Senior Hunter Remington designs paraments for Concordia Nebraska’s Weller Chapel

Senior Hunter Remington of Bristow, Oklahoma, is pursuing a bachelor of arts in music from Concordia University, Nebraska. He is in his fourth year as a member of the University A Cappella Choir and is coordinator of the university’s twice-weekly Evening Prayer services. He chose to attend the university after visiting campus during a Higher Things conference in 2019. 

“Once I had decided I wanted to pursue church work in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, there really was no doubt in my mind what would be the school for me,” he explained. “What makes Concordia different from other schools is that at the center of our entire university is a confession. This confession of the faith, a faith that points to the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, guides the daily life here on campus. If we live in concordia, or with one heart, we live our lives in such a way that is constantly pointing others to this lamb of God.” 

Remington was recently part of a project to design and create paraments for the university’s Weller Chapel. 

“What started as a day dream during chapel one day turned into a reality. I had an earnest desire to see paraments eventually find their way into our chapel. In my free time last year, I started to work on designs of some paraments for Weller, but once Pastor Matthias saw them, he helped to make them a reality,” explained Remington. 

He designed the paraments based on the artwork already present within the chapel which was created by Concordia Nebraska professors Mark Anschutz and Bill Wolfram. The paraments were crafted by alumnus Emily (Loy) Harding ‘21. 

“The main inspiration for my designs are from the chancel window ‘Abundant Joy.’ The paraments deal with one focal point across all the different sets, a central circle. This circle is present in all of the sets except for the purple when it is instead split up between five smaller, bright red circles,” he said. “In all cases, the circle represents Christ and these paraments have a story to tell about His life and how we as the Church relate to that. The reason we have a church year and a liturgical calendar is so that we are constantly reminded of Christ’s birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension. Having these paraments is a guide and a reminder of this rhythm that the church lives together, a bold focus on Christ” 

Remington thoughtfully designed paraments for multiple seasons and feast days of the church year. 

“The green paraments are used for the season after Trinity and draw on ideas of baptism, new life and growing together as the Church. The white paraments are used for the principal feasts of Christ and focus on the snow-white lamb of God who redeems and restores all of creation through His triumphant death and resurrection. There is also an aspect present of all of His saints gathering around the throne to praise the lamb who once was slain but now lives to reign,” he said. “The purple paraments are designed to be used for Lent and are intentionally much less cohesive than the others. This is because the relationship between God and man is strained because of sin, but through the death of Christ, that relationship is restored. The five prominent red circles, which can also be found sprinkled throughout the rest of the paraments, represent the five wounds of Christ, each one borne for our sake. The blue paraments are to be used during Advent and represent the Christ who comes down to us both at His birth and again on the last day. The central circle in this set is featured at the very top as a half-circle, representing the anticipation of having the full Christ born on Christmas as God in man made manifest. Beams of light cascade down from the circle, representing the night sky and the joyful good news of the Christ as it came to the people from the prophets and then by the angels on Christmas night. The red paraments are used for Pentecost, Reformation Day and Martyr festivals. Ideas of fire, baptismal, water, and the Holy Spirit are all present within this set. Finally, the black set is used for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. It features a sole red circle, representing the pierced side of Christ, out of which flows the water and blood, a sure sign of the forgiveness found in the sacraments. A grey streak runs down one of the halves, representing the tear in the temple curtain.” 

“What makes Concordia different from other schools is that at the center of our entire university is a confession. This confession of the faith, a faith that points to the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, guides the daily life here on campus.”

Remington is involved in a variety of activities on campus and helps run the university’s Tuesday and Thursday Evening Prayer services. 

“In these services we get the chance to sing the church's song through the historic evening liturgies, the rich tradition of Lutheran hymnody and especially the Psalms,” he said. “Through the scripture readings of the week, we prepare ourselves for Sunday's worship by allowing ourselves to sit with the Word of God. Through our time of personal silent prayer following the service, we make intercession and thanksgiving to the God who has brought us to the close of another day. Evening Prayer services are a beautiful chance to rest together with the community God has united there in His worship.” 

Remington comes from a multi-generational Lutheran family. While neither of his parents serve in church work, they are extremely passionate about their vocations and are constantly pointing others to Christ. His mother, Stephanie Kelly ALND, also attended Concordia Nebraska in the 90’s as an art student.  

When he’s not in class, you’ll find Remington playing organ, thrifting, collecting vinyl records, hiking and traveling. 

After graduation, Remington plans to attend Concordia Theological Seminary – Fort Wayne to prepare become an ordained pastor in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. He dreams of serving in a very musical parish that also has a school. He said his time at Concordia Nebraska has well prepared him for seminary and his future vocations. 

“The music department at Concordia Nebraska is special. The professors in the music department are widely known and so well learned in their respective disciplines. Students are able to glean a firehose of information from them. Each professor knows you so well and truly cares about seeing your growth not only as a musician but also as a person. The student side of the department is also very tight knit. After all, living life together, such as during a two-week A Cappella Tour, brings together such lasting and special connections. The caliber of musician and student that the music program at Concordia Nebraska makes is one of excellence,” he said. “Essentially running parallel in my education have been the theology department and the music department. Interacting daily with my professors who hold such a strong Lutheran faith, they constantly encourage me to continue to head down the path of church work. It has given me not only head knowledge but I’ve grown in relationships with friends especially as it relates to our shared faith. The most important education here happens outside of the curriculum, when you have the chance to ask your professor a hard question or to talk with friends about a difficult subject.” 

Concordia University, Nebraska’s pre-seminary program prepared students for admission to a theological seminary, so they can become a member of the ordained pastoral ministry. Designed to coordinate specifically with the Master of Divinity program of both seminaries of the LCMS, Concordia’s pre-seminary program is rooted in the liberal arts tradition and includes an emphasis in the biblical languages of Greek and Hebrew, along with a background in philosophy and the humanities.