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 The District Worship Commission exists to promote and assist
congregations with materials and information to complement all aspects of
worship in the church.
The Worship Library link provides
you with useful resources.
The Music Suggestions link provides
a listing of music for the 2005-2006 festival half of the church year.
Suggestions are designed for small parishes and small choirs.
The Choir Schedule link provides
you with a listing of music from Star of Bethlehem Lutheran Church for the
remainder of 2005.
For more information, assistance, and/or materials, please contact one of the
district commission members below:
Notes and News from the District Commission on
Worship:
November 2006
Worship is the heart
of all parish life, the time when the greatest number of parish members gather
to proclaim the gospel and receive God's life-giving power in Word and
sacrament. Adult spiritual growth happens for the greatest number of adults
during worship. The WELS Commission on Worship and our District Worship
Committee exist to help parishes in their central task of worship that glorifies
God and strengthens his people.
At the Synodical Level:
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Christian Worship
Publications:
Sales continue to be strong for the three latest Commission on Worship
publications: Christian Worship: New Service Settings (2003),
Christian Worship: Occasional Services (2004), and Christian Worship:
Pastor’s Companion (2004).
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Preach the Word
Newsletter: Pastor Daron Lindemann is the new editor of
Preach the Word. He is making a greater use of the Internet to provide
resources that also supplement the newsletter. Circuits may want to
consider using Preach the Word and its supplemental on-line resources
as the basis for part of regular sermon study meetings. Back issues of
Preach the Word (and Worship the Lord) are available as PDF files
on the WELS Commission on Worship website. Preach the Word
newsletters are now also being used in Hong Kong (at Asian Lutheran
Seminary), Ukraine, Sweden, and parts of Latin America.
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Commission on Worship website:
The Worship website, one of the most fully developed content areas on the
WELS website, continues to be a powerful and helpful tool for sharing
worship ideas and resources. Some Commission on Worship web content is being
recycled by the Commission on Evangelism to serve an even larger audience.
The latest development for the Worship website is a request from Gonzalo
Delgadillo López, the Director of Spanish Publications (for Multi-Language
Publications). He will be translating materials from the Commission on
Worship site and posting them on the WELS Hispanic web site,
www.cristopalabradevida.com. Gonzalo is also a member of the Hispanic
worship resources committee.
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School of Worship Enrichment:
This worship seminar, modeled on the highly successful School of Outreach,
serves clusters of eight to twelve parishes. People gather for an intensive
two-day practicum, including worship theology and history, practical new
resources, and time to assist parishes in setting their own goals. Written
reviews have been positive and highly appreciative while also allowing
leaders to plan improvements. Schools of Worship Enrichment have served WELS
congregations for five years this month (the first was held here in Citrus
Heights; two others have been held in our district – one in southern
California and another in Arizona).
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Christian Worship: Supplement:
Work
continues toward the publication of Christian Worship: Supplement,
scheduled to be released in 2008. The supplement will include two new
musical settings of the “Common Service” (including the setting by Kermit
Moldenhauer currently in Christian Worship: New Service Settings),
seven short devotions, a revised lectionary with greater thematic unity
among the Lessons and more narrative accounts from the Old Testament, and
approximately 80-90 hymns. One of the new services (Common Service III) is
being used for the communion service at this conference. Some of the
shorter devotions are also being utilized at our conference. Please note
that, while we are able to preview these new items at this conference,
individual congregations may not yet use these materials locally because
much of the material is copyrighted and some of the copyright holders are
outside the WELS.
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Worship Music:
The
Commission on Worship is currently in its sixth year of publishing
Worship Music: A Resource for Lutheran Keyboard Musicians. This
resource is especially helpful for less advanced keyboardists who may not
know where to find appropriate worship music that is accessible to their
skills. Please encourage your organists and pianists to subscribe to this
useful service, or consider funding subscriptions for your parish musicians
through your budget.
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Other Resources and Publications:
Development also continues for several other products, including a
revised/expanded worship curriculum, revised/expanded HymnSoft, guidelines
for parishes considering contemporary worship options, Hispanic worship
resources, and a revised/expanded edition of Planning Christian Worship.
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National Worship Conference:
The WELS National Worship Conference has the largest attendance of any
worship conference sponsored by a Lutheran denomination (including events
sponsored by the pan-Lutheran organization, “Association of Lutheran Church
Musicians”). Conferences held in 1996, 1999, 2002, and 2005 have each drawn
registrations between 800-1,000, plus additional guests at concerts and
services. Numerous resources from past conferences are available on the
Commission on Worship website. The next National Worship Conference is
scheduled for July 28-31, 2008 at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter,
Minnesota.
At the District Level:
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Worship Planning:
The District Worship Committee strives to model good worship at various
district events, including this conference. We stand ready to assist you
with resources, ideas, and consulting if you would like assistance with
worship planning or special service preparations.
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Organist Workshop:
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Citrus Heights hosted an organist workshop
last summer. A total of 17 organists from Northern California
participated. The one-day workshop covered a variety of practical
performance issues and techniques for organists. Music from Northwestern
Publishing House was on display and available for purchase. St. Mark’s
Board of Worship graciously covered all expenses so that there was no cost
to the participants other than transportation. Feedback from the
participants was very positive. We would like to present this workshop in
other areas of the district if there is interest. Please inform your
musicians of this possibility and please contact me if you would like to
host an organist workshop at your congregation.
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Hymn Festival Concert:
The facilities and musical resources of our host congregation at this
conference led us to include a Hymn Festival as part of our conference
experience. Such a concert provides a great opportunity for our
congregations to worship together in a unique experience and to create an
outreach event that promotes one of the greatest strengths of the Lutheran
church, our musical heritage. If your congregation is blessed with a good
organ (pipe or digital) and if there are talented WELS musicians in your
area, I may be able to present a hymn festival concert in your area. Please
let me know if such an event would interest your congregation.
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Vestments: I have a variety of vestments including albs and
other items obtained at a very low cost from the Gaspard Company in
Waukesha, Wisconsin. (In most cases the low price is due to an item or
style being discontinued, not because it is flawed). If you are
interested in purchasing new vestments, let me know, and I will be happy to
pass the savings on to you!
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Text-Music-Context:
Several copies of this LC-MS Commission on Worship resource for analyzing
the content of worship music are still available. Please speak to me if you
would like a copy for your use.
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District Web Site Choir Music Resource:
In the near future, choir music planning resources will be available on the
district web site, similar to those distributed last fall. These resources
list examples of reasonably accessible choir music that fit lectionary or
church season themes and that were originally prepared as choir music
schedules in some of our district’s congregations.
Respectfully submitted,
Pastor Johnold J. Strey
District Worship
Coordinator
To link to the WELS Worship web site, click on the banner
above.
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