and ''The Word in Season''. She has written for the ''Faith Matters'' column of ''The Lansdale Reporter,''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rev. Nancy Raabe |url=https://www.thereporteronline.com/author/rev-nancy-raabe/ |access-date=2023-03-28 |website=The Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> and her monthly column ''Faith and Culture'' appeared in the ''Beloit Daily News''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Let Creation Sing its Praises to God | Uncategorized | beloitdailynews.com |date=18 March 2017 |url=https://www.beloitdailynews.com/uncategorized/let-creation-sing-its-praises-to-god/article_1ceff236-8e75-51aa-97a9-8b5a5eb725ad.html}}</ref> Her columns ''Prairie View'' and ''Both Sides Now''<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-04-27 |title=Both Sides Now and St. Cecilia |url=https://alcm.org/both-sides-now/ |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=Association of Lutheran Church Musicians |language=en-US|last1=Dieter |first1=Cheryl }}</ref> have been published in ''In Tempo'', a resource of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 27, 2020 |title=alcm.org |url=https://alcm.org |website=Association of Lutheran Church Musicians}}</ref>

Prior to entering the ministry, Raabe was the classical music critic for the ''Milwaukee Sentinel'' and ''Birmingham News''.<ref name="Behling 2013" /> Her articles on music also appeared in ''The New York Times'',<ref>{{Cite news |last=Raabe |first=Nancy |date=1994-07-10 |title=RECORDING VIEW; Revealing Mozart's Brassiness |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/10/archives/recording-view-revealing-mozarts-brassiness.html |access-date=2022-03-24 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ''Performance Practice Review'',<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Raabe |first=Nancy |date=1990-01-01 |title=Tempo in Mahler as Recollected by Natalie Bauer-Lechner |url=https://scholarship.claremont.edu/ppr/vol3/iss1/3 |journal=Performance Practice Review |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=70–72 |doi=10.5642/perfpr.199003.01.3 |issn=1044-1638|doi-access=free }}</ref> ''Keynote'', ''Playbill'', and ''The Diapason''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-05-05 |title=Remembering Wilbur Held 1914–2015 {{!}} The Diapason |url=https://thediapason.com/content/remembering-wilbur-held-1914-2015 |access-date=2022-04-03 |website=thediapason.com |language=en}}</ref>

Nancy Raabe is a 2022 Engle Preaching Fellow at Princeton Theological Seminary.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Joe R. Engle Institute of Preaching |url=https://engle.ptsem.edu/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=Engle Institute |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Personal life== Raabe met and married William Alan Raabe in Milwaukee in 1989.<ref name="Behling 2013" /> He is an author and retired professor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=School |first=Milwaukee Lutheran High |title=Honors Academy |url=https://www.milwaukeelutheran.org/honorsacademy |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=www.milwaukeelutheran.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=William A. Raabe |url=https://www.carrollu.edu/alumni/awards/distinguished/william-raabe |website=Carroll University}}</ref>

Raabe was a member of the Board of Directors of the Space One Eleven Arts Center in Birmingham,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Space One Eleven Home Page |url=https://spaceoneeleven.org/ |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=Space One Eleven Arts Center |language=en-US}}</ref> and of the Milton (WI) Community Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Milton Fund – Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin |url=https://cfsw.org/funds/milton-fund/ |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=cfsw.org}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{official website|www.nancyraabe.com}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raabe, Nancy}} Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:Liturgists Category:Women Christian religious leaders Category:21st-century American Lutheran clergy Category:American women composers Category:American music critics Category:American women music critics Category:American women journalists Category:American women hymnwriters Category:American women organists Category:21st-century American biographers Category:American women musicologists Category:American biblical scholars Category:Mahler scholars Category:People from Pomona, California Category:Pomona College alumni Category:Wartburg Theological Seminary alumni Category:American women biographers