copal bishop (“O Little Town of Bethlehem”) and a Unitarian minister (“It Came upon the Midnight Clear”) while the service concluded with vibrant chords of a great English hymnist (“Joy to the World”). Interspersed within all this, the choir treated those gathered to the dazzling movement of an African- American spiritual (“Go Tell It on the Mountain”), and the solemnity of a rural Appalachian mountain carol (“I Wonder as I Wander”) plus shocking worshipers with the Irish beer-drinking tune (“What Child Is This?”). And they dared to do all of this in a Lutheran church. What can be said of Christmas can be repeated for just about every church festival. Between the covers of our worship resource we hold a global musical response to a realiza- tion of the presence of a loving God in our midst. An ELCA bishop once asked: “As Lutherans, do we believe we have the gospel?” His answer followed: “Of course we do, but we also recognize we are not the only ones who have it.” When we pick up our ELW we are not alone but are joined by mul- titudes throughout history who have lifted their voices in a similar man- ner. The hymnal is never an isolat- ing experience—it is precisely the opposite. It connects us with fellow humans, past and present, in every culture and tradition.
Beyond its global dimensions the hymnal is a source of spiritual com- fort. Danish theologian and author Soren Kierkegaard reminded us that “music finds its way where the rays of the sun cannot penetrate.” So in our current atmosphere, which can at times become some- what disconsolate, let’s give a cheer for the women and men who com- piled our hymnal. They have helped us find some morsels of joy amid the ashes of gloom.
December 2013 17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52