Tag Archives: congregation

Walther and Small Churches

In a culture fixated on bigger is better, it was refreshing to read a selection from C.F.W. Walther over at Mercy Journeys with Pastor Harrison on the relative unimportance of congregational size.

The highlight from Walther was this:

The smallest congregation is just as important as the largest one, and the largest is no more important than the smallest, because every congregation is great only because Christ is present in it.

I suggest that the LCMS Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance take a look at what Walther wrote.   Walther would differ considerably with at least one of the their “Proposals and Possibilities“.

“Allow congregations with more than 750 confirmed members to be represented by two additional delegates for each additional unit of 750 confirmed members or the majority thereof, with each pair of additional delegates to be one ministerial (ordained or commissioned) delegate and one non-ordained delegate.”

Walther says all congregations are equally important because of Christ.  Some in the Synod say larger congregations are more important.  Why?  Because they have more members and constituents.  It seems like this rationale would better apply to Electoral Votes for President of the United States than the church.

Hymn Boards and Their Use in Early Lutheranism

“Hymn Boards and Their Use in Early Lutheranism.”  That sounds like the title of a dissertation on an obscure facet of Lutheran history.  While I have no idea if anyone has actually researched the history of the hymn board, I did find a passing reference to it in my latest lunch time reading – a book based on a PhD dissertation – “Worship Wars in Early Lutheranism” by Joseph Herl.

In his book, Herl provides an interesting read with some unexpected conclusions on the worship life of the Lutheran church in Germany during the 16th to 18th centuries.  I was initially surprised to learn, that on the whole, during the time of Luther and for a number of years thereafter, the Lutheran church was not necessarily the “singing church” we may idyllically imagine.  The churches did not spontaneously erupt in congregational song — they had to be coaxed, prodded, and reprimanded to sing — and congregational singing, at least initially, was second fiddle to the choir.

Now to the hymn board.  Herl writes that ”In Lubeck, number boards were hung in 1701 because the hymns could no longer be recognized from the organ prelude.”  Evidently the organist’s hymn introductions had little semblance to the hymn tune.

It seems that hymn boards have become an unnecessary church fixture since bulletins are printed (or yes, even projected via Powerpoint).  But let the hymn board be a visual reminder to the church musician and the congregation:

  • The church musician shall clearly introduce the hymn so as to invite the congregation to sing.
  • The congregation shall kindly accept the invitation and sing vigorously since the hymn number is prominently displayed.
  • If either the church musician or the congregation fails to do the above items, the other party is welcome to remove the hymn board and bring it to the other party as a reminder of the covenant between musician and congregation.

Singing Difficult Hymns

It is unfortunate that many of Luther’s hymns and other Lutheran chorales have fallen out of use in the typical Lutheran congregation. I have been told more than once that those old chorales are difficult to sing. My response: These hymns have to be taught to be appreciated. Otherwise we get in an endless circle of: we don’t sing those hymns because they are unknown/difficult and they are unknown and seem difficult because we never sing them.

Take for example this last Sunday – The Baptism of Our Lord. The “official” Hymn of the Day from Lutheran Service Book was Luther’s wonderful baptism / catechism hymn “To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord” (LSB 406/407). How many of our Lutheran congregations sang this hymn? My congregation didn’t, but they did get to hear an organ prelude by Zachau.

Lutheran Service Book has made an attempt to make some of these unsung hymns more accessible. In addition to the tune Christ, Unser Herr typically associated with “To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord,” LSB also has a new tune Elvet Banks. This last tune also happens to be paired with another of Luther’s hymns “May God Bestow on Us His Grace” (which happened to be the Office Hymn for Morning Prayer at Concordia Theological Seminary on 1/16/08). There are a number of other hymn texts in LSB that have been paired with “new” tunes in hopes they get sung more frequently.

Here’s my plea:

Dear Choir Directors and Choirs – Take the time to learn unfamiliar hymns and gradually share and teach them to your congregation. See my previous post on The Lutheran Choir.

Dear Organists and Instrumentalists – Take the time to learn chorale preludes on unfamiliar hymn tunes and introduce the tune over several weeks or months in different parts of the service. You are preparing the people.

Dear Pastors – Take the time to talk to your parish musicians about choosing hymns. Don’t shy away from a hymn because it is difficult or unfamiliar. Your musicians are valuable assets in introducing and leading the people’s song.

Dear People in the Pews (and Choir Directors, Choir, Parish Musicians, and Pastors) – Take the time to read and meditate on the hymns in the hymnal – at home and church. Deepen your familiarity with the church’s song by listening to CD’s that focus on this hymnody. For example:

All of these resources should be available by contacting the Concordia Theological Seminary Bookstore at CPHBookstore@ctsfw.edu. Many are available by contacting Concordia Publishing House.

Blessings as you grow in your understanding of our rich hymnic heritage.