Liturgy and Hymnody: Volume 1, Issue 1, Advent 2004

Liturgy and Hymnody

Volume 1, Issue 1, Advent 2004
Note: emails and web addresses are likely out-of-date

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Welcome

This is the inaugural issue of Liturgy and Hymnody, a publication of the Wyoming District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

Our goal is to

+    Foster appreciation for the Lutheran heritage in Christian Worship

+    Advise and counsel congregations and pastors in the use of appropriate worship resources and material

+    Provide specific helps to ease the transition from The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship, and Hymnal Supplement 98 to the forthcoming Lutheran Service Book (hereafter LSB), expected to be released in fall 2006

The LCMS Commission on Worship website, http://worship.lcms.org

has electronic files of LSB material available for download and trial use.

Teaching Toward LSB:

TLH page 15 / LW page 136

Perhaps your congregation currently makes use of the 1941 Synodical Conference book, The Lutheran Hymnal. “The Order of Holy Communion,” p. 15, will be in LSB with minimal changes.

You may be thinking, “Right. That’s what they said last time.” “The Common Service (Divine Service I), familiar to all Lutherans, is carried forward with no great changes…” (LW Introduction, p. 6.) This time, there are only minimal changes.

TLH page 15 shows up in LSB as Divine Service, Setting Three. The sung portions of the familiar liturgy remain intact, complete with “Holy Ghost,” “We praise Thee,” “And with thy spirit,” and “Praise be to Thee, O Christ.” The Familiar four-part harmony supports the text the way it always has. The only musical change is that the Kyrie and Gloria have been lowered one step to allow for easier singing and an easier key for the organist.

Spoken text in Divine Service, Setting Three has been gently updated. For example, “I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment…”

TLH page 5, “The Order of Morning Service Without Communion” is not printed separately in LSB, to save space. To pray “page 5,” you will have the option to use the confession/declaration of grace. The Offertory found on TLH page 12 will be in LSB’s canticle section. Finally, after the Prayer of the Church, the service concludes with the Lord’s Prayer, a familiar concluding collect, and the Benediction.

What if your congregation currently uses LW page 136? The most practical things to do are to wait until LSB arrives, or to consider downloading LSB Divine Service, Setting Three, and reintroducing it to your congregation. Several Wyoming District congregations have a booklet version of LSB DS3 inside the front cover of LW held in by removable double-stick tape. To download the pdf file, use the link below, or access the file through the main Commission on Worship website.

http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/Worship/DS3.pdf

Hymns for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany

This new Church Year, consider introducing one or more of the following hymns from Lutheran Worship or Hymnal Supplement 98.

The best part is, your congregation doesn’t have to have LW or HS in the pews in order to do this. The Commission on Worship (hereafter, CoW) has a pdf file of 35 hymns available in their LSB final form. All of the hymns are either in the public domain, or may be reproduced in your bulletin with the free permission of Concordia Publishing House (CPH) or Augsburg Fortress.

Advent

The King Shall Come                           LW 26

Come, O Long-Expected Jesus              LW 22

Rejoice, Rejoice Believers                     HS 801

Lo! He Comes with Clouds                   HS 802

Christmas

Angels We Have Heard on High                        LW 55

Once in Royal David’s City                   LW 58

What Child Is This                               LW 61

See, Amid the Winter’s Snow               HS 808

Epiphany

Jesus Has Come                                    LW 78

O Wondrous Type                                 LW 87

To download these hymns for yourself, see

http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/Worship/HymnstoLearn.pdf

Tips on Introducing New Hymns or Service Music

+ Don’t introduce an entire service at one time. Take one canticle at a time. Speak musical portions for a time if reproducing only part of the service is inconvenient.

+ When introducing something a new liturgy, use very familiar hymns. When introducing a new hymn, use a familiar liturgy. Try not to introduce more than one new piece of music each month.

+ One week, ask your organist simply play the new tune as part of the prelude or postlude. Another week, ask your choir or a soloist to sing the whole hymn or the first few stanzas. Then, use the hymn periodically to keep it fresh.

Recommended Music

+ Hymns for All Saints is a 2 CD set of vocal and organ settings of “Beautiful Savior,” “How Great Thou Art,” “The Church’s One Foundation,” and 16 other hymns of comfort, praise, and adoration. CPH # 99-1725. On sale for $17.50. 1 800 325 3040

+ Martin Luther: Hymns, Ballads, Chants, Truth is a monumental recording project of all of Luther’s musical compositions. Thirty-nine tracks on four CDs. CPH # 99-1726. Only $30 when ordered in quantities of 3 or more. 1 800 325 3040

+ My Soul Doth Magnify, a new release by the CTS Kantorei, Fort Wayne. Call (260) 452-2159.

+ Gentle Stranger is new music from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Call (314) 505- 7315.

+ Hark the Glad Sound is a collection of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany hymns sung by Kathryn Peperkorn. Call (262) 551-8182.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

Rev. Paul J Cain, Jr.       paulcain@huskeralum.com

Wyoming District Worship Chairman

Ephesians 2:8-10

Emmanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church (LCMS)
901 Trona Drive                Green River WY 82935
(307) 875-2598  emmanuel@onewest.net
http://www.lutheransonline.com/lo/emmanuel