This month’s newsletter article is dedicated to Atonement’s transition to using the Lutheran Service Book in the Divine Service on Sunday morning. As mentioned in the letter that was put in your mailbox in the middle of June, one hundred copies of Lutheran Service Book and forty-eight Bibles have been purchased. The Bibles and the hymnals will be blessed and prepared for use during the Divine Service on Sunday, July 8. On that Sunday, the second Sunday of the month, the congregation will begin using the hymnal for the order of Matins.
The goal is for the congregation once again to worship with a hymnal. Worshiping with Lutheran Service Book will not only connect the congregation to a well-produced book that contains our Christian-Lutheran heritage and tradition, but it will also connect the congregation more directly to the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), with whom it is affiliated. Atonement will more firmly “walk together” with other LCMS congregations that use the Synod’s current and official hymnal.
The goal is for the congregation once again to worship with a hymnal. Worshiping with Lutheran Service Book will not only connect the congregation to a well-produced book that contains our Christian-Lutheran heritage and tradition, but it will also connect the congregation more directly to the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), with whom it is affiliated. Atonement will more firmly “walk together” with other LCMS congregations that use the Synod’s current and official hymnal.
The orders of service that we have been using for the Divine Service on Sunday morning will remain the same for the time being. Here is a chart that details this information:
1st Sunday= LSB, “Divine Service, Setting II,” Communion, pg. 167.
2nd Sunday= LSB, “Matins,” Non-Communion, pg. 219.
3rd Sunday= LSB, “Divine Service, Setting IV,” (alternative songs) Communion, pg. 203.
4th Sunday= LSB, “Divine Service, Setting II,” Non-Communion, pg. 167.
5th Sunday= LSB, “Divine Service, Setting IV,” (hymn sing) Communion, pg. 203.
The congregation will soon discover while worshiping with LSB that there have been parts of the liturgy, songs and canticles, for instance, which have not been utilized in the Divine Service. With the pew addition of LSB, it will be easier to learn these parts of the service as well as other orders of service (of which there are thirteen in the hymnal). With the LSB it will also be easier for the congregation to learn new hymns to add to its repertoire and try other new things with the service such as the singing of psalms. As the congregation becomes more accustomed to worshiping with LSB, we can begin incorporating these different elements to enrich the Sunday morning Divine Service.
1st Sunday= LSB, “Divine Service, Setting II,” Communion, pg. 167.
2nd Sunday= LSB, “Matins,” Non-Communion, pg. 219.
3rd Sunday= LSB, “Divine Service, Setting IV,” (alternative songs) Communion, pg. 203.
4th Sunday= LSB, “Divine Service, Setting II,” Non-Communion, pg. 167.
5th Sunday= LSB, “Divine Service, Setting IV,” (hymn sing) Communion, pg. 203.
The congregation will soon discover while worshiping with LSB that there have been parts of the liturgy, songs and canticles, for instance, which have not been utilized in the Divine Service. With the pew addition of LSB, it will be easier to learn these parts of the service as well as other orders of service (of which there are thirteen in the hymnal). With the LSB it will also be easier for the congregation to learn new hymns to add to its repertoire and try other new things with the service such as the singing of psalms. As the congregation becomes more accustomed to worshiping with LSB, we can begin incorporating these different elements to enrich the Sunday morning Divine Service.
The congregation currently uses the bulletin and the projector screen in various ways on Sunday morning. The projector screen and the bulletin will still be used. Yet, they will be used ultimately to serve the goal of worshiping with LSB. The order of service will be found in LSB. The bulletin will include a half page insert that gives a brief outline of the order of service for the given Sunday. As you can see from the example of the outline to the left, the LSB page number will be given on the right hand margin to guide the worshiper. If there is no page number and no description of where else a given part of the service can be found, it will be displayed on the projector screen. This is the case for parts of the service that change every week like the “introit,” “prayer of the day,” and the “readings”. The projector screen will also display an outline of the service with LSB page numbers so that the worshiper has an option of which outline method to follow. The outline and its intended use will be explained further to the congregation on Sunday, July 8.
The bulletin will also be used for a couple other purposes. As usual, the readings for each Sunday can be found on the back cover of the bulletin. Also, as usual, general congregational information and the “This Week with My Lord” page can be found printed on the reverse side of the bulletin covers. Along with the half page outline of the order of service for each Sunday, there will continue to be the half page colored sheet for sermon notes. At a later date, the reverse side of this half sheet will be used to print the congregational prayer list and to give a suggested daily prayer format to guide the worshiper in a habit of daily prayer.
Some of you may be wondering what will be done with the copies of the blue hymnal, Lutheran Worship, that is currently in the pews. The majority of Atonement’s copies of Lutheran Worship will be placed in the cabinets underneath the mailboxes located in the narthex. They will remain there through the month of August, at which point they will be donated appropriately. Those wishing to own a personal copy of Lutheran Worship are invited to take one or more copies from the cabinets. Many of the members donated a copy of Lutheran Worship in memorial to a loved one. Memorial copies will be placed in the secretary’s office and those who donated them will be contacted so that they can do with those hymnals as they see fit.
Any transition in the congregation can be both exciting and uneasy all at the same time. The transition to worshiping with LSB and the inclusion of Bibles in the pews is no different. Please know that it is my goal as your pastor that any transition or change in the congregation serve only the proclamation of Christ alone and the identity of the Church as the children of God gathered around the Word and the Sacraments. There will undoubtedly be some turbulence. I ask for the congregation’s patience and prayers. I also assure you that I intend for the Sunday morning Divine Service to be carried forth in a reverent, responsible, and God-pleasing way.
In Christ,
Pastor Josh
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