Monday, December 21, 2009

Copenhagen and Washington DC Struck by Record Snowstorms, Simply Because They Voted Against Global Warming





Candidate Obama actually said, "They will remember the day the oceans stopped rising and the planet began to heal."

---

A Cold Front Moves in from Minneapolis

Norman Teigen has left a new comment on your post "Copenhagen and Washington DC Struck by Record Snow...":

I have been browsing through your list of favorite hymns. Don't see many Scandinavian hymns there, GJ. Why not? How can you consider 'Stille Nicht' a good hymn? It's sappy German sentimentalism that has no doctrinal content. See my blog this month for a lengthy list of good Scandinavian Christmas hymns.


***


GJ - Next, Norman will be saying I murdered my best friend (Hauerwas liturgical insight). His hymns are posted without translations. I knew two of the melodies, tops. "I am so glad" has never been a favorite in congregations I served. There is quite a difference between the German and the Scandinavian hymn traditions. That led to the break (which supposedly never happened) over the WELS/ELS hymnal.


My complaint is that "favorite hymns" in various synods have been the Methodist ones, or worse ones imported from Babtist revivals.


I thought the Service Book and Hymnal was stronger for having more Scandinavian hymns. TLH is too Germanic, but I still like it. WELS Contempo Worship is a slap-dash collection of hymns, from the dreadful to the pathetic, with the great doctrinal war verses removed from the best hymns.


I hired Mr. Bose (orthodox Lutheran) as my organist. He never complains when we sing all 16 verses of a hymn during a service (broken up, of course).