Berea Hymnal Committee Report April 2014 (feedback incorporated May 2014)

Committee Members

Mikki Aymond Cathy Augustin

Ryan Augustin Susan Rehm

Heather Schierenbeck Teri Schierenbeck

Judy Snell Audra Wiste

Pastor David Schierenbeck Stephen Kuehne (chair)

Berea Evangelical Lutheran Church

Inver Grove Heights, MN

Recommendation

• The committee unanimously recommends adopting Lutheran Service Book as Berea’s primary hymnal

– Reflects confessional Lutheran position

– Appealing and balanced blend of traditional and new

• Most of the most-sung hymns from TLH are included

• Virtually all the Berea favorites are included

• Many good new hymns are added

– TLH hymns not found in LSB can be used by incorporating them in the bulletin

• The committee unanimously recommends continuing also to use WS, at least for the time being

– For the liturgies

– For the hymns found only in WS

– For the psalms with chant tones

• The remainder of this presentation details the evaluation methodology and documents various observations made by the committee

Published in 2006 by Concordia Publishing House

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Motivation & Introduction

• The inevitable unavailability of The Lutheran Hymnal

• Updating “old” language, with balance / respect for tradition – Archaic pronouns

• ye, thee, thou, thine (many places)

– More gender neutral • Opinions may vary on how far to take the changes

– Antiquated verb forms • wilt (TLH 97), roll’st (111), hear’st (325), doth (386), faileth (431), didst (494)

– Outdated or difficult words • dight (168), fain (261), calumny (287), meed (329), glebe (368), dross (427),

unction (431), guerdon (513)

– Unclear meaning • I dare not trust the sweetest frame (370)

• Addition of new hymns

• Berea Board of Elders appointed committee in late 2012 – Committee has held 11 meetings. This presentation summarizes our findings.

Scripture has guidelines for public worship, but leaves matters such as choice of hymnal – as long as they do not contradict

Scripture – to Christian liberty, with Christian love for one another.

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Change… Good? Bad? Depends?

Raise your hand: 1. if you recognize this hymn. 2. if you know what “the welkin” is.

Hark, how all the welkin rings, Hallelujah; Glory to the King of kings, Hallelujah;

To help you out, here are verses 9 and 10

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Change… Good? Bad? Depends?

Raise your hand: 1. if you recognize this hymn. 2. if you know what “the welkin” is.

Hark, how all the welkin rings, Hallelujah; Glory to the King of kings, Hallelujah;

Do you like this tune better?

To help you out, here are verses 9 and 10

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Change… Good? Bad? Depends?

Raise your hand: 1. if you recognize this hymn. 2. if you know what “the welkin” is.

Hark, how all the welkin rings, Hallelujah; Glory to the King of kings, Hallelujah;

Do you like this tune better?

Do you prefer this wording (from TLH)?

To help you out, here are verses 9 and 10

(BTW: The welkin means “the heavens”.)

Sometimes change is good.

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No Hymnal is Perfect, Including TLH

• TLH 237 All Glory Be to God on High – “and peace shall reign on earth again”

• Future tense smacks of millennialism (original: now there is great peace)

• TLH 451 Stand Up! Stand Up for Jesus – “His army shall He lead Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed”

• Isn’t Christ the Lord indeed right now?

• TLH 475 Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones – “O higher than the cherubim, More glorious than the seraphim,

Lead their praises, Alleluia! Thou Bearer of th’ eternal Word,

Most gracious, magnify the Lord, Alleluia, etc.” • The Bearer of the eternal Word (Jesus) is Mary

– So Mary is higher and more glorious than the angels, she should lead the angels in praise, she is most gracious, and she warrants a capital B in “Bearer”

• TLH 497 The Morning Light is Breaking – “nations in commotion, prepared for Zion’s war”

– “heathen nations bending, before the God we love”

– “and seek the Savior’s blessing, a nation in a day” • Sounds like pre-millennialism

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Hymnal Evaluation

• An important undertaking

– Hymns are vehicles for God’s Word

– Importance of good text and music (hymns, liturgies, etc.)

– Importance of the hymnal in our churches, schools, homes, etc.

– Deep feelings of attachment / treasured hymns in current hymnal

– Long term implications hymnal for the next 60 years?

• A large undertaking

– 600+ hymns, liturgies, prayers, Psalms, etc. across multiple hymnals

– Separate organ and pew editions in some cases

– Evaluation of textual and musical quality

• Evaluation criteria (following pages)

– Developed by committee, incorporating suggestions by Pastor David Schaller, from the CLC Worship Committee

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Textual Considerations

• Is the doctrine sound? – Anything overtly incorrect, or poorly worded?

– Has it been watered down?

• Does the text point to God and glorify Him? – As opposed to focus on ourselves

• Has the language been updated? – Too much? Not enough? Is the vocabulary accessible?

– Have the wording updates inadvertently changed the meaning?

– Is it “dumbed down” (e.g. replacing “grace” with “love”)?

• Is the message similar? – Does it feel like a different hymn altogether?

– Have verses been removed or added?

• Does it adequately cover seasons of church year & special events?

• Do the liturgies contain the historic elements of Lutheran worship?

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Musical Considerations

• General

– Is the "mood" of the tune appropriate for the text?

– Do the melody and text mesh together well?

– Is the music pleasing to the ear?

– Have the melody and/or harmony been changed? (how significantly?)

– Is the melody or harmony missing completely?

• Singing

– Has the key been changed? (generally lowered for singability)

– Is it difficult to sing?

– Consider various voices (SATB); descants?

• Playing

– Difficulty in general. More or less difficult than TLH or WS?

– For those who play using pedals

– For those who play keyboard with bass coupler

– For those who play keyboard only

– Other instruments?

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Hymnals Evaluated

The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH) Concordia / Synodical Conf. 1941 668 hymns

Lutheran Service Book (LSB) Concordia / LCMS 2006

636 hymns

Christian Worship (CW) Northwestern / WELS 1993

623 hymns

Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary (ELH) MorningStar / ELS 1996

602 hymns

Worship Supplement (WS) Reim / CLC 2000 100 hymns

Also discussed: Synod (CLC) develop our own hymnal “Bookless” hymnal (electronic / video presentation)

Reference

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CLC Developed Hymnal?

• Publishing a hymnal is a large undertaking

– ELH (ELS membership ~20,000)

• Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary project 1990 - 1996

– CW (WELS membership ~380,000)

• Christian Worship hymnal project 1983 - 1993 – Committee and assistants – 40 people

• Next hymnal project 2013 - 2024 – Executive committee – 13 people

– Seven subcommittees – 54 people

– LSB (LCMS membership ~2.3 million)

• Lutheran Service Book hymnal project 1998 - 2006 – Commission on Worship – 21 people

– Six committees – 54 people

– Assistants – 48 people

– Concordia Publishing House – 56 people

• In any case, there is no CLC plan to develop a hymnal

Note: All staffing levels were estimated from printed or

online project plans or lists of contributors.

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CLC Endorsed Hymnal?

• Some have expressed that having uniform hymnals across the CLC can be valuable, particularly when visiting sister congregations

• We have been in communication with Pastor David Schaller, from the CLC Worship Committee

– Planning to present a comparison of current Lutheran hymnals to the 2014 CLC convention

– Have no intention of recommending a “synodical hymnal”

– Choice of a hymnal is strictly a congregational decision and may vary from one congregation to another

– Work focused on pointing out general trends, along with some pros and cons of each one

• The CLC will neither adopt nor recommend a synodical hymnal

• Change will only occur one congregation at a time

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Bookless Hymnal?

• Potential advantages

– Allows for a wide variety of sources to be used

• Copyright clearinghouses exist which provide broad usage licenses

– While singing, heads face up voices project better

• Potential disadvantages

– No printed volume for home, day school, Sunday school, etc.

– For visibility reasons, cannot fit much on one screen

• Even so, those with poor eyesight may need to sit close

• Difficulty for all singing unfamiliar tunes if only words are on screen

• Less singing in parts

– Substantial initial investment

• High brightness long throw projectors (probably 2 required based on layout of Berea’s sanctuary), screens, computer and station, wiring

– Weekly effort (3+ hours) to prepare presentation slides

• Committee felt that a printed hymnal is essential, and that use of projection is not precluded and can be addressed separately

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Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary 1996

Published by MorningStar Music Publishers

Available Editions • Pew Edition ($15.00)

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Christian Worship 1993

Published by Northwestern Publishing House Over 450,000 copies sold (as of 2013)

Available Editions • Pew Edition ($21.75) • Keepsake Edition • Large Print Edition • Altar Book (pastor edition) • Braille Edition (3rd party) • Electronic Pew Edition • Accompaniment for the Liturgy & Psalms • Accompaniment for the Hymns • Digital recordings and more…

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Lutheran Service Book 2006

Published by Concordia Publishing House Over 1 million copies sold (as of 2010)

Available Editions • Pew Edition ($25.00) • Personal / Gift Edition • Deluxe Edition • Large Print Edition (3rd party) • Braille Edition (3rd party) • Banners (3rd party) • Altar Book (pastor edition) • Lutheran Service Builder (electronic edition) • Concordance (>5000 key words) • Accompaniment for the Liturgy • Accompaniment for the Hymns • Hymn Prelude Library • Guitar Chord Edition • The Concordia Organist (CD recordings) and more…

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Hymnal Evaluation Assignments

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Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary

• At our fourth meeting, the committee unanimously agreed to remove ELH from consideration

• Primary reason – too similar to TLH in many respects

– Many of the hymns are identical to their TLH counterparts

– Didn’t accomplish one of the goals of improving on TLH in areas such as updated wording

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TLH Overlap Diagram

Lutheran Service Book (LSB) 636 hymns

Christian Worship (CW)

623 hymns

The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH)

668 hymns

302

34 115

92 191 104

215

Numbers derived from table at http://www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=516 (Minor discrepancy in totals due to split hymns, duplicated hymns, table errors, etc.)

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Berea Favorite Hymns are Well Represented

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WS Overlap Diagram

Lutheran Service Book (LSB) 70 hymns

Christian Worship (CW)

67 hymns

Worship Supplement (WS)

100 hymns

48 22 19 11

Counting only the 100 hymns in the Worship

Supplement

For comparison, ELH had only 30.

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WS Overlap Details

Not in LSB or CW (about 5 that we use)

Not in LSB (about a dozen that we use)

Not in CW (about a dozen that we use)

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Weak or Poor Hymns

• A detailed examination was made of the text of hymns from the sections Opening of Service through Advent

– Corresponding to TLH 1-75, WS 701-705, WS 741-748

– Examined for doctrinal correctness

• Errors or poor wording

– Examined for textual richness

• Perhaps no errors, but limited value as a hymn

• Some subjectivity on where to draw the line

• Takeaway

– Both CW and LSB have a large number of good hymns

– Both CW and LSB have a small number of poor hymns (examples follow)

– Poor hymns can easily be avoided

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Examples of Weak or Poor Hymns

1. The angel Gabriel from heaven came, His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame; "All hail," said he to meek and lowly Mary, "Most highly favored maiden." Gloria! 2. "I come from heav'n to tell the Lord's decree: A blessed virgin mother you shall be. Your Son shall be Immanuel, by seers foretold, Most highly favored maiden." Gloria! 3. Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head; "To me be as it pleases God," she said. "My soul shall praise and magnify his holy name." Most highly favored maiden, Gloria! 4. Of her Immanuel, the Christ, was born In Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn, And Christian folk throughout the world will ever say, "Most highly favored maiden." Gloria!

1. The angel Gabriel from heaven came, With wings as drifted snow, with eyes as flame: "All hail to thee, O lowly maiden Mary, Most highly favored lady." Gloria! 2. "For know a blessed mother thou shalt be, All generations laud and honor thee; Thy son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold, Most highly favored lady." Gloria! 3. Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head; "To me be as it pleaseth God," she said. "My soul shall laud and magnify God's holy name." Most highly favored lady, Gloria! 4. Of her, Emmanuel, the Christ, was born In Bethlehem all on a Christmas morn, And Christian folk throughout the world will ever say: "Most highly favored lady." Gloria!

LSB V2: Don’t like how it says that Gabriel said that all generations would laud and honor Mary. Luke says that Mary was “blessed” by God, not that she should be lauded and honored.

CW 24 LSB 356

Both CW and LSB: Unclear wording, how the last line groups the word “Gloria” along with a phrase about Mary. The glory is God’s, not Mary’s.

In addition, don’t like how the hymn concludes with the focus on Mary (last half of V4). The hymn almost seems more about Mary than about Christ.

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Examples of Weak or Poor Hymns

1. Earth and all stars! Loud rushing planets! Sing to the Lord a new song! Oh, victory! Loud shouting army! Sing to the Lord a new song! He has done marvelous things. I too will praise Him with a new song!

2. Hail, wind, and rain! Loud blowing snowstorm! Flowers and trees! Loud rustling dry leaves!

3. Trumpet and pipes! Loud clashing cymbals! Harp, lute, and lyre! Loud humming cellos!

4. Engines and steel! Loud pounding hammers! Limestone and beams! Loud building workers

5. Classrooms and labs! Loud boiling test tubes! Athlete and band! Loud cheering people!

6. Knowledge and truth! Loud sounding wisdom! Daughter and son! Loud praying members!

7. Children of God, Dying and rising, Heaven and earth, Hosts everlasting,

1. Earth and all stars! Loud rushing planets! Sing to the Lord a new song! Oh, victory! Loud shouting army! Sing to the Lord a new song! He has done marvelous things. I, too, will praise Him with a new song!

2. Hail, wind and rain! Loud blowing snowstorm! Flowers and trees! Loud rustling dry leaves!

3. Trumpet and pipes! Loud clashing cymbals! Harp, lute, and lyre! Loud humming cellos!

4. Knowledge and truth! Loud sounding wisdom! Daughter and son! Loud praying members!

5. Children of God, Dying and rising, Heaven and earth, Hosts everlasting,

CW 247 LSB 817

CW is same as WS 747. LSB kind of goes over the top with the imagery in verses 4 and 5.

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Examples of Weak or Poor Hymns

1. When in our music God is glorified, And adoration leaves no room for pride, It is as though the whole creation cried: Alleluia!

2. How oft, in making music, we have found A new dimension in the world of sound As worship moved us to a more profound Alleluia!

3. So has the Church, in liturgy and song, In faith and love, through centuries of wrong, Borne witness to the truth in ev'ry tongue: Alleluia!

4. And did not Jesus sing a psalm that night When utmost evil strove against the light? Then let us sing, for whom he won the fight: Alleluia!

5. Let ev'ry instrument be tuned for praise; Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise, And may God give us faith to sing always: Alleluia!

1. When in our music God is glorified, And adoration leaves no room for pride, It is as though the whole creation cried: Alleluia!

2. How often, making music, we have found A new dimension in the world of sound As worship moved us to a more profound Alleluia!

3. So has the Church, in liturgy and song, In faith and love, through centuries of wrong, Borne witness to the truth in ev'ry tongue, Alleluia!

4. And did not Jesus sing a psalm that night When utmost evil strove against the light? Then let us sing, for whom He won the fight: Alleluia!

5. Let ev'ry instrument be tuned for praise! Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise! And may God give us faith to sing always: Alleluia!

CW 248 LSB 796

Seems poor in content. It is about praising, not about God. About the song itself, rather than the object of the song. Verse 2 almost seems to elevate music to the level of some form of revelation, as though the Word by itself is limited and needs the power of the music to truly move us.

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Examples of Weak or Poor Hymns

1. Forth in the peace of Christ we go; Christ to the world with joy we bring, Christ in our minds, Christ on our lips, Christ in our hearts, the world’s true King. 2. King of our hearts, Christ makes us kings; Kingship with him his servants gain. With Christ the Servant – Lord of all, Christ’s world we serve to share Christ’s reign. 3. Priests to the world, yes, royal priests As members of Christ’s family. Cleansed by the great high-priestly death, We preach atonement full and free. 4. Christ on our lips, his Word we speak. Prophets are we whose deeds proclaim Christ’s truth in love that we may be Christ in the world, to spread Christ’s name. 5. We are the Church; Christ bids us show That in his Church all nations find Their hearth and home where Christ restores True peace, true love to humankind.

1. Forth in the peace of Christ we go; Christ to the world with joy we bring, Christ in our minds, Christ on our lips, Christ in our hearts, the world’s true King. 2. King of our hearts, Christ makes us kings; Kingship with Him His servants gain. With Christ the Servant – Lord of all, Christ’s world we serve to share Christ’s reign. 3. Priests of the world, Christ sends us forth This world of time to consecrate, This world of sin by grace to heal, Christ’s world in Christ to recreate. 4. Christ’s are our lips, His Word we speak. Prophets are we whose deeds proclaim Christ’s truth in love that we may be Christ in the world, to spread Christ’s name. 5. We are the Church; Christ bids us show That in his Church all nations find Their hearth and home where Christ restores True peace, true love to all mankind.

CW 518 LSB 920

V2: Share Christ’s reign? Might it be better to say we share in His reign? Is it our motivation that we can become kings?

V3 poor in LSB (much better in CW). Has Christ asked us to consecrate the world, or to recreate it in His name? Rather, to preach the gospel.

V5: What is that “True peace, true love”? Earthly peace and love?

V1, V2: Christ is King, but in what sense? Where is the message about Christ as Savior?

The author, James J. Quinn, was a renowned 20th century ecumenist.

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Reduced Number of Verses

• Both CW and LSB frequently dropped some of the verses from TLH, especially for longer hymns

– Often apparently for space considerations

– Likely also because the sheer number of verses may be impractical

• Easier for congregation to sing an entire hymn with fewer verses, than to sing selected verses of a really long hymn

– Sometimes removed “weaker” verses from TLH

– Noticed a few cases where they appeared to remove the “darker” verses about sin, death, etc.

– Examples follow…

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Example of Removing Verses: Space Constraint

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CW 238 apparently needed to save space. They squeezed 5 verses within the staff and

deleted verse 4. Perhaps the editors thought it smacked of Calvinism.

Example of Removing Verses: Sheer Length of Hymn Both CW 184 and LSB 913 included 3 verses: Verse 1, a combination of verses 2 and 3, and verse 6. Both CW and LSB had space to add at least 2 more verses. CW left white space. LSB put in a prayer.

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Example of Removing Verses: “Weaker” Verses Removed

Both CW 12 and LSB 349 removed verse 3, which is perhaps not the greatest verse anyway. There appeared to be sufficient

white space to fit it in, had they chosen to.

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Example of Removing Verses: “Darker” Verses Removed

CW 42 omitted verses 2, 6, and 7. Verse 2: Sin, death, Satan, groaning, moaning. Verse 6: Bondage, oppressed, sin, grief, distressed. LSB 375 omitted verses 2 and 3. It appears there may have been space constraints in both cases. Even though verses 2 and 6 are Gospel messages, did the editors consider them too depressing for a Christmas hymn?

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Another Example of Removing Verses

Both CW 304 and LSB 609 kept only 7 verses, even though it seems they could have fit all 8. LSB omitted verse 4, perhaps considering it to be a weaker verse (maybe thought it smacks of decision theology?). CW omitted verse 7. We were disappointed with that, since it seems like a really nice verse. Perhaps the editors thought it was redundant with verse 6.

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Textual Concerns in LSB Intro & Liturgies

pp. 152, 168, (204), 250 Ambiguous: What kind of peace? Christ’s peace? Absence of war? What basis for unity? Doctrinal agreement?

p. 269 Neglects to mention the Word of God which is in and with the water. Without that Word, water is simple water only, and cannot wash away sin.

p. 291 Seems like a stretch of Biblical imagery in 1 Cor. 10:17.

The following are all spoken by the pastor and could be modified or avoided as necessary:

p. viii The introduction identifies Holy Absolution as a sacrament, along with Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Sacrament is a human term upon which Lutherans don’t all agree – and don’t need to agree. But it may be confusing for CLC members who have been taught that there are two sacraments.

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p. 268 Suggests that the parting of the Red Sea is a foreshadowing of baptism. Does the Bible say this? (perhaps 1 Cor. 10:2)?

Side By Side Comparison A number of things can be observed in this

hymn alone (see following pages) LSB CW

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LSB CW

LSB seems to have higher quality paper (less bleed-through when scanning).

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LSB CW

LSB capitalizes pronouns referring to God, while CW does not.

38

LSB CW Neither LSB nor CW includes the Amen with the hymn. Same is true for organ accompaniment

editions, which is inconvenient for organists. Music for Amens is provided separately.

? ?

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LSB CW

LSB includes Scripture references (note the plural), while CW does not.

?

40

LSB CW CW definitely went further with wording updates.

(Was it really necessary to change “nor & e’er” to “or & ne’er” ?)

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More on Wording Updates

Here’s a Berea favorite memorized by many children. LSB kept the familiar wording. CW made significant updates.

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More on Wording Updates Nicene Creed

LSB CW

LSB uses a familiar form, with some explanations in footnotes. CW made a number of wording changes.

Some concerns with CW’s wording changes have been raised: • While the traditional phrase “for us men” indicates that Christ’s redemptive work was for all humanity,

the CW phrase “for us” is less clear, and could be misunderstood to mean just for believers (limited atonement). Perhaps “for all people” would be better, but neither worded it that way.

• The CW phrase “fully human” loses the significance that Christ came as a male human being – the last Adam – to undo the damage done by the first Adam.

Pastor John Ude http://clclutheran.net/clcnet/documents/onlinedocs/Scan%2033-WELS-ELS%20and%20the%20CLC.PDF

Also:

Pastor Paul Schaller, Journal of Theology, Sept. 1994 http://clclutheran.org/library/jtheo_arch/jtsep1994.pdf

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LSB CW LSB fills white space with prayers or Scripture readings. CW leaves it empty.

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Other Observations For space reasons, LSB sometimes includes hymn melody only – or even text only.

(CW includes full harmony for all hymns, although not for the liturgy.)

Both left and right are LSB

CW not shown

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Other Observations

LSB includes definitions for some difficult words. (Not observed in CW.)

Only LSB shown

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Other Observations

LSB occasionally includes another language (generally Spanish, but also German & Latin)

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Other Observations

LSB avoids confusion between page numbers and hymn numbers.

LSB includes Luther’s Small Catechism.

48

Thoughts on Liturgies

• LSB would provide the easiest liturgical transition from TLH

– LSB Setting 3 is an almost verbatim copy of the TLH p 15 liturgy

– LSB Matins setting is largely similar to its TLH counterpart

– CW Common Service is the equivalent of TLH p 15, but with some differences

• Many of the LSB and CW musical settings are unfamiliar

– Some are more difficult than others to play and sing, but probably no more challenging than some of the arrangements in WS

– LSB has a number of nice arrangements, which “grow on you” after hearing them a few times

• A gradual switch-over to new liturgies would ease the transition

– This could probably be done quite easily at Berea

• Often mix and match pieces of liturgy from various sources

• Full liturgy placed in the bulletin

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Sung Liturgies

Setting 1

Setting 3 Almost verbatim copy of TLH p15

Setting 2

Setting 4

Matins

Vespers

Morning Prayer

Evening Prayer

Compline Prayer & Preaching

Common Service Not quite verbatim copy of TLH p15

Word & Sacrament

Word

Matins

Vespers

LSB CW

LSB has a richer selection of liturgies

LSB has the closest replica of TLH p15

Liturgical songs and responses colored according to approximate singing difficulty

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Summary: Orders of Service

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LSB CW LSB contains an almost verbatim copy of TLH p15. CW somewhat modifies text and tune.

LSB uses red font in the liturgies to differentiate instructions from the liturgy itself.

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LSB CW LSB contains an almost verbatim copy of TLH p15. CW somewhat modifies text and tune.

LSB uses red font in the liturgies to differentiate instructions from the liturgy itself.

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LSB CW LSB includes 107 psalms with full text. CW includes 59 psalms, many of them shortened. Both LSB and CW include notations for chanting and for responsive reading. LSB chant tones are separated from the text (LSB inconvenient for chanting). CW chant tones are on the same page (CW better for chanting). CW organ edition (not shown) aligns tones with text (CW organ edition awesome for chanting).

Note: WS 2000 has a selection of psalms for chanting.

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Section Highlights Front and Back of Hymnals / Orders of Service

• LSB has unusual Calendar of Commemorations (page xii)

• LSB has quite a few more orders of service than CW or TLH – LSB has the closet copy of TLH 15 liturgy

• LSB makes heavy use of chanting, although the pastor’s part could generally be spoken

• LSB settings 1 and 2 – Place the creed after the sermon

– Separate the Offertory from the sermon (placed after the offering)

– Text for Offertory is different (more about our faith-response)

• CW appears to eliminate use of Introits, Collects, and Graduals

• LSB has the most psalms (107), CW the fewest (59, many shortened) – LSB best for responsive reading (not shortened, not broken up by

periodic “refrain” indicator)

– CW best for chanting (music on same page as text)

• LSB contains the entire Small Catechism

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Section Highlights Opening of Service – Advent

• Notable omissions

– CW: TLH 18, 38, 51; WS 701, 742

– LSB: TLH 2, 18, 20, 31, 32, 43, 48, 51, 64, 65; WS 702

• Opening of Service

– CW 266 and LSB 942 better musical presentation for TLH 6

– Nice additions: CW 228; LSB 911, 914

• Worship and Praise

– Both CW and LSB have a good number of hymns with strong doctrinal message

– Nice additions: CW 237, 245, 254; LSB 815

• Close of Service

– LSB 918 chose nicer melody than TLH 54 / CW 331

– CW 319/320 has both melodies for “On My Heart Imprint Thine Image”

– LSB 922 “Go, My Children, with My Blessing” adds a nice verse for weddings

• Advent

– Hymns encompass several aspects of Jesus’ coming: birth, beginning of ministry, Palm Sunday, and 2nd coming. Both CW and LSB modified and relocated hymns in this regard.

– Both CW and LSB have a good selection of Advent hymns

– Nice additions: LSB 336, 339, 342, 348; CW 13, 25, 29

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Section Highlights Christmas – Presentation

• Christmas – Notable omissions: TLH 99 (LSB, CW), TLH 103 (LSB)

– Both CW and LSB added a number of familiar carols • Additions (CW): 48, 51, 56, 63, 68

• Additions (LSB): 362, 364/5, 366, 368, 371, 374, 385, 393

– Both LSB and CW have “Away in a Manger”; LSB has both melodies

– LSB 372 nicer melody than TLH 81 / CW 40

• New Year – LSB and CW have the commonly sung hymns

• Epiphany – CW 81 chose unfamiliar melodies for TLH 126 and TLH 131

• Presentation – Some melody changes (OK): LSB 519 / CW 77, CW 78

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Section Highlights Lent – Easter

• LSB similar in style to TLH

• LSB contains more new and unique hymns – E.g. LSB 416, 432, 445, 456, 466, 474, 481, 486

• New/attractive musical arrangements to hymns from TLH – E.g. LSB 438, 439; CW 124, 132, 145

– CW had more new arrangements than LSB

• Easter: 5 WS hymns found only in LSB

• Notable LSB omissions: TLH 155, 157

• TLH 161 v2: Lord of men and angels – CW: Lord of saints and angels

– LSB: Lord of earth and heaven

• TLH 166 last line: solemn litany penitential cry – Easier to understand, and it actually rhymes, unlike TLH

• LSB an appealing blend of traditional and new

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Section Highlights Ascension – Law and Gospel

• Ascension: LSB 495 better melody than TLH 222

• Pentecost new hymns: CW 186, 187; LSB 502 (nice melody)

• Trinity: TLH 237 heavily reworded in LSB 947, CW 263

• TLH 275 (Magnificat) heavily paraphrased in LSB 934 – Paraphrase was well done, but prefer staying closer to original text

• LSB 521: Nice new hymn about angels

• Invitation – LSB 699 better melody than TLH 277 – Notable omissions TLH 278 (LSB) and 281 (LSB, CW)

• St. Andrew: TLH 270 not in LSB

• Reformation / Word of God / Law and Gospel – New hymns: LSB 583, 584 (like!), 586; CW 199, 281, 292, 544 – LSB 585 heavily reworded from TLH 292 – CW 283 some unusual wording changes to TLH 296

• A Mighty Fortress – Both melodies in both LSB 656/657 and CW 200/201 – LSB has two wordings: 656 original, 657 more modern

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Section Highlights Baptism – The Redeemer

• Notable omissions – CW: TLH 304, 310, 325, 333, 336, 340, 357, 359, 365; WS 751, 753, 755 – LSB: TLH 299, 302, 304, 323, 325, 333, 335, 336, 337, 340, 345, 346, 348, 353,

356, 357, 358, 365; WS 753

• Baptism – LSB 594 adds redundant verse 5 to WS 751

• The Lord’s Supper – TLH 315 (15 verses): LSB 618/619 split it into 2 hymns of 5 verses each; CW 310

kept all 15 verses, but the updated wording lost some of the meaning – Nice addition: LSB 641 – LSB 627 added a couple nice verses to TLH 311

• Confession and Absolution – Nice addition: LSB 616 – Unfortunate verse omissions CW 304 (TLH 324 v7), CW 305 (TLH 329 v5)

• Confirmation – LSB no explicit “Confirmation” section – hymns moved elsewhere

• The Redeemer – LSB 700 and CW 365 chose nicer melody for TLH 351 – Liked wording changes in LSB 526 over TLH 355

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Section Highlights Faith and Justification – Stewardship

• Faith and Justification – Notable omission: TLH 382 (LSB)

– Notable addition: LSB 572

• Consecration & New Obedience – No explicit “Consecration” or “New Obedience” sections in LSB or

CW – hymns moved elsewhere (Commitment, Sanctification, Stewardship, Trust, etc.)

– Notable omission: TLH 396 (LSB)

• Trust – Nice additions: LSB 711, 712, 727, 739; CW 440, 451

• Stewardship – Notable additions: LSB 782, CW 481

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Section Highlights Christian Warfare – Missions / Evangelism

• Christian Warfare – Generally maps into Commitment (CW) or Church Militant (LSB)

– Nice addition CW 467

• Prayer – Nice additions: LSB 769, 772

– LSB 776: Interesting canon/round arrangement of common table prayer

• Communion of Saints / Church – Melody changes: LSB 648 (better), LSB 840 (minor key!)

– Nice additions: CW 540 / LSB 813, CW 182 / LSB 650, LSB 654

• Ministry / Missions / Evangelism – Many TLH hymns included in CW and LSB with few changes

– LSB 827: Nice complement to TLH 496 / CW 573 / LSB 826 (3 new verses)

– Melody changes: LSB 824 (better), CW 84 (OK), CW 544 / LSB 586 (minor key!)

– WS 769: CW 579 adds descant; LSB 837 adds verses and Spanish translation

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Section Highlights Cross and Comfort – The Nation

• Cross and Comfort – LSB 754 nicer melody and significant wording changes to TLH 520

– LSB 756 and CW 428 shortened TLH 523 (unfortunate)

– CW 448 nicer accompaniment than TLH 524

– LSB 724 unfortunate change of melody to TLH 528

– Nice additions: LSB 749, 762, 763, 764

• Morning – LSB 876 and CW 584 updated wording of TLH 541

– TLH 546 moved to Epiphany section in both LSB and CW

– Nice melody changes: LSB 874, 877; CW 590

• Evening – LSB 883 chose the “wrong” melody for TLH 558

– Nice additions: LSB 885, 891, German text for 887

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Section Highlights Death and Burial – Hymns of the Liturgy (page 1 of 2)

• Death and Burial – Many of the TLH hymns are somewhat sad and dirge-like

– Some of the better TLH hymns have been included in CW and LSB

– TLH 598: Both CW 210 and LSB 598 trimmed verses; LSB even omitted verse 1

– Nice additions: LSB 678, LSB 679

• Resurrection – No corresponding section in CW or LSB

• Judgment / Christ’s Return – Nice additions: CW 216, CW 219

• Life Everlasting – Generally maps to CW End Times or LSB Church Triumphant

– Notable omission from LSB: TLH 616

• Marriage – Nice addition: CW 604

– LSB 922 “Go, My Children, with My Blessing” adds nice verse about marriage

• The Family / Christian Education – Generally maps to CW Christian Home or LSB Christian Home and Education

– Nice addition: CW 502

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Section Highlights Death and Burial – Hymns of the Liturgy (page 2 of 2)

• Cornerstone Laying / Dedication – No corresponding sections in CW or LSB

• Church Anniversary – Nice addition: CW 621

• Theological Institutions / Foreign Missionaries / Absent Ones – No corresponding sections in CW or LSB; 1 hymn included (CW 504)

• The Long-Meter Doxology – In both CW 334 and LSB 805

• Carols and Spiritual Songs – Most are included, but relocated to various sections

• Hymns of the Liturgy / Biblical Canticles (LSB) – A number of TLH hymns (e.g. 137, 237, 249, 250, 251, 252, 275) found here

– LSB liturgy setting 1 page 155 is same as WS 799

– LSB 946 is same as WS liturgy page 13

– CW 273 is same as TLH liturgy page 6

– LSB Biblical Canticles contains various Bible songs (e.g. Moses, Isaiah, Hannah, Mary, Simeon, the Beatitudes, etc.)

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New Categories in CW Christian Love, Social Concern

• Christian Love (CW 490 – 499)

– Mostly about Christian love for each other & sanctification

• Some of the new hymns are so-so

• Don’t care for 495, especially verse 4

• A few decent additions (490, 491, 497)

• Social Concern (CW 517 – 527)

– A mix of earthly and spiritual concerns

• Some hymns mainly focused on temporal concerns such as earthly peace, or helping the poor, sick, and oppressed

• Some hymns more focused on spiritual matters

• Some are a mixture of both

• Don’t care for 518 especially, also not so fond of 526

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New Categories in LSB Society, Vocation

• Society (LSB 841 – 852)

– A mix of earthly and spiritual concerns

– Similar to CW’s “Social Concern” section, but LSB balance seems somewhat more toward the spiritual (better)

– 843 nice addition about forgiving others

• Vocation (LSB 853 – 857)

– Hymns about serving the Lord and each other in our daily activities

– 854 nice addition, although tune is unfamiliar

– 855 interesting… topical verses about various women from the Bible

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Comparison Table

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Conclusion and Recommendation

• The committee unanimously prefers LSB over CW

– LSB has advantages in a number of areas

– Neither is perfect, but no hymnal will be

• The committee unanimously recommends adoption of LSB

– Reflects confessional Lutheran position

– LSB has an appealing and balanced blend of traditional and new

• Most of the most-sung hymns from TLH are included

• Virtually all the Berea favorites are included

• Many good new hymns are added

– TLH hymns not found in LSB can be used via incorporation in bulletin

• The committee unanimously recommends continuing also to use WS, at least for the time being

– For the liturgies

– For the hymns found only in WS

– For the psalms with chant tones 69

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