Worship 101, or why we do some of the things we do.
Questions regarding our worship services and the selection of hymns have prompted this Worship 101 article.
By knowing that we are a Liturgical church that follows the church calendar and uses the Revised Common Lectionary for the selection of our weekly Scripture readings should help in understanding the selection of music for each Sunday as well. Based on our readings and the season of the church year, hymns are selected to lift up and resonate with the appointed Scripture readings. So for any given Sunday, there are limitations on what hymns are appropriate and what hymns are available for selection. Unlike non-liturgical churches that randomly and some times subjectively select their readings to meet thematically based programming; we follow the lectionary.
With the publication of the new ELW hymnal, a companion book was published that is called “Indexes to Evangelical Lutheran Worship.” In this volume are listed various cross references of Hymns for the Church Year covering all three Lectionary years, A, B, and C. We also subscribe to the Augsburg Fortress website Sundays and Seasons. Included on this site is a whole section on all the hymns included in the following hymnals: ELW, LBW, WOV, This Far by Faith, Libro de Liturgia y Cántico, Renewing Worship Songbook, As Sunshine to a Garden, Bread of Life, Dancing at the Harvest, Global Songs 2, LifeSongs, O Blessed Spring, and Worship & Praise.
For each Sunday in the Church year we are able to search these resources to find hymns that are appropriate, fairly easy to sing, and available to us without having to pay extra royalties.
For example, during Advent, the four Sundays preceding Christmas, to emphasize the yearning and preparation for the presence of Christ, the assembly is encouraged to refrain from Christmas celebrations until the celebration of Christmas that begins on December 24. So during this time we sing Advent songs, such as: “Prepare the Royal Highway,” “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus,” and “Savior of the Nations, Come” to name just a few. On the last Sunday of Advent we sing several selections that point toward Christmas, and then on Christmas Eve and the 12 days following Christmas, we sing Christmas Carols. This year we sang the following familiar hymns either on Christmas Eve or during the Service of Lessons and Carols that was held on the first Sunday of Christmas: “Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel,” “Joy to the World,” “Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly,” “Silent Night, Holy Night,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “It Came upon the Midnight Clear,” “Cold December Flies Away,” “That Boy-Child of Mary,” “Angels, from the Realms of Glory,” “What Child Is This,” and “Go Tell it on the Mountain.” You are encouraged to look through the new ELW and see the wide variety of hymnody that is available for our use. To limit ourselves to just those few hymns we know and love from our past would be to limit our worship experience. Many resources are available at the ELCA website for further study of our worship practices and musical selections. If you are interested in having a favorite hymn included in the services when appropriate, write it down, give it to me or place it in the offering plate. The Worship & Music Committee would also be interested in hearing from you as we plan for future worship experiences. Peace in Christ, Pastor Ralph