Arthur asked about the proper characteristics of a hymn. Unfortunately, I do not have time for another project.
People are fond of knocking The Lutheran Hymnal. Have they created a better, more confessional one since then?
ELS? - Plenty of ELCA material. Funny, the old ELS hymnal did not need ELCA.
WELS? - Tiefel said, "I have the title, so I will do it my way." Just what WELS needed, a Church Growth ecumenist in charge of worship. WELS pastors had a chance to show some spine, even passively, by not buying it. They went for Charismatic Worship almost 100%. By the way, hymnal projects rake in the dough for the synod. The cost of printing a huge run is slightly more than the cost of paper.
LCMS? - They have made several attempts. 1 - Buying the LBW. 2. Editing the B out and selling LW. 3. The new one.
ELCA? - The ELCA is following mainline trends. Ecumenical worship was not a big enough thrill, so they began worship services (with guidelines) among various pagan religions. The Muslims and Hindus are too tame, so the cutting edge factions have adopted old pagan, earth-mother, fertility rites from the pagans. Yes, ELCA will have publicized Wiccan services in a matter of time. American Indian rites are similar. The LA archdiocese already used them to dedicate their new cathedral.
So Missouri, WELS, and the ELS will continue to follow ELCA a few years later, as they always have, posturing about how they are not as bad as ELCA.
The Glory Has Departed
Monday, August 13, 2007
Hymn Questions and Liturgy Matters
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Mark Preus has in the past critiqued many a hymn on LutherQuest. It might be worth it to read what he has written. Maybe he'll put something together someday. It would be mainly Lutheran Chorales from Germany and Scandinavia with good Latin and Greek hymns as well.
The thing I like about ELH is all the good Scandinavian hymnody it has in it. That, and it often doesn't abridge a hymn. It has all 14 stanzas of Es ist das Heil!
Brian Westgate
Professor/Pastor,
You ask if a better, more confessional than TLH hymnal has been created, and then in the LCMS section you don't answer the question about the LSB.
There is evidence in LSB that Missouri learned from mistakes made with LBW and LW. The poor substitution of LW Divine Service I still has people wishing for p. 15 TLH today in the congregation where I am attending. I pray that at least they come back to the p. 15 service found as Divine Service III in LSB.
Hymns that were truncated to six verses have been grown back again, perhaps not to the full length of old, but we're getting there. Jacobian language that was from me since birth is making a comeback, as per Luther's admonition that we teach things consistently from generation to generation. The newer language (whether or not a hymnal decided to go -completely- P.C.) alienated new members from lifelong members.
The LSB has more opportunity for orthodoxy (and perhaps with Amy Grant and Twila Paris some heterodoxy). I like the TLH and I actually prefer Vespers musically over the LSB now. LSB does have its finer points over TLH (and I as a layman am only going with my familiarity with both). The typesetting on some of the old TLH hymns left the reader wondering how words should be sung across some notes. LSB actually gives the impression that more of the Divine Service should be sung, rather than the dreadful practice of the pastor reading the first two-thirds of the Lord's Prayer and then the congregation coming in with the "For Thine is the Kingdom...". When we open up the musical treasures of the past with the liturgy, the CCM people cannot argue that liturgy is boring and dry.
My children, twin girls at 4 years, learn music more easily than simple word recitation. For them, LSB is a better fit than TLH. I have the accompaniment to the hymns and the liturgy. We can do Matins and Vespers at the house, and then when our congregation finally goes purple, they will be ready.
You make good points with your blog and provide some much needed analysis. I think it can be better with some edification in addition to the criticism. Not all of your readers have the PhD or even the MDiv.
Thanks,
Dan
Ah, hymnals. What can you do? I have my complaints about the WELS' Christian Worship. This may sound egotistical, but whenever I attend a hymn-sing or any type of "request" or "favorite hymn" setting, I always want to slap the guy/gal who asks for hymn #440 (On Eagles Wings). That hymn, while taken from Scripture, strikes me as pure emotionalism. You can't sing parts to it, there's no real meaty doctrine... Why choose that over "Salvation Unto Us Has Come" or "Lord Keep Us Steadfast In Your Word"?
Another thing; TLH served the WELS for nearly 50 years. How is it that the LCMS has changed hymnals 3 times since they ditched TLH?
I think you're wrong about hymnals as a money-making scheme for synods. If anyone made money off CW it was NPH, and I seriously doubt that.
Post a Comment