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My friend Pr. David Saar was unbelievably kind and shipped a copy of the new French hymnal to me. I have only had a few hours to look it over, but I find it to be outstanding. No, I don't know a word of French. That will never stop me. It's a romance language and it's easy enough to figure out if you stop and think about it - just don't ask me to pronounce it! This is a random list of things I've found of interest, most of them I think are quite well done; a couple not so much.
* No historic lectionary even as an option; it's pure novus ordo. MAJOR sadness.
* Timothy and Titus are commemorated together on January 26 - that's a wise move.
* Mary is commemorated upon September 8th (her traditional Nativity); but there is no mention of it being her Nativity, and there is no celebration at all on August 15 - that is a sadness.
* A couple names in the commemorations that I'm not familiar with, but that I take it would have special meaning to French Christians: Hubert de Maastricht, Lambert de Maastricht, Maurice d' Agaune, Edwige de Silesie.
* The psalms are beautifully laid out and pointed for chanting in a very easy to follow manner, using boldface to indicate the syllables on which to change pitch; there are occasional antiphons printed throughout the Psalter. Like LSB, it is not the complete Psalter.
* Three Orders of "The Liturgy of the Holy Communion."
* Gloria in Excelsis is the ONLY option and is omitted, as expected, in Advent and Lent
* "And with your spirit" is the consistent response to the salutation. FANCY THAT!
* The collects and proper prefaces are ALL IN THE HYMNAL!!! BRAINSTORM, what?
* The Creed (Apostles or Nicene) ALWAYS follows the Hymn of the Day and Homily
* For Liturgy A and B, there is an offertory prayer after the Offertory; three choices. The first option is familiar from LBW, but first appeared, I believe, in the Contemporary Worship series in the 1970's: Merciful Father, we offer with joy and thanksgiving what You have first given us - ourselves, our time, and our possessions, signs of Your goodness and symbols of our love. Accept them for the sake of Him who offered Himself for us, Jesus Christ, our Lord. That would be a definite plus.
* A and B use the longer option from LSB 1 and 2 - but a shorter form is not apparently an option. So you get the Prayer of thanksgiving, the Words of our Lord, the Proclamation of Christ, then the Our Father. I count this a strength. In Service C (which is rather like DS 4 in LSB) you have the same order we have in that rite.
* A and B have an invitation to communion immediately following the Agnus Dei. I am supposing that the pastor holds the elements towards the people as he announces: The gifts of God for the people of God! Their response is the traditional: Lord, we are not worthy to receive you into ourselves, but speak the word and we shall be healed. Some indebtedness to the 1969 Worship Supplement there.
* B makes use of the Louis Bourgeois rimed paraphrase of the Nunc Dimittis, I believe, to it's traditional tune (we use that tune for "O Gladsome Light, O Grace")
* All three liturgies provide the same three post-communion collects from which to choose.
* The Taize Kyrie, Kyrie Eleison is set to the longer litany we have in Evening Prayer.
* Four Offices are provided: Matins, Sext, Vespers and Compline.
* Orders are included for Baptism, Admission to the Sacrament, Marriage, Funeral
* Special uses are provided for the first Sunday in Advent, Penitential seasons, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and the Vigil of Easter, Private Confession and Absolution, and visiting of the sick.
* Athanasian Creed and Small Catechism included as well.
That's about as far as I'm going for tonight, but over all, a VERY well done book. Pr. Saar and others who worked on it, also worked on LSB, and if I may say so, they have at almost every point offered improvements. I thought the Bourgeois Nunc Dimittis was especially fitting with a french speaking culture. I'll be exploring the hymns a bit more later! But after a couple hours with it, I must confess: Well done indeed. What a resource for work with Haitians and numerous other French speakers around the world! http://feeds.feedburner.com/WeedonsBlog |
