Crossaccent Vol 23, No 3 | Fall/Winter 2015 Journal of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians

CROSSACCENT VOL 23, NO 3 | FALL/WINTER 2015 JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF LUTHERAN CHURCH MUSICIANS

CrossAccent is published three times per year by the Association of Lutheran Church UDE PREL Musicians. Subscription is included with 2 Editorial Comment—Jennifer Phelps Ollikainen membership in ALCM. Libraries may subscribe at $60 per year by contacting the Business Office. Copyright © 2015 Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. COUNTERPOINT The views expressed on the pages of the journal !e Vocations of Pastors and Musicians: Teams from are those of the authors and do not reflect 3 official positions of the editorial board of the the Lutheran Heritage —Paul Westermeyer journal or of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. This periodical is indexed in the ATLA Religion Database®, a product of the American !e Servant Leader—Eileen Guenther Theological Library Association, 300 S. Wacker Dr., Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60606, USA. 13 e-mail: [email protected], www.atla.com. ISSN 2151–1772 Editor: Jennifer Phelps Ollikainen !e Renewal of Worship in the Renewal of the Church as Music Editor: Lara West 21 Eschatological Reality—William Weedon Book Editor: Paul Grime Copy Editor: Anne-Marie Bogdan Graphic Design: Kathryn Hillert Brewer Editorial Office Luther’s Liturgical Reforms and the Origins of Jennifer Phelps Ollikainen, Editor Evangelical Lutheran Worship—Timothy J. Wengert 1127 Magazine Road 27 Green Lane, PA 18054 [email protected] Editorial Board Twelve Years a Lutheran: Some Peculiar Legacies Kent Burreson Paul Friesen-Carper 42 of a Peculiar Institution—Harvard Stephens Jr. Joseph Herl Nancy Raabe Stephen Rosebrock Advertising Office EVIEW BOOKR Cheryl Dieter, Advertising Coordinator Worship and Culture: Foreign Country or Homeland? 810 Freeman St. 60 Valparaiso, IN 46383 ed. by Gláucia Vasconcelos Wilkey—John Arthur Nunes 800.624.2526 219.548.2526 [email protected] ALCM Business Office OUNDS FEST Cheryl Dieter, Business Manager 64 New Music Association of Lutheran Church Musicians 810 Freeman St. Valparaiso, IN 46383 800.624.2526 219.548.2526 UDE POSTL offi[email protected] 80 From the ALCM President—Anne Krentz Organ www.ALCM.org

The Association of Lutheran Church Musicians is a service and professional organization that works to strengthen the practice of worship and Cover art: Worship at 2015 Biennial Conference, photo by John Santoro. church music of all North American Lutherans. Membership is open to any person or institution whose interests are in harmony with the Associa- tion’s goals. Address all change of address, ALCM OFFICERS subscriptions, and business correspondence to President: Anne Krentz Organ Region 1 (Northeast) President: John Weit the ALCM Business Ofﬁce. President-Elect: Julie Potts Grindle Region 2 (Southeast) President: Sarah Hawbecker Secretary/Treasurer: Kevin Barger Region 3 (Midwest) President: Linda Martin Directors at Large: Scott Hyslop, Michael Krentz Region 4 (West) President: Kim Cramer

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 1 L PRELUDE "e Rev. Dr. Jennifer Phelps Ollikainen $ditor% CrossAccent

alled to Be a Living Voice” was the Lutheran church. Citing recent statistics about “ theme of the 2015 biennial conference the lack of diversity in our Lutheran denomina- C of the Association of Lutheran Church tions, Stephens encourages us to talk about how Musicians; ALCM met concurrently with the worship supports the ongoing struggles for jus- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Wor- tice and freedom strengthened by the vision of ship Jubilee in July in Atlanta, GA. Hundreds of the whole, diverse people of God in Christ. musicians, pastors, and lay leaders worshipped Timothy Wengert traces a line of liturgi- together, asked questions, shared wisdom, ex- cal reform straight from Luther’s time of reform plored new ideas, and celebrated the ways God until today in the ELCA’s Evangelical Lutheran calls us to experience God’s life-giving presence Worship. !en and now, a (exible pattern for in the many ways of worship. Together we em- worship, diverse hymnody, and a common lec- bodied the living voice of the gospel. tionary set the stage for worship that proclaims !is issue of CrossAccent captures some of the gospel of Jesus Christ. the wisdom of a few of the presenters and work- William Weedon proposes that the renewal shop leaders from the conference. !e elements of worship is centered in its eschatological re- of this issue consist of the manuscripts and sum- ality as the resurrection church breaking in to maries of these live presentations edited for print. our lives, today, singing the resurrection song of In order to make room for this conference con- Christ. Worship strengthens the believers for the tent, the TakeNote and Chorus sections of this battle of fear and doubt by the clear proclama- journal were not included in this issue. tion of the word in preaching, song, and prayer. Paul Westermeyer and Eileen Guenther were No issue of a journal can capture the live- plenary presenters, both centering on the work- ly experience of a conference of those called to ing partnership between pastors and musicians. explore and renew the worship of the church. Westermeyer o&ers a historical perspective, However, this small taste of the event’s content highlighting partnerships between clergy and will sustain our conversation until the next time musicians whose legacy continues to have an we come together at our regional gatherings in impact on our worship life today. Guenther il- 2016. lustrates and examines the qualities necessary for working as a worship team centered in gospel proclamation. Harvard Stephens seeks to encourage dialogue on behalf of ethnic and racial groups who seek a place of wholeness and dignity within the

2 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT

The Vocations of Pastors and Musicians: Teams from the Lutheran Heritage and Today by Paul Westermeyer collaborative process was shared by clergy, mu- Ron Koch and Zita sicians, poets, and people. !is was connected Weyland, pastor and he work that individual clergy and mu- to the lectionary, the hymn of the day, and the musician at Good sicians do together on the living voice sermon. Cantatas broke open the word just like Shepherd Lutheran Church, Gilroy, of the gospel is encouraging, but it only the sermon. Sometimes they surrounded the ser- T California since comes alive in the church as a whole when it has mon. Lutherans wove together word and song 1991, share the communal support across the church. Lutherans for the glory of God and the good of humani- peace at the closing developed that communal support by taking the ty. !ey utilized the fullest spoken resources of service at the best of the church’s congregational and choral preaching and the fullest musical resources of Atlanta conference. song from across the church’s history and de- choirs, instrumentalists, and soloists, along with veloping it further. Lutherans didn’t make this the fullest poetic resources that writers created up. !ey took what they inherited from pastors, and composers set for each Sunday and feast day musicians, and congregations who had for cen- of the church year.1 Clergy, musicians, poets, turies been working together on the music that and congregations together proclaimed the liv- surrounded the readings and the preaching— ing voice of the gospel. the living voice of the gospel—and they kept it going. !e cantatas J. S. Bach and his contem- Clergy–Musician Collaborators poraries wrote in the 18th century ran out the implications of this development even further. Luther as Example What stands out here is that commu- As Ulrich Leupold says, Martin Luther (1483– nal church-wide collaboration was in play. A 1546) “dragged his feet” in editing a German

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 3 L COUNTERPOINT Luther could have ﬁgured out a German edition of the Mass by himself but he did not: he asked musicians for help.

the Mass) was to be harnessed—incarnated—for those he was serving. In our individualistic age we tend to view Luther as a radical who broke from the church and did whatever he happened to “like.” When you look at what Luther actually did, you see that his likes were not determinative and that he was deeply attuned to the church’s wisdom and to the +nest musical crafting it had spawned for congregations and for choirs. Luther could have +gured out a German edition of the Mass by himself but he did not: Deutsche Messe, he asked musicians for help. One of them was 1526 cover Johann Walter (1496–1570), a bass singer and composer, sometimes called the +rst cantor of version of the Mass, though his friends had the Lutheran church,5 who—in 1524, a year urged him to do it.2 He edited the Latin Mass after the publication of Formula Missae—had in 1523 (Formula Missae), but the German Mass worked with Luther to publish the Geistliche (Deutsche Messe) did not appear until 1526, three Gesangbüchlein, a collection of polyphonic mo- years later. As Leupold points out, Luther hesi- tets based on Lutheran chorales. In 1526 Luther tated partly because he objected to the dangers asked him and Konrad Rupsch6 for help on the of compulsion and legalism, but his biggest con- German Mass. Walter wrote his memoirs around cern was “artistic integrity.”3 He knew that the 1566 and explained what happened. music had to be adapted to the German language When he, Luther, forty years ago desired to and realized the problems that would be creat- introduce the German mass in Wittenberg, ed by simply putting Latin notes over German he...urged [the Prince Elector of Saxony] words. In his pamphlet against the Enthusiasts to bring the old singing master, the worthy in 1524 he said he wanted to be sure text and mu- Konrad Rupsch, and me to Wittenberg. At sic +t the mother tongue: that time he discussed with us the Gregori- I would gladly have a German mass today, an chants and the nature of the eight modes, and I am going to work on it, but I should like and +nally he himself applied the eighth it to be of a genuinely German nature, for, mode to the Epistle and the sixth mode to although I will tolerate a translation of the the Gospel, saying: “Christ is a kind Lord, Latin text and Latin tunes, I do not approve and His Words are sweet: therefore we want of it, for it sounds neither right nor pleasant. to take the sixth mode for the Gospel; and Both text and music (accent, melody, and because Paul is a serious apostle we want to gesture) must come from the mother tongue. arrange the eighth mode for the Epistle.” Lu- Otherwise it is but an imitation like that of ther himself wrote the music for the lessons monkeys.4 and the words of institution of the true body and blood of Christ, sang them to me, and !at is, Luther was concerned about the +n- wanted to hear my opinion of it. He kept me est possible crafting of music for the people. !e for three weeks to note down properly the inherited wisdom of the church (in this case, of

4 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT chants of the Gospels and the Epistles, until Teams of pastors and musicians have, against the +rst mass was sung in Wittenberg. I had to attend it and take a copy of this mass with the odds—with the help of the Holy Spirit— me to Torgau....It can be seen from the Ger- been among those who have enabled the man Sanctus how he arranged all the notes to the text with the right accent and concent in singing by adapting to the context without masterly fashion.7 collapsing into it, in but not of the world. What we need to note is not Luther’s musical skill but that—in spite of his skill—he odds—with the help of the Holy Spirit—been asked musicians for help. Already in the 1520s, among those who have enabled the singing by when evangelical editing was +rst being done on adapting to the context without collapsing into liturgical and musical materials, clergy and mu- it, in but not of the world. Here are some ex- sicians were working together on what has been amples of teamwork from the Lutheran heritage, and still is so important for Lutherans, the viva century by century. vox evangelii,8 the “living voice of the gospel” in which “say and sing” (or, perhaps better, “sing and say”) is always a “single concept.”9 "e 16th Century In the 16th century Luther and the musicians Teams Overcoming Obstacles he worked with were beset by opposing forces: some wanted no change, some were iconoclasts, through the Centuries some wanted ill-advised changes, some wanted !e church has faced many obstacles. !ese one restricted musical style, and some wanted no have a&ected its singing. Cultures have creaked, music at all. Luther and the musicians he worked changed, and disappeared. !ere have been with stayed the course, +gured things out to- persecutions, barbarian invasions, language gether, and stimulated a remarkable outpouring changes; plagues, wars, rumors of wars; changing of faithful congregational and choral music from philosophical foundations; revolutions, reforma- then until now. tions, atheist states, heresies; the state co-opting the church; the church co-opting the state; in- "e 17th Century stitutional collapses, +nancial crises, disputes, In the 17th century Paul Gerhardt (1607–76) splits, mergers; injustice from within; ingrown and Johann Crüger (1598–1662) collaborat- ostentatious excess; no concern for the world ed. Gerhardt became the associate pastor at St. or for the most vulnerable people in it; people Nicholas Church in Berlin in 1657. In 1666, who are impossible to work with; skewed views of music as ornament, emotional titillation, sales Paul Gerhardt (1607–76) Johann Crüger (1598–1662) tool, and propaganda; the pretense of the “popular,” which is toxic for congregational singing; pastors who destroyed choral and congregational singing with their narrow agendas; musicians who abused both their o/ce and the people they served; attempts to stop music altogether; and our theological education system that largely shuts music and musicians out of theological study and shuts pastors out of the study of worship, hymnody, and music. What is remarkable is this: with but few exceptions, the church has continued to sing around word, font, and table, no matter what. Teams of pastors and musicians have, against the

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 5 L COUNTERPOINT because of theological disputes not of his mak- "e 18th Century ing, he was removed from St. Nicholas despite For the 18th century J. S. Bach needs to be the il- objections from the people he served. Crüger lustration because he gets charged with being the was the cantor at St. Nicholas Church for 40 typical church musician: irascible, quarrelsome, years, from 1622 until his death in 1662. He was stubborn, and impossible to work with. Whether there when Gerhard came but died before Ger- or not that is accurate depends upon one’s point hard was dismissed. Gerhardt and Crüger were of view, but two things should be said here that together at St. Nicholas for only +ve years, from are seldom said elsewhere. 1657 until 1662. However, they had collaborat- First, as Günther Stiller tells us, “during ed before that. the entire ministry of Bach at Leipzig the o/ce In 1640 Crüger published the +rst edition10 of chief clergyman at St. Nicholas [the Leipzig of what in 1644 became the Praxis Pietatis Mel- church, along with St. !omas, for which Bach ica which went through 50 expanding editions had the musical responsibility] remained in the for the next century, long after Crüger had died. hands of one and the same person..., Dr. Sa- In it Crüger included many hymns by Ger- lomon Deyling” (Stiller, 67). He was called in hardt, many with tunes Crüger wrote for them. 1720, three years before Bach came, and he died Two of these collaborations are “O Lord, How in 1755, +ve years after Bach died. !ey collab- Shall I Meet You” with W=> ?@DD =QX Z=QX orated weekly. >\^_`{|>{ (ELW 241, LSB 334, CW 18) and [Bach] regularly at the beginning of each “Awake, My Heart, with Gladness” with A}_, week sent [Deyling] several (usually three) `}_, \>={ H>~ (ELW 378, LSB 467, CW 156). texts of his church cantatas arranged for the day, and then Deyling chose one. Bach’s very o/ce required harmonious cooperation with the chief pastors, and the speci+c choice of the right cantata is simply based on the fact that Bach’s cantatas were composed in more or less close dependence on the Gospel for the Sunday and that also the sermons in the main services every year treated the Gospel for the Sunday, and so mutual checking was necessary. (Ibid., 219) Second, one of my predecessors at Luther Seminary, Laurence Field11(1896–1983), wrote a biography of Bach12 in which he sketched the context. He said that Bach’s quarrels about his duties, about whether a preacher could choose “trashy” hymns, and about whether boys admit- ted to his choir were expected to have musical capacities (Field, 112–14) may look petty, but that the very stubbornness with which Bach de- fended his contentions, the fact that he turned out to be right ultimately in each case, and the fact that when the issues were +nally settled there was peace, all indicate that there were principles at stake larger than the immediate causes might indicate. (Ibid., 112)

Dr. Salomon Deyling was chief clergyman at St. Nicholas in Leipzig during Bach’s tenure. They collaborated weekly.

6 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT best of the church’s musical instincts in the current context, with the discovery that to serve the world music cannot be a replication of the culture but has “another spirit.”14 It required teamwork. Here are two 19th-century members of the team. Harriet Reynolds Krauth Spaeth (1845– 1925) was the granddaughter of Charles Philip Krauth (1797–1867), president of Gettysburg (then called Pennsylvania) College, who in 1838 prepared Hymns, Selected and Arranged Bach wrote Soli Deo Gloria on his scores—“to for Sunday Schools, an early attempt at Lutheran the glory of God alone.” identity. She was the daughter of Charles Por- ter+eld Krauth (1823–1883), a pastor and one Quoting Christhard Marenholz, Stiller iso- of the +ve original faculty members at Lutheran lates what was at stake: “Bach was contending... !eological Seminary at Philadelphia.15 He not for the musical products of his creative ef- helped to compile Church Book (1868).16 forts but for the +nal purpose of his creative Harriet married Adolph Spaeth (1839– e&orts” (Stiller, 255). !at explains why Bach 1910) after his +rst wife died. Spaeth wrote Soli Deo Gloria on his scores—“to the was a New Testament scholar from glory of God alone.” !at explains Bach’s mem- Tübingen, Germany, who taught at orandum to the Leipzig town council that laid the Philadelphia seminary and was an out the resources necessary to do his job.13 And avid musician with strong interests in that most often explains the concerns of church worship. musicians (church musicians, not musicians who Harriet lived at a center of this play in churches). confessional recovery. She was a singer, pi- Bach represents church musicians very well. anist, and organist who was educated at the Harriet Reynolds !eir vocation requires a concern about the +nal Girls’ School of Philadelphia. She lived alone Krauth Spaeth purpose of the music they are making with the until she married Spaeth at the age of thirty-+ve. (1845–1925) people they serve. Concerns are always +ltered, She translated German and Scandinavian as Field says, through “life [that is] made up of hymns. Two of her translations are: “Your Little little things..., the constant local irritations, the Ones, Dear Lord” (ELW 286, CW 46) and the commonplaces of existence [about which] peo- third stanza of “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” ple most often quarrel” (Field, 112–13), but (ELW 272, LSB 359). substantive issues are at stake because substan- !ough only 23 when Church Book was pub- tive issues are what music in the church is about lished in 1868, she was prepared to provide music and what church musicians are called to repre- for it. Four years later she published Church Book sent. Teamwork means holding up the side of the with Music (1872), grafting music from English bargain one is called to hold up, not dropping it sources onto the Germanic ones of the Luther- for the counterproductive pretense of peace. an heritage, adapted to the American context. It was quite able work. She also was the organist "e 19th Century for “many years,” probably beginning in 1866, at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church (near the Uni- !e 19th-century confessional musical activity versity of Pennsylvania), where she worked with of Lutherans in this country—similar to com- her father and others who were pastors there.17 parable activity across the whole church here, in She resigned in 1880 when she married Adolph Europe, and in Great Britain—paralleled what Spaeth. Her life was not without rivalry, though Lutherans did in the 16th century. It was about that was probably not of her making. It came in understanding, harnessing, and developing the

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 7 L COUNTERPOINT a book called Church Song (1875), prepared by a pastor and his organist, Joseph Seiss and Charles Engelmann. !ey and part of St. John’s Church in Philadelphia left St. John’s and formed !e Church of the Holy Communion.18 Harriet Krauth Spaeth has received little recognition, though her work was pivotal.19 !is is partly because she was a 19th-century woman hidden among well-known men. But she was not a wall(ower: she travelled, studied, did good work, and collaborated in an equal partnership of give and take. She did not seem to care if she were noticed. For example, she is hard to trace,20 partially because she allowed her name to take so many forms: Harriet Reynolds Krauth, Harriet Reynolds Spaeth, Harriet R. Spaeth, and H. R. Krauth. She seems to have understood how re- sponsible work is done in the church: it is done in community with others, for its time and place in the light of all times and places, faithfully, as

part of a team. JOHN SANTORO William Benbow (1865–1939) is another most readily and afterward loathe most hearti- little-known +gure from this period. Benbow ly” (ibid., 482). came to Trinity Church in Reading, PA, as or- It is hard to conceive of an article like that ganist and choirmaster in 1883 when he was 18. from someone who has not faithfully served He stayed for 30 years then went to Holy Trinity people as a church musician in tandem with in Bu&alo, NY. He contributed two ably-con- the clergy. !at is exactly what he did. Gunnar structed hymn tunes in the style of the period Knudsen, the author of the history of Trini- to Common Service Book (1917): S`@{`~@D` for ty Church in Reading, is not bashful about “Jesus, Refuge of the Weary” (no. 92) and A\- problems and problematic people, but he gives {@? for “Let !y Blood in Mercy Poured” (no. Benbow high marks. He quotes the minutes of 188). the church in 1913 when Benbow left for Holy Fifteen years after Benbow came to Trinity, Trinity in Bu&alo. !ey list what Benbow did in he wrote a tightly packed article for #e Luther- musical and other ways and make it clear that an Church Review about the function of music in the church was sad to see him go but that his the church.21 He called for “a conference of cler- leaving was not because of “any lack of harmony gymen and musicians to discuss such matters” between him and the Vestry, or by unpleasant- (Benbow, 484)—which did in fact happen— ness in his relations with the Congregation.” and for “more articles about such topics” (ibid.). !ey extended their “cordial wishes.”22 He discussed various aspects of music and sum- Knudsen notes a successor to Benbow, Hen- marized the thought of the church quite well: ry Seibert. He studied with Benbow, then with music is “to praise God, to o&er a vehicle for Pietro Yon, and then went to Holy Trinity in the prayers and thanksgivings of the church, New York. His successor at Trinity in Read- and to help in edifying [God’s] people” (ibid., ing, Carroll Hartline, studied with him, “thus 479–80). And he made this telling observation: beginning the third generation of the splendid “the experience of the centuries has proven that Benbow in(uence on Trinity’s music” (Knud- music having an easy and delightful swing and sen, 87). well-sugared is the kind that people will love !e “Benbow in(uence” points to teamwork

8 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT across generations. Over a century before Benbow 910, CW 231) and “God of the Sparrow” (ELW came to Trinity in Reading, David Tannenberg 740) for which Carl Schalk wrote the tunes had installed one of his +ne organs there.23 It was N@ and R@>Z>~. Susan Briehl wrote “By transferred to a new building in 1794 and used Your Hand You Feed Your People” (ELW 469) until 1873, ten years before Benbow came, when for which Marty Haugen wrote the tune C`\- it was sold to another church that burned some ~@?>. Herman Stuemp(e wrote “Voices Raised years later.24 !e in(uence of well-crafted visu- to You” (ELW 845, LSB 795) for which Carolyn al and musical art for a community cannot be Jennings wrote the tune S@{| @_ P~`=?>. Col- underestimated. And the Benbow in(uence it- laborations such as these continue to happen in a self extended after Benbow went to Holy Trinity wide ecumenical frame that includes Lutherans. in Bu&alo where +ne musicians followed him My colleagues who taught in the Master of there, among them Roberta Bitgood and John Sacred Music degree program at Luther Semi- Becker. nary provide admirable examples of teamwork. Another Lutheran clergy–musician collabo- !ey include about 30 musicians, among them ration in the 19th century was Nikolai Grundtvig Anton Armstrong, David Cherwien, John Fergu- (1783–1872) and Ludvig Lindeman (1812–87): son, and Mark Sedio.25 !ese teachers followed Grundtvig wrote “Built on a Rock” for which other team players at Luther Seminary and its Lindeman wrote the tune K=~>{ Z>{ >~ |`\- predecessors. I earlier mentioned Laurence Field \>D X}? (ELW 652, LSB 645, CW 529). in connection with his biography of Bach. !ere were many others. !ey include J. Arndt Bergh "e 20th and 21st Centuries (1847–1927) at Red Wing Seminary; Valborg In our period also, clergy and musicians have Hovind Stub (1860–1961), a Norwegian singer worked together on texts and tunes. Jaroslav Va- who had studied in Leipzig, Weimar, and Paris, jda wrote “Now the Silence” (ELW 460, LSB and taught chanting at the Norwegian Synod’s

Luther Seminary; Peter Rydning (1866–1919),

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1DYDKR&DQ\RQE\'RQ:HVW ZZZGRQZHVWÀQHDUWFRP WORSHIP.CALVIN.EDU CALVIN INSTITUTE OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, USA AND THEC ENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN PREACHING Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 9 L COUNTERPOINT an organist and choirmaster who studied at the how to serve the congregation that she loves. Fi- Conservatory of Music in Oslo and taught chant- nally she is a complete wreck and says in tears, ing and church music at United Seminary; John “I’ve had it. I quit. I’m never taking another Dahle (1853–1951), one of the original 11 pro- church job again”—and she quits. fessors at the merged Luther Seminary in 1917 Friends encourage her to apply for another and organist and choir director at Christ Luther- position. She refuses at +rst but eventually re- an Church in St Paul, MN, a friend of F. Melius lents and says, “OK, I’ll apply to get you o& my Christiansen (1871–1955) who also taught at back, but I don’t expect that this will work.” Our Luther Seminary; Larry Fleming (1936–2003), wrecked musician gets the position and, with re- who later organized the National Lutheran luctance, takes it. Choir and whose work at Luther Seminary led Her playing and conducting skills at +rst that school to commission a piece26 from Domi- remain below her skill level, but the pastor and nick Argento (b. 1927) that the Seminary Choir the members of the church—mostly by their premiered at Central Lutheran Church in Min- demeanor—encourage their new recruit. Her neapolis; Gerhard Cartford (b. 1923), an expert musical skills gradually return and increase. Af- on the Norwegian and Spanish heritages who ter some years the pastor retires. Other pastors later translated Cantad al Señor (“O Sing to come and go. !ey all treat musicians with re- the Lord”; ELW 822, LSB 808); Herman Preus spect as colleagues. After several decades she (1896–1995), who taught chanting; Edward D. retires, having been blessed with wonderful pas- Berryman (1920–2008); Clarence Lund (1909– toral colleagues and robust worship services. 85); Charles Johnson (1913–93); Harold Krull I could tell you less-happy stories: of splen- (1928–2004); and Kathryn Moen (b. 1920). did pastors who tried but failed to work with !ese musicians collaborated with churches un-cooperative musicians; of musicians who and schools by their presence, students, mu- have had temper tantrums that pastors and con- sic, teaching, study, and writing. I suspect some gregations foolishly tolerated, saying, “!at’s of them may have been cantankerous at times. just what church musicians do.” I can also tell !ough that is not to be encouraged, it’s what you many more and much worse stories of happens in human relationships and is not the church musicians who were treated unjustly point. !e point is the systemic collaborative and left the church or who were +red unjustly educational networks like this that have charac- as scapegoats for problems not of their making.27 terized Lutherans from the Reformation through If these things happened to clergy so regularly, the St. !omas school in Leipzig in the 18th cen- they would not be tolerated. But for church mu- tury to the present. sicians they are par for the course, relegated to personality disputes so that issues of substance Clergy–Musician Partnerships can be avoided. !ese are the publicized stories, the destructive ones I hear about at every confer- Musical partnerships like this still work among ence I attend, and the ones that tear the church us, with similar joys and challenges. To protect into pieces for many years. such living collegial examples I will alter, scram- We usually do not hear about the construc- ble, and mix their details into a single composite. tive circumstances. !is is not only a Christian I’ll call this composite person “she,” though it reality. As the composer Mohammed Fairouz represents as many men as women. says, “Peace never makes headlines.”28 !ough On a number of occasions a church mu- not in the headlines, meaningful collegial re- sician contacts me in various states of anger, lationships between pastors, musicians, and frustration, and tears because of the way she is congregations do exist. !e music of such con- being treated by the clergy. !e abuse causes her gregations, in the midst of the normal problems, conducting and her playing to su&er. Personal re(ects health and shalom. It is important in problems develop, and she struggles to +gure out their life together and is often quite well done

10 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT because the common good and the adaptive ex-

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f g h i j k l m n o f p or quick +xes. e !is adaptive experimentation leads to music that may or may not last beyond the occasions for which it was prepared. !e abundance of music the church produced long before we were born and the amount of music it has not kept, which has served as a sieve for what is worth repeating, means that the quietly con- structive collaborations not in the headlines have been present throughout the entire history of the church—in spite of the obstacles; with creative use of con(icts; in, but not of, the world. !ese are the baptismal oases of the church. !ey have nothing to do with size, numbers, resources, money, programs, power, prestige, in- (uence, or statistics. !ey are about members of the body of Christ +guring out together what we are called to do, no matter what the circumstances. !ey are about the sounding form of the church in season and out of season, and they still (ourish. !ey encourage us not to lose heart, to tend them well, and to give thanks for the living voice of the gospel in its “sing and say,” around

word, font, and table, as we bear “God’s creative

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Music; and Church Musicians: Re(ections on

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¨ © ª « ¬ ¤ £ ¨ ® ¬ ¯ ¨ « £ ¨ £ ° ¨ ¨ ¥ Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 11 L COUNTERPOINT Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion (BWV 245): A “einen anderen Geist.” ee ¤aul ©estermeyer% Theological Commentary eiden rill% % – hurch ¡usic at the $nd of the th entury%£ and – Lutheran Quarterly % no pring – lrich eupold% ntroduction he erman ¬ohn ¤eterson% email to author% ¡ay % ¤e ¡ass and ¢rder of ervice%£ in ¡artin uther% terson is at the utheran rchives enter at ¤hil Luther’s Works, vol. 53, Liturgy and Hymns, ed adelphia and supplied this and other details about lrich eupold ¤hiladelphia ¥ortress% % ¯arriet eynolds «rauth paeth and ©illiam bid% % enbow ¡artin uther% quoted in ¤aul ¦ettl% Luther and ccording to uther eed% The Lutheran Liturgy, Music ¦ew §ork ussell ¨ ussell% % – rev ed ¤hiladelphia ¥ortress% % % this was the best liturgy and hymnal which the utheran ¥or more about ©alter see arl chalk% Johann Wal- hurch in merica had yet produced£ ter: First Cantor of the Lutheran Church t ouis oncordia% ¬ohn ¤eterson% emails to author% ¡ay and % «onrad upsch or onrad upff c – was a erman composer and the Kapellmeister for ee ¤aul ©estermeyer% ©hat hall ©e ing in a ¥rederick the ©ise ¥oreign and³£ ¤h dissertation% niversity of hicago% % f ¬ohann ©alter% quoted in ¦ettl% – ee ibid% ff and obert ¯awkins% Prelude ee arl chalk% Music in Early Lutheranism: Shap- and Fugue on the Life of Harriet Reynolds Krauth ing the Tradition (1524–1672) t ouis oncordia Spaeth, 1845–1925 ¡inneapolis utheran niver cademic ¤ress% % – sity ¤ress% arl chalk% Luther on Music: Paradigms of Praise ee ¤aul ©estermeyer% Hymnal Companion to Evan- t ouis oncordia% % r ¬ochen rnold gelical Lutheran Worship ¡inneapolis ugsburg director of the ¡ichaelis «loster $vangelisches ¥ortress% % % n ®entrum für ottesdienst und «irchenmusik in ©illiam enbow% he ¥unction of ¡usic in the ¯ildesheim% ermany asked me why we in $nglish ervice of the hurch%£ The Lutheran Church Re- know this phrase as say and sing£ rather than in its view ¬uly – original erman sing and say£ told him didn°t know ¯e wondered if it was because $nglishspeak unnar «nudsen% Two Living Centuries: The Story ing theologians wanted their words to precede mu of Trinity Lutheran Church ´«utztown% ¤ «utz sic ¥urther thought about this led me to conclude town ¤ublishingµ% % that it°s a more benign matter of rhyme and accent he contract made in ¢ctober% % specified that he first stanza of the hymn “²om ¯immel hoch£ it was to be set up for use by eptember % £ ¥rom ¯eaven bove£ concludes in erman with ©illiam ¯ rmstrong% Organs for America ¤hila singn und sage will to make a slant rhyme with viel delphia niversity of ¤ennsylvania ¤ress% % that ends the previous line ©hen atherine ©ink bid% and rian « rupp% A History of Trinity worth translated it into $nglish it became say and Lutheran Church, 1751–2011 % sing£ to rhyme with bring£ «ristin ongstad% the ¡¡ administrative assis Newes vollkömliches Gesangbuch Augsburgischer tant% counted about musicians who taught class Confession. es from until hose who were guest aurence ¦ ¥ield – was professor of lecturers and leaders of conferences make a consid practical theology and church music from erably longer list until he retired in he evelation of aint ¬ohn the ivine£ oosey aurence ¦ ¥ield% Johann Sebastian Bach and ¯awkes% ¡inneapolis ugsburg% have addressed this systemic injustice in Church ¬ ach% hort ut ¡ost ¦ecessary raft for a Musicians: Reflections on Their Call, Craft, History, ©ellppointed hurch ¡usic% with ertain ¡od and Challenges t ouis ¡orningtar% est eflections on the ecline of the ame%£ in The ¡ohammed ¥airouz% quoted in «rista ippett% New Bach Reader: A Life of Johann Sebastian Bach in ¡ohammed ¥airouz— he ©orld in ounter Letters and Documents, ed ¯ans avid and r point%£ accessed pril % % wwwonbeingorg thur ¡endel% new ed% rev and enl hristoph ©olff ¦ew §ork ¦orton% % –

12 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT

The Servant Leader

Editor’s Note: by Eileen Guenther This presentation is based on the author’s eadership in the church, the people who are called to be book, Rivals or a Team? leaders, and the ways they exercise it have been the sub- Clergy-Musician L ject of many books. We want desperately to get it right in Relationships in the an age where means are confused with ends and there is little Twenty-First Century agreement on what “right” really is. I suggest that the qualities (MorningStar, 2012). of servant leadership have a direct role in enabling a productive and mutually ful+lling relationship between clergy and musicians.

Looking Within Peter Senge writes, “!e servant-leader is servant +rst…as opposed to wanting power, in(uence, fame or wealth.” A servant leader asks, do my own needs take second place to the needs of

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 13 L COUNTERPOINT Servant Leaders:. contagion among team members to unlock their own leadership abilities.…E&ective Our role is one of enabling the prayer leaders bring out the leadership in others.3 and praise of the gathered community. Servant Leaders Share Control !e e&ective leader is not always the leader and others? “Do those [I serve] grow as persons? Do is not always the one “in charge.” I’m sure you’ve they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, seen a (ock of (ying geese: sometimes one is in freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves the lead, and sometimes that one falls back and 1 to become servants?” When we choose to be allows another to take the point position. Like- servant leaders, in(uence, power, position, and wise, a wise leader +lls di&erent roles at di&erent a desire to control are less important than serv- times, knows which role is most appropriate in ing others. a given circumstance, and is able to switch roles Yet clergy and musicians are used to being between leader, peer, coach, and follower within charge. As choral conductors and worship out skipping a beat. leaders we are in key positions to determine the Servant leaders do not attempt to go it alone elements of worship as well as its pace and quali- and do not assume that they need to control the ty. However, while in one sense we are in charge, vision and strategies and their implementation. we are ultimately servants of God and servants “!e solo leader is rarely associated with e&ective of the liturgy. It is not about us, our interpre- leadership,” my colleague Lovett Weems writes.4 tation, or our amazing skills. Our role is one of While many denominations have a heavi- enabling the prayer and praise of the gathered ly hierarchical sta/ng structure, cutting-edge community. leadership models these days are not hierarchi- “!e clergy and musicians who experience cal. !ey are “(attened”: the smoothest and most productive working re- Healthy organizations are “(atten- lationships,” says Charlotte Kroeker, “embrace ing” the [organizational] chart to encourage servant leadership styles in which their common teamwork, free-(owing relationships, and tasks and respect for each other are the domi- individual creativity. Even traditionally py- nant factors.”2 ramidal organizations like the military and !is is far from the unfortunate motto “my corporations +nd that teams perform well way or the highway” that characterizes some in when allowed freedom in decision-making leadership positions. Here are some of the key and responding to changed circumstances. !is new [approach] requires new attitudes ways servant leaders lead. toward power, control, and accountability, as well as heightened trust in people to function Servant Leaders Are Humble responsibly outside command-and-control 5 Humility is nonnegotiable. Many brilliant indi- structures. viduals and powerful preachers have been people Servant leaders don’t care who gets credit for of deep humility and self-e&acement. any success. !eir dedication is to others, not to !e most e&ective leaders were those bringing glory to themselves. who subjugated their ego needs in favor of the team’s goal. Servant Leaders:. !ey allowed team members to take an active part in shaping the destiny of the …do not attempt to go it alone team’s e&ort. and do not assume that they !ey allowed them to decide, to make need to control the choices, to act, to do something meaningful. !e result of this approach was the cre- vision and strategies and ation of the “multiplier e&ect.” It created a their implementation.

14 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT Servant Leaders Have Self-Knowledge Servant Leaders Demonstrate Leaders need to have a realistic sense of personal Self-Discipline strengths and weaknesses. !is knowledge al- No matter how smart or talented we are, we lows us to seek out people who have skills we must be disciplined and organized. Most of us ourselves lack. wouldn’t have the jobs we have if we lacked these It is also good to know our own limits: how skills. !ere are other advantages, as James C. many late-night meetings or rehearsals, extra Collins says: “When you have disciplined peo- classes, speaking engagements, or recitals can ple, you don’t need hierarchy. When you have we manage without getting grumpy or exhaust- disciplined thought, you don’t need bureaucra- ed? Knowing when enough is bordering on too cy. When you have disciplined action, you don’t much is crucial for our health and the sanity of need excessive controls.”7 our families and friends. Servant Leaders Have Personal Integrity Servant Leaders:. Servant leaders not only communicate honestly, we truly are people of integrity. Our words …a realistic sense of personal and actions are consistent; we demonstrate in strengths and weaknesses. … our lives what we say we believe. People are con- allows us to seek out people +dent that we will speak the truth, even if it casts us in an unfavorable light. We recognize and re- who have skills we ourselves spect boundaries, make sure not to do anything lack. that leaves our integrity open to question, and follow through on commitments. And we keep con+dences. Servant Leaders Have Self-Con#dence Self-con+dence is important and must not be Servant Leaders Are Creative confused with egotism. Being self-con+dent Whether brainstorming with a worship plan- means having a sure sense of one’s skills and ning team or engaging in solo meditation, value as a human being and as a child of God. servant leaders are open to our God-given cre- When leaders adopt the mask of bravado, it’s de- ative inspiration. Creativity can involve doing signed to cover up their insecurities. !ey fear something for the +rst time—or doing familiar showing human weakness and revealing that things in new ways. !e possibilities are endless they really do not know everything. and, while we can be creative on our own, work- As Henri Nouwen writes, “We are afraid of ing as a team can magnify the possibilities. being judged and found wanting.…You are +ne as who you are. Have faith in yourself, instead of Servant Leaders Show Vulnerability requiring approval from others, and then get on with being connected in community.”6 !e ability to be vulnerable—showing colleagues our true self, our feelings or fears—is an invaluable element in leadership. In fact, it’s been Servant Leaders:. said that if we’re not willing to make ourselves vulnerable, we won’t be very good leaders.8 Ad- Being self-conﬁdent means mit it if you have doubts about an idea; or share having a sure sense of one’s about a situation in which you felt insecure or a skills and value as a human time when things just didn’t go well for you. No matter what they think, leaders don’t being and as a child of God. need to have all the answers or even appear to have all the answers. Honesty and vulnerability

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 15 L COUNTERPOINT Servant Leaders:. Clergy: look like you care when you sing the hymns or liturgy. During the anthem, resist the No matter what they think, temptation to review your sermon notes or make leaders don’t need to have all “to do” lists for the coming week when you’re the answers or even appear to not actively involved in leading the service. You are not encouraging participation when it looks have all the answers. like you have something more important to do at the moment. can pay dividends and may encourage others’ Musicians: no silent practicing at the key- creativity beyond anyone’s wildest expectations. board during the sermon and no Facebook status updates or text messaging. Participate in Servant Leaders Demonstrate the prayers and listen attentively to the sermon. And stay in the sanctuary during the sermon. As Accountability a clergy colleague pleaded, “Please, please, please Accountability is a component of stewardship. tell church musicians that preachers do not ap- As clergy and musicians who are servant lead- preciate it when the musician leaves the chancel ers, we are called to be accountable for the ways during the sermon.” we are ful+lling our calling as well as for the Remember, what we do can drown out any- factors that may be limiting our e&ectiveness. thing we say! !ere are fundamental questions to be asked: · ©hat has od called us to do in our lives and in this church and at this time³ Servant Leaders:. · ©hat is our ministry³ ¯ow does it +t into the overall mission of the church we are Remember, what we do can serving³ drown out anything we say! · ¯ow are we using our time and the avail able human and +nancial resources and opportunities³ Servant Leaders Have a Sense of Humor Leaders need to be honest in their respons- You have to have a sense of humor. People with es to these questions and open to feedback from a sense of humor are fun to be with. When we’re others about what is working well—and what with them, we’re not only more productive, we’re can be done more e&ectively. more collegial and have a better sense of community. In case you think I’m making this up, Servant Leaders Are Role Models there’s a survey by Robert Half International re- “You can e&ectively teach only what you con- vealing that 84 percent of personnel directors in sistently model. It takes one to know one, show 100 of the largest corporations in the country one, and grow one,” John Maxwell says.9 feel that employees with a sense of humor are A leader’s actions are constantly observed. more e&ective on the job than people with little Congregations, colleagues, and choir members or no sense of humor.10 !e study also concluded —they all watch our actions and listen to our that those with a sense of humor are more (ex- words. ible and creative, with a greater willingness to do new things in new ways. And if that weren’t Servant Leaders:. enough, you’re more likely to get hired in the Congregations, colleagues, and +rst place if you have a sense of humor. choir members—they all watch our actions and listen to our words.

16 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT Servant Leaders Are Committed Servant Leaders:. and Consistent …respect all colleagues and do Commitment is a choice that reveals the values we hold most deeply: our fundamental, core val- not play favorites. ues. It is a basic character quality that allows us to give our best, be our most creative, work our hardest. Being committed demands energy and Servant leaders actually respect all colleagues (exibility and willingness to go the second mile. and do not play favorites. We do not microman- E&ective leaders are also consistent; we are age but give ministry colleagues the authority “on” most of the time. We have prepared for the to do their jobs as they feel called—checking in rehearsal, sermon, or committee meeting. Oth- on the big items, giving feedback as appropriate, ers take us at our word and they know that our allowing them to do their work without having work will be done well. “If you can’t depend on someone constantly looking over their shoulder. teammates all the time,” Maxwell says, “then you can’t really depend on them any of the time. Servant Leaders Create a Positive, Consistency takes more than talent. It takes a Fear-Free Environment depth of character that enables people to follow A positive environment is not only energizing, through—no matter how tired, distracted, or it is essential to a successful church. People pre- overwhelmed they are.”11 fer to work in a situation where ideas are freely o&ered and openly welcomed. It is said that !at was the “interior” side. Now, the people’s actions are linked to a/rmation. If cre- “reaching out” aspects of servant leadership. ativity is rewarded, creative ideas are the result; if new ideas are criticized, people will shut down and creativity comes to a screeching halt. A pos- Reaching Out itive environment is not only a/rming for the Servant Leaders Treat Others individual, it also allows the church the bene+t with Respect of each person’s thinking. Sta& members need to be con+dent that new People stay on a church sta& not for the high ideas will not be shot down or, worse yet, rid- salary but because they feel they are making a iculed. “People on the team,” writes Maxwell, di&erence. !ey stay because they have a spiri- “must be made to feel that they are in an en- tual connection with the gospel as it is preached, vironment where it is safe to o&er suggestions sung, and enacted in that church. !ey stay or criticism without feeling threatened, freely because they are respected and so is their dis- trade information in the spirit of cooperation, cipline. !ey stay because they are respected as and discuss ideas without being criticized. Open colleagues, their opinions are valued, and they communication among teammates increases can work well with the sta&. Without these rea- productivity.”12 sons they may just leave or—if they stay—their work is less productive because of the unsup- We never do our best work when personal portive environment. attack might be the result. Even if that attack is A musician wrote me, “!e answer is quite aimed at someone else, the atmosphere can be so simple, really. All I want from my pastor is respect. I honestly feel that the rest will follow. Servant Leaders:. !at is why respect is so important. If the pastor respects the church musicians and respects People prefer to work in a sit- their time, then agreements can be reached and uation where ideas are freely [if there’s trouble] things can be worked out.” offered and openly welcomed.

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 17 L COUNTERPOINT toxic that we may just not want to continue to Servant Leaders:. work there any longer. In a fear-free environment, the working Blaming people or programs premises are: is a dangerous tactic and a we are created in the image of od and are sign of an unhealthy church. due respect we are committed to the best interests of the church and Musicians: it is important to show our ap- we are human and make mistakes in judg preciation as well. We must never fail to tell the ment and action choir what a great job they did on the previous If you need to apologize, then apologize; if Sunday’s anthem. Similarly, tell the clergy as it requires more substantial remedy, do that too. speci+cally as possible how much you appreciat- And if someone apologizes and asks forgiveness, ed the sermon or the singing of the liturgy. Praise forgive. the clergy to the choir, too, if for no other reason Cut people some slack. And remember the than to allow them to see musician and clergy words attributed to Somerset Maugham: “Only as a team. mediocre people are always at their best!”

Servant Leaders Show Appreciation Servant Leaders Resist the “Blame Game” B. C. Forbes said, “No human being can be genuinely happy unless he or she stands well in Stress +lls churches these days: the stress of at- the esteem of fellow mortals. [!e person] who tendance +gures, budget, aging buildings, and would deal successfully with us must never for- aging congregations—an “ongoing worship get that we possess and are possessed by this ego. recession,” it’s been called. Denominational A word of appreciation can often accomplish leaders, pastors, church sta&s, and lay leaders are what nothing else could accomplish.”13 looking for ways to stop this downward trend Clergy: mention your appreciation of the and turn it around. !ere are creative approaches choir’s singing or the instrumentalists’ beautiful to restoring the vitality of a church, re-engaging playing. You can mention it during the service, members, and attracting new people to the comin an e-mail, in person, or all of the above. munity. But the blame game isn’t one of them. You might go to the choir rehearsal be- Too often there’s a (ailing about for a quick fore the service for a time of conversation and +x: a prayer, which would o&er the opportunity to · unplug the organ and unseat the organist thank the choir for their work and a/rm their · change the style of worship role as worship leaders. · change the style of music You might consider singing with the choir, · blame the youth director for not doing a even for a short period of time (Advent or Lent good job in attracting youth or perhaps). As a former student of mine wrote, “I · criticize the hristian education program was always the pastor who joined the choir right for using a dated curriculum away, so I never had issues with musicians in my Blaming people or programs is a danger- churches!” ous tactic and a sign of an unhealthy church. It erodes con+dence and trust and can severely damage the entire church community. !e issues Servant Leaders:. may be complex, requiring thoughtful, prayerful consideration. No edicts from on high! !e sta& A word of appreciation can often accomplish team and lay leadership all need to be engaged in what nothing else could accomplish. creatively identifying these approaches together.

18 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT Servant Leaders Expect Risks often have a huge payo& in terms of the Best of Others sense of mission, the spirit of the group, and the Organizations thrive when people a/rm each good that can result. !e success of any new other and expect the best of each other. A servant enterprise depends on the work of a team, as leader expects the strongest commitment, the planning and prayer enable us, together, to con- best focus, and the greatest e&orts possible from ceive, believe, and achieve. colleagues and is someone “who has learned how to read people well enough to know when to pull Servant Leaders Negotiate Change them, when to push them, and when you just Skillfully have to get out of the way. !is ability… requires If you’re taking risks, you’re also involved with enough self-knowledge, ego strength, and self- “change”—one of the words used most in books lessness to a/rm others who do things well, and on organization and leadership. !ere are two the willingness to let them have the credit for approaches: one called “de+cit-based” and one it.”14 that focuses on the “positive core.” In the church Weems talks about the “leader as developer,” this means directing attention +rst to core the- as opposed to the “leader as hero.” !is “develop- ology, traditions, values, and the spirit of the er leader” sees “every situation as an opportunity congregation, as opposed to mandates issued by to achieve two purposes: accomplish the task the leadership. and develop others in the organization.”15 Along We can’t keep doing what we’re doing if we the same line, Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Univer- don’t want to keep getting what we’re getting; sity’s long-time basketball coach, described his if the church is going to thrive, not just survive, recruiting philosophy. He looks not only for change will undoubtedly need to happen. talent but also for players who are good commu- Change needs to be handled well, and ser- nicators and who have the potential for being vant leaders know it can’t be done alone. leaders. “Leadership is plural, not singular.” “As you become more secure as a leader, it gets easier Servant Leaders:. to share leadership, to empower others.”16 We can’t keep doing what we’re Servant Leaders Take Risks doing if we don’t want to keep E&ective leaders are willing to step out of their getting what we’re getting. comfort zone, creating an environment where they can empower others to take risks and make Servant Leaders Show Compassion changes. It may involve starting a new service, Compassion—the ability to respond to each initiating on-screen projection in the sanctuary other with loving concern and care—is anoth- when you know it will be controversial, taking er essential quality for servant leadership. Joyce the choir on tour, or starting a bene+t concert se- Rupp writes, “Each life in(uences and a&ects the ries for AIDS in Africa. other in some way. !e more we see our world as a vast interconnectedness of all beings, the more drawn we will be to compassion because we will Servant Leaders:. see how much one life is related to and a&ected The success of any new by another.” She goes on to say, “When I look at the lives of compassionate people, I see some enterprise depends on the work common characteristics…: a generous heart, of a team, as planning and a non-blaming and non-judging mind, a pas- prayer enable us, together, to sionate spirit, a willingness to sacri+ce…, a keen empathy, and love that embraces the oneness of conceive, believe, and achieve. all creation.”17

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 19 L COUNTERPOINT And there’s a bonus: the compassion of others inspires compassion in us. !e world and Eileen Guenther is professor of the church have a critical need for people of church music at Wesley #eo- compassion. logical Seminary in Washing- ton, DC. Servant Leaders Honor the Congregation’s Story Notes !e traditions of a congregation matter. Its his- ¤eter enge% quoted in obert « reenleaf% Ser- tory—who founded it and why, and why in this vant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legiti- place—is a key factor in shaping the congrega- mate Power and Greatness ¦ew §ork ¤aulist ¤ress% tion. Honoring those who have been leaders in % the congregation for many years also matters. harlotte «roeker% The Sounds of Our Offerings: Ask them about the impetus behind the church’s Achieving Excellence in Church Music ¯erndon% ² lban nstitute% % missions, how the preschool got started, why the arl $ arson and ¥rank ¡ ¬ a¥asto% Team- youth program is so strong. work: What Must Go Right, What Can Go Wrong Clergy have been known to court new mem- ¦ewbury ¤ark% age% % bers but then, implausibly, treat older members ovett ¯ ©eems% Church Leadership: Vision, Team, with disdain. What a mistake! We in church Culture, and Integrity, rev ed ¦ashville bingdon work are part of a continuum and a great cloud ¤ress% % of witnesses preceded us; the congregation’s sto- om $hrich Church Wellness: A Best Practices Guide ry did not start when we arrived and it does not to Nurturing Healthy Congregations.¦ew §ork end when we leave. Servant leaders embrace the hurch ¤ublishing% % – story and build on it. ¯enri ¬ ¡ ¦ouwen% Out of Solitude ¦otre ame% ¦ ve ¡aria ¤ress% % ¬im ollins% &ood to &reat: Why Some Compa- Servant Leaders Pray nies Make the Leap— and Others Don’t ¦ew §ork Servant leaders have an active personal prayer ¯arperusiness% % life, and this extends to their immediate com- reenleaf% – munities as well. !ey not only pray for other ¬ohn ¡axwell% The 17 Essential Qualities of a sta& members, they pray with them, they pray Team Player: Becoming the Kind of Person Every for their health and families, and they pray for Team Wants ¦ashville homas ¦elson% % xii their church and for those with whom they min- ee ¬acquelyn mith% easons ©hy ¯umor s a ister. !is is a crucial component in maintaining «ey to uccess at ©ork%£ Forbes ¡ay % % ac cessed ¡ay % % http¹¹wwwforbescom¹sites¹ connection with each other and to keeping all jacquelynsmith¹¹¹¹reasonswhyhumor connected with their calling, their ministry, and isakeytosuccessatwork¹ God. ¡axwell% The 17 Essential Qualities, A student in one of my classes wrote this ¬ohn ¡axwell% Teamwork 101 ¦ashville to me: “My big message to both musicians and homas ¦elson% % pastors: it will always be better together. Re- ¥orbes% How to Get the Most Out of Business lease your human need for hierarchy and talk to ¦ew §ork ¥orbes% % each other, plan together, ponder together. And «roeker% don’t do it all by e-mail—look one another in the ©eems% – face, have lunch, pray together. You never know im itkin and ¬ ichard ¯ackman% evel what you might contribute to worship in that oping eam eadership n nterview with oach environment.” ¡ike «rzyzewski%£ Academy of Management Learn- ing & Education % no % – ¬oyce upp% The Cup of Our Life: A Guide for Spiri- tual Growth ¦otre ame ve ¡aria ¤ress% % %

20 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT

“The Good Shepherd,” ca. 400-450, at the The Renewal of Worship mausoleum of Galla Placidia in in the Renewal of the Church Ravenna, Italy. as Eschatological Reality by William Weedon

’d like to propose that renewal of worship be- perfect accord with the assertion in the Apolo- gins with the proper understanding and belief gy of the Augsburg Confession: “at its core, it of the church about itself. Namely, its eschato- [the church] is a fellowship of faith and the Holy I 2 logical reality: it is the colony of the age to come, Spirit in hearts.” !us while the marks that lo- it lives the life that is the future of this world. It cate the church are invariably bound up with is the presence and gift of God to the world of local congregations, the church so understood is the kingdom that is coming. “no Platonic state, as some wickedly charge. But we do say that this church exists: truly believing In the Lutheran Confessions and righteous people, scattered throughout the world.”3 For Luther and for the Lutheran church, +rst and !e church is not then congregations but foremost the church is “the holy believers and one congregation. !e use of the word “con- lambs who hear the voice of their Shepherd.”1 gregation” in the singular in Article VII of the !is evokes, of course, John 10:16 with the great Augsburg Confession is vital, though it is most- promise of the Lord: “I have other sheep that do ly ignored. In the Lutheran understanding the not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, church is not a series of discrete congregations and they will listen to my voice. So there will with dubious connections to each other. It’s not be one (ock, one shepherd” (NRSV). !is is in

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 21 L COUNTERPOINT

Jan van Eyck, “The Fountain of Life,” center lower panel of The Mystic Lamb Altarpiece, 1432, in St. Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium. Missouri or ELCA. !e church, properly speak- They will smell the ing, is rather “the congregation of saints.” We resurrection on you and do not think enough about the force of that singular: congregatio sanctorum in Latin, but even will be both attracted and more explicit in German, die Versammlung aller repulsed. It is the way the Gläubigen (“the gathering of all the believers”; Spirit draws them in. emphasis mine). !e church is the assembly of all believers. It is a view of the church like that in the Revelation of St. John. It is to look at the through death’s stinking gullet by his resurrec- church eschatologically: to see in faith from the tion. And God did so for every single human end, from the age to come, something that we being out there. !erefore, we are not normal. can only know in faith. !is explains something We believe that death is not normal. We believe quite peculiar about the church: it doesn’t really death is an invader that met its match in the +t or belong to this age. And when it tries to, it dead Carpenter, even though death is still co- ends up sabotaging its own life. zied up in this world as though it owns the place. Let me tell a story. Charlie was a good "e Church Reeks of Resurrection friend. We played racquetball together. A few days before Christmas one year, he was at home Because of what it is, the church is always alien when he died. He thought he had a cold but he to this age: it reeks of resurrection and forgive- was in heart failure. I was tasked with telling his ness. !ere should be something jarring and wife and kids that he had died. It was awful. He odd about its assembly that is unlike anything was pronounced dead in the wee hours of Sun- encountered anywhere else in the world. !e day morning. Afterwards I got a +tful few hours church is a community of weirdos of every sort of sleep and then with a very heavy heart walked and sin who really do believe that Love is the +- out to lead the early service at church. I looked nal destiny of this world. We believe that God out into the congregation and do you know who alone can bring that Love and is doing so. God was there? Charlie’s wife and kids. !ey told did it by becoming human, shouldering all our me, “We had to come to communion today. We crud on a cross where he really answered for ev- wanted to be with dad.” In a way, these are cra- ery last bit of it, died, and then burst a hole right zy people who actually listened to the promises

22 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT of the Good Shepherd and believed them. Char- lie had e-mailed me instructions for the funeral, leaving no decisions to be made by Lola, his wife, or by his children. !e only thing we added was the choir singing Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.” It was a joyous funeral full of the promise and of hope. One of Charlie’s unsavory business connections showed up to the funeral. His name was Vinnie. After the funeral, Vinnie accosted me saying, “I don’t get it. It’s like you guys are happy or something.” With tears streaming down my face I smiled and said, “We are! Death has not won!” Vinnie shook his head and walked out. Have you ever considered a funeral service as an evangelism opportunity? You are Lutherans! You have the music to sing at funerals full of the promise of God that will blow the world away. For heaven’s sake, shelve “Amazing Grace” and “How Great !ou Art” so that you can dance down that aisle with the co/n singing: Death, you cannot end my gladness; I am baptized into Christ! When I die, I leave all sadness To inherit paradise! !ough I lie in dust and ashes Faith’s assurance brightly (ashes: Baptism has the strength divine To make life immortal mine.

!ere is nothing worth comparing To this lifelong comfort sure. Open-eyed my grave is staring: Even there I’ll sleep secure. Raphael Sanzio, “Saint Michael Vanquishing Satan,” !ough my (esh awaits its raising 1518, at the Louvre, Paris, France. Still my soul continues praising: Worship renewal must be focused on I am baptized into Christ; I’m a child of paradise! allowing the word and the sacrament (Lutheran Service Book [LSB] 594, to do their work of renewing of the sts. 4 and 5) worshippers, to equip them for the !ey will smell the resurrection on you and will be both attracted and repulsed. It is the way battles against doubt and unbelief. the Spirit draws them in. Every funeral, then, is a time to serve out richly the church’s resurrec- joy and witnessing in shining moments of gospel tion song. to the world. !e church is also +lled with struggling believers. Let’s be clear on this. !e sin As Struggling Believers among us and the sin in your life is not because we are not trying hard enough, not following However, the church isn’t simply a wonderful as- the right procedures, not getting the doctrinal sembly of believers, brimming with resurrection

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 23 L COUNTERPOINT i’s dotted and t’s crossed. !e sin is among us and in us because we all cry, “I believe, help thou mine unbelief.” About the unbelief that we are what God declares us to be individually and corporately, Melanchthon made a toss-o& comment in his Tractatus 44, but it goes to the very heart: “So they [the adversaries] hide Christ’s glory and rob consciences of +rm consolation. !ey abolish true divine services [i.e., the exercises of faith wrestling with despair].”4 !erefore, worship renewal must be focused on allowing the word and the sacrament to do their work of renewing the worshippers, to equip them for the battles against doubt and unbelief. !e only weapon for this is the word, the promises of God. Worship renewal fundamentally allows that word, those promises, to be richly dished out in the community and applied corporately and personally with great lavishness. !e church in its long experience has de- vised this beautiful thing called the liturgy to Jan van Eyck, “Musical Angels,” right upper strengthen faith for this battle. (A side comment panel of The Mystic Lamb Altarpiece, 1432, in St. Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium. on faith: faith is never a possession, it is always and only gift. Romans 10:17 reminds us that faith comes in the present, not simply came at The music of the congrega- one time from hearing). !e church speaks the tion as we speak to one promises to us in the Scriptures read in an or- another in psalms, hymns, derly way, that is, in a way designed to impart the whole counsel of God, to proclaim Christ and spiritual songs all born, su&ering, dying, rising, ascending, ruling, works together toward the and coming again for you. !e liturgy is there end of speaking the word to liberally spread the promises all over the people. !e liturgy holds the vision of what will be that alone creates and before us in the midst of the present darkness sustains faith, so equipping to sustain and strengthen faith. !at is precisely us for true divine services: what the sermon is there to do. !e liturgy puts the word into song and sings it into our hearts. the exercise of faith as it All of worship equips and prepares us for the bat- struggles with despair. tle against letting go because of fear and despair, giving up on God’s promises in Christ. the many gifts of the Spirit found within the Preaching ought to drape the people of God community. Paul Westermeyer beautifully un- in these promises, to clothe them anew in Christ packs this through Lutheran history (found just as baptism did at the +rst and continues to elsewhere in this issue). And you live it in your do as we believe and receive absolution from our congregation. !e church from ages past gives sins. But preaching is not simply the job of the you songs to sing in the repertoire of history, a pastor. !e whole church gathered for worship joyful singing of the promises. !e church of the participates in proclamation. You see that in present gives us more songs to sing. !e church 1 Corinthians 14 as the apostle Paul describes from the future is present and cheers our hearts

24 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT with the promise that the gates of hell will not excels. We Lutherans delight to keep it not be- prevail against the church. Musicians above all cause we’re bound by some liturgical rules and others—instrumentalists, choirs, organists, can- laws but because we just can’t imagine a better tors—are privileged to help elicit the people’s joy way to stay grounded in the promises. !e litur- by writing those promises into hearts and minds gy drips sweet Scripture and teaches us to hurl through music. !at music is in a way beyond the the promises against the darkness: in the stead congregation, a sort of icon of the angelic wor- and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, ship (oating down from on high, a foretaste of I forgive you all your sin [emphasis mine]. If we the feast to come. !e music of the congregation say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, but if we as we speak to one another in psalms, hymns, confess our sin he is faithful and just to forgive and spiritual songs all works together toward our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteous- the end of speaking the word that alone creates ness. And on earth peace, good will toward all.... and sustains faith, so equipping us for true di- You alone are holy. Create in me a clean heart, vine services: the exercise of faith as it struggles O God. Lamb of God, you take away the sin of with despair. the world. Friedrich Nietzsche, the son of a Lutheran "e Gift of Humility pastor, said Christians had lost the world when 5 Because the church is grounded in the age to they lost their joy. He was right. It was as wit- come and lives the resurrection life in great nesses to joy that the early church triumphed. It weakness and frailty, the spirit of Jesus must gov- was as witnesses to joy that Reformation (our- ern our interactions with each other. !is is true ished. When that joy got sidetracked so did the particularly in worship about which people care communities born of the Reformation. !e joy deeply and are quite passionate: “a bruised reed that endures is from the certainty of sin’s forgive- he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he ness and the joy of the promises of God holding will not quench” (Isaiah 42:3a). !ose who are good and sure when absolutely everything else charged with leadership for worship must +rst wobbles, including the institutions of the church and foremost beg God for the gift of humility. itself. !e very mark of the old Adam is that it’s his way It’s out of this certainty that worship’s joy or the highway. !e very mark of the new self is explodes. But such certainty comes only from “!y will be done.” !e will of God is always the Holy Spirit working through the word. Re- the salvation of others, their edi+cation and up- newal in worship is never the right technique building, strengthening their joy in Christ and correctly applied. No, the praise band won’t save equipping them for the battle. your church. Renewal proceeds directly from the word being proclaimed with clarity in ser- "e Solid Joy mon, song, and service. Worship renewal is always grounded in preach- All Rehearsal ing of cross and resurrection. Without the center on Christ and what he has done for As my friend Joe Herl likes to point out, it’s all you, there will be no certain joy. For what he rehearsal. Liturgy gets you ready for the +nal and does in you is truly great and is the mystery of great divine service where it will be you alone and God, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colos- darkness, despair, and death facing you down, sians 1:27b). However, this is always partial and hell breathing down your neck. In the Treasury of fragmentary in this life. !e solid “for me” is Daily Prayer, we pray each Wednesday from the what +lls hearts with joy: “If God Himself be church of the Middle Ages: “Holy Lord, mighty for me, I may a host defy” (LSB 594, st. 1; also God, holy and most merciful Redeemer, God Evangelical Lutheran Worship 788 and Christian eternal, allow us not to lose hope in the face of 6 Worship 419). !is is where the historic liturgy death and hell.” !e liturgy and hymnody of the church are a signi+cant part of how God answers

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 25 L COUNTERPOINT that prayer! You see, when the +nal moments of renewed by breaking from the past nor by ig- your life come, you will be either the thief on noring the present. Rather, it is renewed when it the right or on the left. You will be either railing knows and believes itself to be a colony from the against the Lord who can’t and won’t save you future, +lled with an life alien to this world—the from this last terror even as he won’t save him- life of resurrection and forgiveness that it is here self and in despair you’ll believe him a fraud and to o&er to all—and that it is engaged in a +ght to useless. Or you will look upon the Cruci+ed and the grave to believe this and hold fast to the truth know that he has deserved nothing of what has that God has declared about it and each member befallen him though you’ve deserved every last of it (despite all appearances to the contrary, and bit of what’s befallen you. And then you’ll ask our sins supply plenty of evidence to doubt the his mercy: “Jesus, remember me when You come promises). When it knows that only in the prom- into Your kingdom,” and he’ll grant that mercy: ises themselves—as it speaks them, hears them, “Today, you will be with me in paradise” (from sings them, shouts them out—can its faith be Luke 23: 42, 43). !e whole of the church’s wor- sustained, and so it devotes all its energy to do- ship life is aimed at strengthening your faith so ing so. Only then is there “renewal” in worship that you will be that thief who knows the great- for only then is there renewal of the church. ness of his sin and yet doesn’t despair of mercy in the end, with eyes trained on the cross. William Weedon serves as the #e Lutheran Church– Conclusion Missouri Synod’s director of worship and International Worship renewal begins with renewed worship- Center chaplain. He also hosts pers. Renewed worshippers are those who know KFUO (St. Louis) Radio’s that their visible assembly (whether big or little daily Bible study program, “#y Strong Word.” in human eyes) is but the part you can see of the vast assembly of all believers, all saints, gathered about the Lamb. You can’t see it. You believe it Notes because God says so and you and your congre- malcald rticles % in The Book of Con- gation are engaged in a life-and-death struggle cord ´µ% ed obert «olb and imothy ¬ ©engert ¡inneapolis ¥ortress% % – to hold tight to what God says no matter what appears. Renewed worshippers have heard and pology of the ugsburg onfession ´¤µ ²¹ ²% in % rejoiced in the word and promises of Christ— ¤ ²¹²% in % not just as information that is passed out once but as the constant message they speak to each reatise on the ¤rimacy and ¤ower of the ¤ope%£ in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions: A Read- other. !ey all work together to proclaim the er’s Edition of the Book of Concord, ed ¤aul imo word in sermon, service, and song. All togeth- thy ¡cain% nd ed t ouis oncordia% % er we minister the word to one other, equipping paragraph one another for the battle against unbelief and lexander chmemann% For the Life of the World: despair, a battle that escalates at the moment of Sacraments and Orthodoxy restwood% ¦§ t death. ²ladimir°s eminary ¤ress% % ¢f all the accusations against hristians% the most terrible Eschatological! It is all eschatological. !at one was uttered by ¦ietzsche when he said that is what the church is: the colony of the future, hristians had no joy£ the assembly of all believers (crazy promise-trust- cot «innaman% ed% Treasury of Daily Prayer ers) gathered before the throne of God and the t ouis oncordia% % Lamb, joining in the ever-new song: Worthy is the Lamb who was slain and purchased us to God from every tribe and people and nation! He has made us kings and priests to his God and father, purchased by his blood. !e church is not

26 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT JOHN SANTORO

Rev. Robert Rimbo and Lorraine Brugh, 2009 Luther’s Liturgical Reforms Biennial Conference and the Origins of Evangelical Lutheran Worship by Timothy J. Wengert

onsider the state of Lutheran church- own tradition for new ways to meet today’s chal- es and their congregations in the United lenges, church leaders of all sorts run for help C States today. In 60 years we have moved to Rome or Geneva, to Canterbury or Asbury from a kind of triumphalism of the 1950s that Park—or now, in these latter days, to Azuza proclaimed “We are the greatest”—where a Lu- Street or our country’s Crystal Cathedrals, to theran got on the cover of Time magazine as “Mr. the digital age or the new age. Protestant”—to what can only be called an infe- !e challenge to Lutherans in the 21st cen- riority complex—where, instead of mining our tury is to use our common liturgical history and

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 27 L COUNTERPOINT its origins in the theology and practice of Wittenberg to +nd a middle way as worship and music leaders in Lutheran congregations—one that avoids the chest beating of the past and the whimpering of the present. When we walk this way we discover a remarkable fruit of Luther’s liturgical reform in, among other places, one of American Lutheran- ism’s latest resources, Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW; Minne- apolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2006). !ere are, of We need, once again, to hear course, other +ne resources for Lutheran wor- the universal, law-free gospel ship about which many of these same comments could be made. But the heart of ELW—a (exi- of Jesus Christ, who died and ble pattern for worship, a diverse hymnody, and rose again for our forgiveness, a common lectionary—comes directly out of the life, and salvation. heart of our Lutheran liturgical tradition, so that one can draw a straight line from Wittenberg in the 1520s to ELW, 490 years later. from the pulpits of his congregations. Indeed, so strong and consistent was Luther’s concern that Beginning at the Beginning: were we to celebrate anything in 2017, it should "e 95 "eses be with a goal to improve the preaching in our American Lutheran churches. We do not need As the 500th anniversary of the 95 !eses ap- more fundamentalism, more Reformed theol- proaches, it is important to recognize that ogy, more Roman practices, more entertaining Luther’s reform of worship, which took place in techniques and stories or, worse yet, more law— the mid-1520s, actually started with the !eses whether coming from the left or the right. We themselves.1 What happened in 1517 in Witten- need, once again, to hear the universal, law-free berg around the 31st of October has over the gospel of Jesus Christ, who died and rose again years become something of a cipher, with suc- for our forgiveness, life, and salvation. We need ceeding generations simply pouring their own good, truly good news from our pulpits and not cultural, political, and social agendas into poor just more bad news, piling up rules, regulations, Martin and his 95 statements for academic de- commitments, decisions, and all the rest. Here’s bate. If nothing else, this proves that the old the way Luther put it in that letter to Albrecht: creature in each of us wants the entire world, history included, to revolve around us. As a result, In these matters, I do not so much +nd fault with the cries of the preachers, which I have Luther’s own concerns as stated in the !eses not heard, but I do bewail the people’s com- have become swallowed up in all manner of lat- pletely false understanding, gleaned from er worries. these fellows, which they spread everywhere What Luther was most clearly calling for in among the common folk. For example, these the 95 !eses is shown both in the !eses them- poor souls believe: that if they were to pur- selves and in the letter, dated 31 October 1517, chase these letters of indulgence they would that he sent to the highest church authority in then be assured of their salvation; likewise, Germany, Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz. Lu- that souls immediately leap from purgatory when they have thrown a contribution ther’s concern focused on a bishop not doing into the chest; and then that the graces [of his job in overseeing what was being preached

28 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINTPOINT indulgences] are so great that no sin is of care of the poor, then taking care of the local such magnitude that it cannot be forgiven— congregation and its physical plant before send- even if (as they say) someone should rape the ing money to build St. Peter’s in Rome. What a Mother of God, were this possible; likewise, remarkable thing that the liturgy of ELW per- that through these indulgences a person is mits sending people out the door with these freed from every penalty and guilt. O great God! In this way, excellent Father, souls Luther-esque words: “Go in peace; remember committed to your care are being directed to the poor.” death. A most severe reckoning has fallen on Or, on the o/ce of overseeing these preach- you above all others and is indeed growing. ers, consider theses 69–70: “Bishops and parish For that reason I could no longer keep silent priests are bound to admit agents of the Apos- 2 about these things. tolic indulgences with all reverence, but all of #is was Luther’s dilemma. And it was pro- them are much more bound to strain eyes and foundly liturgical. He was, to use a modern name ears intently, so that these [agents] do not preach for it, worried about the “speech-act” in preach- their own daydreams.” And even thesis 81: “!is ing—not just the speaking (he had not heard the unbridled preaching makes it di/cult even for preachers himself) but the hearing. !is com- learned men to defend the reverence due the bined concern marks the entire Reformation. In pope from slander or from the truly sharp ques- worship there are always two God-given o/ces tions of the laity.”4 !is is the +rst point about at play. On the one hand, there is the preacher, the 95 !eses. Woe to those Lutheran preachers the baptizer, the absolver, and the presider. We all know these to be especially the responsibil- ities of the public o/ce of ministry. But there Woe to those Lutheran preachers today who is, at the same time, the God-given o/ce of the starve their people of Christ’s mercy with hearer, of the baptizand, of the penitent, and of incessant hawking of the law! the communicant. Without this second o/ce the +rst makes no sense. And when the +rst goes o& the rails and obscures the visible or spoken today who starve their people of Christ’s mercy gospel that is the center of each of those actions, with incessant hawking of the law! then “souls committed to [one’s] care are being But Luther made a second point that will directed to death.” help us understand his later discussion of litur- We hear the same complaints about bad gical reform. It comes at nearly the end: “And preaching in the !eses themselves. Take thesis thus, away with all those prophets who say to 21: “And so, those indulgence preachers err who Christ’s people, ‘Peace, peace,’ and there is no say that through the pope’s indulgences a per- peace! May it go well for all of those prophets son is released and saved from every penalty.” Or who say to Christ’s people, ‘Cross, cross,’ and thesis 27: “!ey ‘preach human opinions’ who there is no cross!”5 Here Luther attacks preachers say that, as soon as a coin thrown into the mon- who encourage people to buy their way around ey chest clinks, a soul (ies out [of purgatory].” God’s law and judgment, promising peace where Or thesis 41: “Apostolic indulgences are to be there is none. We live in a world where the fast- preached with caution, so that the people do not est-growing forms of Christianity promise mistakenly think that they are to be preferred prosperity, where between Joel Osteen and Rick to other good works of love.”3 !is crucial con- Warren Christianity has become synonymous trast of purchasing indulgences to doing works with false smiles and false promises and, frankly, of love, especially helping the poor, often gets lives driven to distraction looking for purpose. drowned out in our modern, bourgeois church. !ese cryptic theses +nd explanation in a letter In his German reworking of the !eses for the written by Luther in 1516 to Michael Dressel, commoners, #e Sermon on Indulgences and one of the friars under his pastoral direction. Grace from 1518, Luther suggests +rst taking

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 29 L COUNTERPOINT Are you ignorant, most honorable father, that God...places his peace in the midst of no peace, that is, in the midst of all trials?...!erefore, that person whom no one disturbs does not have peace—on the contrary, this is the peace of the world. Instead, that person whom everyone and everything disturbs has peace and bears all of these

things with quiet joy. You JOHN SANTORO are saying with Israel, Pastors Paul Hoffman and Bradley “Peace, peace, and there Schmeling, 2015 Worship Jubilee is no peace”; instead say with Christ, “Cross, cross, and there is no cross.” For as quickly as the cross ceases to be cross so quickly you By 1529 in the catechisms and would say joyfully [with the hymn], “Bless- by 1530 in the Augsburg ed cross, among the trees there is none such [as you].”6 Confession drafted by Today, Lutherans who best understand this Melanchthon, Lutherans count are the ones in Northern Nigeria who until re- three [sacraments]: baptism, cently have been threatened by Boko Haram, or those Egyptian Christians kidnapped and killed absolution, and the supper. in neighboring Libya. But it is also known by the even at clergy retreats or synod assemblies, where Lutherans living in the poorest city in America no song written before 1970 shows up. !e sixth (Camden, NJ), by those struggling with termi- stanza of this hymn reads: nal cancer, by those who despair or are lost in Faithful cross, true sign of triumph, doubt. !e list could go on and on. We do not be for all the noblest tree; need to o&er them purpose or (eeting prosperi- none in foliage, none in blossom, ty, “worldly peace.” !ey need to know that they none in fruit your equal be; are, all of them, in the midst of the cross, in the symbol of the world’s redemption, midst of struggle (Luther’s word: Anfechtung). for your burden makes us free. !ese are the ones for whom Lutheran worship We do not avoid law and death, avoid their is especially made! As my friend Gail Ramshaw terror and cross, but we go through law to gos- once said to me, all Christian worship is prepa- pel, through terror to comfort, through death to ration for death: “Remember that you are dust, life, through the cross to resurrection—and that and to dust you shall return” (ELW, p. 254). is the heart of Luther’s reform of Christian, cath- Notice what Luther quoted at the end of his olic worship. And it is the heart of ELW, where comments to poor Michael Dressel? He quot- for the +rst time !e !ree Days +nds central ed a hymn, “Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious place (ELW, p. 262–70) and where we can still Battle,” by old Venantius Honorius Fortuna- sing Fortunatus’ hymn, if we dare. tus (530–609), which we can now sing to Carl Schalk’s remarkable tune (ELW 356, LSB 454, 1520: Word and Sacraments and CW 122)—or the old plainsong, if we prefer Why Lutherans Can’t Count (ELW 355). !is reminds us that when creating an evangelical Lutheran hymnody Luther did In 1520 Martin Luther went on a publishing not throw out the old—as so often may happen, rampage, writing four of the most remarkable

30 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT tracts of his career: On Good Works, a com- We live in a world where the fastest-grow- mentary on the Ten Commandments; Address to Christian Nobility, an appeal to the imperi- ing forms of Christianity promise prosperity, al princes to assist in church reform; Freedom of where between Joel Osteen and Rick Warren a Christian, a thorough explanation of justi+ca- Christianity has become synonymous with tion by faith alone; and #e Babylonian Captivity of the Church, in which he examines the medie- false smiles and false promises and, frankly, val church’s claim to seven sacraments. It is there, lives driven to distraction looking for purpose. as in sermons on the sacraments from the previous year, that Luther begins to focus more clearly on the liturgy. If nothing else, #e Babylonian Christ speci+cally, nevertheless have all the char- Captivity demonstrates that some later Luther- acteristics of sacraments. Only marriage, which ans completely rejected Luther’s approach to the Peter Lombard of the 11th century frankly in- sacraments, when they relegated the sacrament cluded based upon a misconstrual of Ephesians of baptism to a private ceremony (only e&ective 5:32 to make seven sacraments, is not a sacra- when people get serious and confess their own ment in the sense that it does not convey the faith in con+rmation), reduced the sacrament of forgiveness and mercy of Christ but is rather a the altar to a quarterly event for only the wor- part of the grace of creation, for which no such thy, and replaced Luther’s understanding with sacraments are needed. the notion either of (a) sacraments e&ective only What Luther would later do in improving when we add some virtue of our own to them or the liturgy of Holy Communion is already fore- (b) sacraments e&ective by some sort of powerful shadowed in his comments in #e Babylonian religious magic. Captivity. He notes three “captivities” of the Luther, on the contrary, had completely Lord’s Supper, as he calls them: communion for di&erent concerns. First, he and his fellow Wit- the laity using just bread; the doctrine of tran- tenbergers could not count. In #e Babylonian substantiation; and the notion that the Mass Captivity he seems to count two sacraments, al- is a good work and sacri+ce. !e +rst two are, though allowing penance as a daily practice frankly, minor and go back to ongoing debates of baptism. By 1529 in the catechisms and by already in medieval times. After all, the Or- 1530 in the Augsburg Confession drafted by thodox churches never withheld wine from the Melanchthon, Lutherans count three: baptism, laity; and a Paris theologian of the 14th century, absolution, and the supper. Elsewhere they can Pierre d’Ailly, had argued that transubstantia- include ordination—as long as it sets people tion was too complicated a theory for defending apart for word and sacrament ministry and not Christ’s real presence in the bread and wine. But for the recitation of private masses for the dead. the third gets to what is the single greatest dan- Part of the arithmetical confusion comes from ger to all forms of Christian worship, before and two old but somewhat competing de+nitions of since. It goes back to a mistaken understanding a sacrament—a nonbiblical term in any case— of divine gift-giving, based on the ancient Latin but part comes from the fact that what matters slogan do ut des (“I give so that you may give”).7 is getting the gospel out. In this way we could, I, God, give you something so that you, human if we wanted to, count A/rmation of Baptism being, will give something in return—a paren- and especially Con+rmation as another repeti- tal form of bribery. Worse yet, this same slogan tion of God’s promises to us in baptism, where could be understood to mean: I, a human be- we literally press the Holy Spirit into the heads of ing, give something to God so that God will give hormonally challenged eighth graders. Anoint- something to me. !e latter was underneath the ing of the sick and commendation of the dying famous saying quoted often by Gabriel Biel, who also are, at very least, other forms of the word had written some of the theological textbooks that, while they do not include a command from Luther had cut his teeth on: “To those who do

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 31 L COUNTERPOINT The supper is for Luther nothing less than Christ’s ﬁnal, unconditional promise in bread and wine given for us.

what is in them, God will not deny grace.” Or as the vast majority of Americans say, “God helps those who help themselves.” But even in the God-centered approach (God gives so that we may give) that marks so much of contemporary American Lutheran preaching and teaching, the unconditional mercy of God is completely destroyed. As Eric Gritsch and Robert Jenson once put it in their book on Lu- JOHN SANTORO theranism, the Lutheran Reformation replaced absolutely certain of this irrevocable prom- the conditional religion of “if…then” (if I do X, ise of mine, I shall give my body and pour God will do Y) with the unconditional mercy of out my blood, con+rming this promise by my very death, and leaving you my body and “because…therefore.”8 Because God so loved the blood as a sign and memorial of this same world, therefore God gave the only Son. Oth- promise. (LW 36:40) erwise Christianity itself—to say nothing of As if that weren’t enough, Luther continues, the sacraments—will always end up becoming “For God does not deal, nor has he ever dealt, works given to the highest bidder. with human beings otherwise than through a So what does Luther propose in #e Baby- word of promise, as I have said. We in turn can- lonian Captivity? “Let this stand, therefore, as not deal with God otherwise than through faith our +rst and infallible proposition—the mass in the Word of his promise” (LW 36:42). !at or Sacrament of the Altar is Christ’s testament, Luther is attacking this do ut des theology, which which he left behind him at his death to be dis- still holds so many pious Christians in its death tributed among his believers.”9 And what is such grip, may be seen in the analogy he draws. In at- a testament? “A promise made by someone about tacking the notion that we must +rst be worthy to die” (LW 36:38). !e supper is for Luther to receive the sacrament, he writes, “If a very rich nothing less than Christ’s +nal, unconditional lord were to bequeath a thousand gulden [we promise in bread and wine given for us. And this would say $1,000,000] to a beggar or to an un- “for us” leads not to works or a do ut des men- worthy and wicked servant, it is certain that such tality but to faith. “It is plain therefore, that the a one would boldly claim and accept them with- beginning of our salvation is a faith which clings out regard to one’s own unworthiness….And if to the Word of the promising God, who, with- anyone should seek to oppose such a person on out any e&ort on our part, in free and unmerited the grounds of unworthiness…what do you sup- mercy takes the initiative and o&ers us the word pose he or she would say?…Likely, ‘What is that of his promise” (LW 36:39). Here’s how Luther to you?’” (LW 36:46). paraphrases the words instituting the supper: In attacking the notion of the Mass as a sac- [It is] as if he were saying: “Behold, O sin- ri+ce to God, Luther notices that Christ himself ful and condemned person, out of the pure did not o&er something up to the Father but and unmerited love with which I love you, and by the will of the Father of mercies, apart simply gave the bread and wine to his unwor- from any merit or desire of yours, I promise thy disciples. Imagine these words in the context you in these words the forgiveness of all your of the fact that over 6,000 private masses were sins and life everlasting. And that you may be said in 1519 at the Castle Church in Wittenberg,

32 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT e&ective by the mere performance of the rite, for included preaching on the appointed gospel the souls of dead electors and electresses buried where people who had registered for communion in that church.10 Precisely because the supper is a then came for the meal. !is number—very high testament, an unconditional promise, there is no during Holy Week and in the weeks after Easter place for imagining the Lord’s Supper as a sacri- following traditional habits—was usually only a +ce we o&er to God for ourselves or others. Later small percentage of those worshipping. !e lan- Luther will use the remarkable Greek word in guage at this service was either Latin or German Hebrews 10:10, “eph-hapax” (“once for all”), as until well after Luther’s death, in large part be- a way of signaling that the only sacri+ce anyone cause most people understood some Latin and needs has been o&ered once for all by Christ on because of the high number of foreign students the cross. No wonder at the chapel in Dietrich in Wittenberg—into the hundreds. Because the Bonhoe&er’s secret seminary there was that sin- sermon, usually delivered by either Johannes gle Greek word inscribed on the altar! !e supper Bugenhagen or Luther, was always in the ver- and all of the parts of the liturgy that surround it nacular, these foreign students would often have are neither our bribe to God nor God’s to us. In- attended an early morning lecture by Philip stead, here—as in all the other sacraments—we Melanchthon on the gospel lesson in Latin— +nd the unconditional promise of God and faith the language of the academy—so that they, too, that grows out of that promise.11 could receive the word of God in the lecture. In the early evening there was a vespers service that "e Reforms of Liturgy included preaching on a variety of texts, often ex- from 1522 to 1526 amined in some kind of continuous reading. On Wednesdays and Saturdays vespers also included So now, with this background, we can look at a continuous reading of Matthew and John (re- what Luther actually was up to in his reform of spectively) in a form that probably would strike liturgy and how so much of those very impuls- us as more of a Bible study but was still +lled with es are all over ELW. First, Luther reduced the proclamation and not just information. Approx- celebration of Masses from thousands (most of imately four times a year these vesper services which were done by the priest standing alone at served as the place for sermons and instruction an altar reciting words on behalf of some dead on the catechism—Ten Commandments, Apos- soul in purgatory) to far fewer: to just the Sun- tles’ Creed, Lord’s Prayer, baptism, absolution, day assembly and to those biblical feast days and the Lord’s Supper—a practice that followed involving Christ, Mary, and the New Testa- medieval patterns of preaching on the catechism ment saints. Our worship is not a work we do for at the so-called Embers or Quatembers (approx- God; it is God’s work on us—drowning the old imately Groundhog Day, Pentecost, Holy Cross and raising up the new believing one in baptism Day, and St. Andrew’s Day). From these kinds of and strengthening that one through the supper, sermons in 1528 arose Luther’s 1529 catechisms. hymns, thanksgiving, prayers, absolution, ser- Lutheran worship in Wittenberg went out of its mon and all the rest. way to provide for diverse economic classes, vari- Second, Wittenberg worship was meant for ous ages, di&erent languages, and di&erent levels all types of people. As Helmar Junghans point- of instruction. !us when ELW included so ed out in his article “Luther on the Reform of many “foreign” hymns, so many di&erent wor- Worship,” worship on any given Sunday in Wit- ship forms, and the Small Catechism, we were tenberg started with matins and with preaching simply returning to the best practices of Witten- on the appointed epistle lesson in the common berg during Luther’s lifetime.12 lectionary, a service that especially servants in Luther preached on the appointed epistle the town’s households could attend early in the and gospel lessons. !e fact that some congrega- morning so that they could return home to help tions in the ELCA have abandoned the Revised the rest of the house get up. !e main service, Common Lectionary for the Reformed practice which was always a service of Holy Communion,

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 33 L COUNTERPOINT of reading a particular book of the Bible through from week to week is sad. What a shame that Luther’s respect for a one-year cycle of readings, which he thought should be reformed but which he did not want to do without involving other Christians, can now be destroyed by pastors and congregations who are rejecting a far better and truly ecumenical three-year lectionary. Lu- ther thought it was great that for half the year, from Advent to Pentecost, we recount the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, so that people might hear, year after year, the basics of their salvation. Moreover, reading through a book, while it may sound more reasonable, actually reinforces a kind of biblical fundamentalism that assumes the basic purpose of reading texts in the Sunday assembly is to inform people of the facts in the book. !e Sunday assembly, to paraphrase Luther, is not a “quill house” but a “mouth house,”13 in which we proclaim the cruci+ed and risen savior. So to do without readings from the gospels enhanced with readings from the Hebrew Scriptures, the psalms, and the epistles is like putting a congregation on a starvation diet. It also assumes that unless we add comments about each text people cannot really learn anything. !e point of reading the Bible is not to hear every verse but to hear the center and heart of all the verses: Jesus Christ cruci+ed and risen for the life of the world. Lutherans used the standard one-year lectionary until the 1970s when, acting in consort with other Christians from a variety of denominations, a three-year lectionary was instituted

Our worship is not a work we do for God; it is God’s work on us—drowning the old and raising up the new believing one in baptism and strengthening that one through the supper, hymns, thanksgiving, prayers, absolution, sermon and all the rest.

JOHN SANTORO 2015 Biennial Conference

34 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT Luther thought it was great that for half the year, from Advent to Pentecost, we recount the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, so that people might hear, year after year, the basics of their salvation.

you take Christ as an example, you accept and recognize him

JOHN SANTORO as a gift, as a present that God has giv- that allowed for the reading of all four gospels en you and that is your own….!is is the great in the space of three years. !e reason for always +re of the love of God for us, whereby the heart reading the gospel in the Christian assembly (as and conscience become happy, secure, and con- opposed to picking some random book of the Bi- tent. !is is what preaching the Christian faith ble and preaching it through, as did the Puritans means. !is is why such preaching is called gos- and other Reformed Christians) is precisely be- pel, which in German means a joyful, good, and cause at the center of the assembly for Luther was comforting ‘message’” (LW 35:117–24). Jesus Christ and him cruci+ed and risen again. It is his life—not Jeremiah’s or Moses’ or Paul’s— An Order of Mass and Communion for that matters. the Church at Wittenberg (1523) Luther also published a commentary on the But what did Luther actually propose for the lit- appointed texts for preachers. In the +rst install- urgy? What do we learn there about the roots of ment of that work, published in March 1522, he ELW? To begin with, in 1523 Luther published added A Brief Instruction on What to Look For a revised Latin Mass (LW 53:15–40). When the and Expect in the Gospels. He +rst corrects the German Mass (LW 53:51–90) was published misunderstanding that “gospel” simply means three years later, that did not mean that they the four gospels. Worse yet, in his view, is the stopped celebrating this revised Latin mass at tendency to treat both gospels and epistles as law all, but rather both remained in use until long books and make Christ simply into an exam- after Luther’s death in 1546. !e preface and ple. “One should realize that there is only one other comments to this revised Latin service give gospel.” It cannot be reduced to Jesus’ actions. us some good insights into what he thought was “For at its briefest, the gospel is a discourse about important and make me think that he must have Christ, that he is the Son of God and became had a hand in planning ELW. a human being for us.” What chie(y concerned First, he notes that he had stuck to writing Luther in preaching? “Be sure, moreover, that books and sermons up until then for two rea- you do not make Christ into a Moses [that is, sons: for the sake of the weak and “because of a lawgiver], as if Christ did nothing more than the +ckle…who delight only in novelty” (LW 53: teach and provide examples…[and] as if the gos- 19). Later on the same page he calls it “frivolous pel were simply a textbook of teachings or laws.” faddism.” To the extent that the war being waged Christ is not simply an example. “!e chief ar- against contemporary Lutheran liturgy is being ticle and foundation of the gospel is that before

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 35 L COUNTERPOINT Why, under the pretense of being true to Fourth, in the late Middle Ages the Mass Luther and to the Lutheran tradition, would had become a spectacle—an unbloodied sacri- +ce by the priest for the sins of the people there anyone think that it makes sense to institute present or in whose name the Mass had been forms of worship that deny our history and purchased. Eliminating this deadly combina- are more in tune with 19th-century tion—that worship is a work we perform for God and that it is to be watched as a sacri+ce—stands revivalism or 20th-century obscurantism? at the heart of any Lutheran reform of liturgy to- We have a ﬁne liturgy. Let’s use it! day. For example, the problem with praise bands or with Bach choirs is not with the style of music (although we all have our preferences); the prob- fought for the sake of novelty or because the pas- lem lies with the fact that it turns worship back tor or leaders or musicians are bored with what into a spectacle. To play and sing music that pre- has been done in the past—this is still a great vents the congregation from joining in—even reason not to change things. From his +rst salvos putting the choir or band “up front” to obscure against the Latin Mass in 1519, Luther waited the cross—is simply wrong. four years before making any changes and even Fifth, Luther equates the supper and the had overturned changes wrought in 1522 by sermon. Or, more accurately, he does not quite others in Wittenberg. So one of the highest com- know where to put the sermon! (LW 53:25). pliments that can be given ELW is that it is not !is shocking lapse, for those of us accustomed new and that it protects the weak. to preaching right after the readings, is not Lu- !is leads directly to Luther’s second princi- ther being novel—indeed, the sermon ends ple: “It is not now nor ever has been our intention up staying put after the readings. Only with to abolish the liturgical service of God complete- reforms in 1978 did we +nally put the Creed af- ly, but rather to purify the one that is now in use ter the sermon, where it had been earlier. Why from the wretched accretions which corrupt it this uncertainty? Luther answers: “For properly and to point out an evangelical use” (LW 53:20). speaking, the mass consists in using the Gospel Why, under the pretense of being true to Luther and communing at the table of the Lord” (ibid.). and to the Lutheran tradition, would anyone !ese two things belong together: word and think that it makes sense to institute forms of meal and, generally speaking, in that order, an- worship that deny our history and are more in other strength of ELW. tune with 19th-century revivalism or 20th-cen- Sixth, what you cannot tell from the descrip- tury obscurantism? We have a +ne liturgy. Let’s tion of this revised worship service so far is how use it! often Luther uses the word “freely” or “free.” For !ird, Luther then goes through the vari- example, in dealing with the question of wheth- ous parts of the medieval Mass and points out er to use pure wine or wine mixed with water, both the history—for example, that the Eucha- Luther gives his own opinion (he likes pure wine ristic prayer began as the chanting of one or two as a sign of gospel purity) but then immediately psalms before reciting the words of institution— adds, “I have no intention of cramping anyone’s and the good things that remain: the Kyrie; freedom or of introducing a law that might again reading of the epistles and gospels (but in the lead to superstition” (LW 53:26). It is this evan- vernacular); chanting portions of the psalms; the gelical freedom that best describes ELW and its Gloria in excelsis; the alleluia verses; the Nicene great improvement over some previous Luther- Creed; the Sanctus; the Agnus Dei (LW 53:20– an worship books. Luther put it this way: “All 21). He even compliments the variety built into that matters is that the Words of blessing [for Western liturgy that changes prayers and pref- the supper] should be kept intact and that ev- aces to match the various Sundays of the church erything should be done by faith” (LW 53:31). year—something that ELW still cherishes. He also warns against criticizing di&erent rites

36 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT alike rush to the Lord’s Supper.…[When this happens] they seek only to communicate; but the faith, the comfort, the use and bene+t of the Supper are not even mentioned or considered” (LW 53:33), Why? Because sacri+ce turns the supper into magic, e&ective by its mere celebration and completely divorced from faith and comfort. !e unworthy, for Luther, are those who bring harm to the community by thinking that they have complete security regardless of their way of life and thus deny by their actions their need for the meal. “I [am] speaking of those arrogant people who sin brazenly and without fear, while they boast glorious things about the gospel” (ibid.). Instead, although not the main point of the meal, Luther insists that “partici- JOHN SANTORO pation in the Supper is part of the confession and concludes: “For external rites, even though by which [Christians] confess before God, an- we cannot do without them—just as we cannot gels, and human beings that they are Christians” do without food or drink—do not commend us (LW 53:34). While not insisting on private con- to God….Faith and love commend us to God” fession beforehand, on the same page he does say (ibid.). !e best liturgy is one that does not dis- it is “useful and should not be despised.” What tract us either from the center, Christ Jesus, or is the best preparation? “A soul troubled by sins, from the fringes, service to the neighbor. death, and attack and hungering and thirsting Seventh, to understand Luther’s deep com- for healing and strength” (ibid.). !ose who feel mitment to conserve the good in the catholic nothing, Luther will later say in the Large Cate- liturgical tradition, consider some of the things chism,14 are the most to be pitied and prayed for. in the supper itself that he preserved: the open- Today we call them inactive members, but per- ing dialogue; the proper preface; the words of haps we should call them anorexic Christians. institution chanted in the vernacular as a prayer; Ninth, after insisting that both bread and the Sanctus during which the elevation takes wine be o&ered—the reformers will later make place; the Lord’s Prayer; the peace with a public exception for those whose consciences are absolution (in ELW in its traditional place); the harmed by being forced to receive both—he Agnus Dei; songs during communion (as long as then talks about hymns. “I also wish that we had they do not smack of sacri+ce); and the benedic- as many songs as possible in the vernacular” (LW tion from Numbers 6. 53:36). Here and elsewhere he points to Paul’s Eighth, one of the things Luther does attack comments in Colossians 3:16 about “psalms, is the private mass. “For just as it is absurd for a hymns, and spiritual songs,” where the +rst re- minister to make a fool of himself and publicly fers to the psalter and the second and third to the preach the Word where no one hears or to ha- other hymns in the Old and New Testaments rangue himself in an empty room…it is equally and the spiritual songs and all the hymns writ- nonsensical if the ministers prepare…the Lord’s ten and sung by Christians after New Testament Supper…without having guests to eat and drink times—in all kinds of languages. Clearly Luther it” (LW 53:32). For the same reason, he insists on the importance of preparing people for the sup- The best liturgy is one that does not distract per, examining them once a year or at least once in a lifetime regarding their understanding. “We us either from the center, Christ Jesus, or want to guard lest the worthy and unworthy from the fringes, service to the neighbor.

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 37 L COUNTERPOINT Lutherans are always worshipping with the matter of feeding our desire for novelty. Instead, Luther writes, “Do not make it a rigid law to one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church, bind or entangle anyone’s conscience, but use it and we should not be ashamed to learn in Christian liberty as long, when, where, and and cherish hymns and songs and liturgies how you +nd it to be practical and useful” (LW 53:61). !us there are two things to consider: a stretching across the ages and across the person’s bound conscience—which is di&erent world’s cultures. from stubbornness—and what is practical and useful. If the gospel is obscured, if people are led away from Christ instead of to him, then change wants to keep the ancient hymns but translate the practice! “We must make sure that freedom them into forms accessible to the people, which shall be and remain a servant of love and of our had already happened in the late Middle Ages. neighbor” (ibid.). A hymnody that includes nothing written be- Second comes one of the most interesting fore !e Beatles contradicts this very catholic, applications of Luther’s doctrine of simul ius- ecumenical principle. Moreover, Luther’s point tus et peccator (“at the same time righteous and is again to +nd useful ways to transmit the actu- sinner”). He discusses for whom liturgies, such al gospel—the good news—of Christ. He would as the Deutsche Messe, are made: not for those be appalled at our desire to use songs to manip- who are Christians “but for us who are not yet ulate people’s emotions or put them in a trance. Christians….But such orders are needed for Again, ELW has more closely matched this de- those who are still becoming Christians or need sire of Luther than ever. to be strengthened, since a Christian does not Finally, Luther makes positive comments need baptism, the Word, and the sacrament as a about the services of matins and vespers and the Christian—for all things belong to such a one— other daily o/ces, now shorn of the prayers to but as a sinner” (LW 53:62). Christian worship saints, since they actually consist of readings welcomes sinners. from Scripture and the psalms. Later translations !ird, he lists three kinds of services (LW 53: of the Magni+cat (for vespers) and the Benedic- 62–64): the Latin one, which we just discussed; tus (for matins) as well as of the Te Deum (which a German one “for the sake of the unlearned lay Luther thought was inspired directly by the folk”; and what he calls a “truly evangelical or- Holy Spirit and written down by St. Ambrose) der,” which later Pietists thought meant their were provided for German Lutheran hymno- separate conventicles (which were instead the dy. Lutherans are always worshipping with the very opposite—small groups that looked down one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church, and on everyone else) but which Luther imagined we should not be ashamed to learn and cherish from his monastic experience and then adapted hymns and songs and liturgies stretching across to be the worship of the household as outlined in 15 the ages and across the world’s cultures. the Small Catechism. Indeed, he states clearly that he does not have the people for it and is wor- "e Deutsche Messe (1526) ried that it may become sectarian, which indeed happened and continues to happen through the In the Deutsche Messe (German Mass) of 1526 hyper-piety that continues to ravage the Chris- we discover many of the same concerns. !is tian church in this country. time Luther begins with the worry of making Fourth, he calls for a “plain and simple, fair rigid laws, but here we must understand specif- and square catechism” (LW 53:64-67). One of ically what he is saying. First, he is not saying the mistakes I made as a pastor was ignoring or that there should be no rules at all. We all have at least neglecting and underemphasizing the to eat; there will be liturgical forms, orders, and connection between education and worship. rules. Second, the reason to be (exible is not a Not only should I have done more to explain

38 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT their own faith in the psalms! Now at least they have them at their +ngertips. Sixth, Luther looks at the Sunday service in detail. He mentions that vestments, altar, and candles are retained as a matter of freedom. When it comes to the altar, Luther proposed something that, with the exception of the church at Torgau Castle, had to wait until Vatican II before Lutherans got the memo: placing the altar in such a way that the priest faced the people. What were the elements in the service? First, there was a gathering hymn—a German version of a psalm—then the Kyrie and opening prayer or collect. !en comes the word: the epistle and the gospel, followed by the sermon. Here Luther worries that if preachers just go o& on

JOHN SANTORO their own, there will simply be more and more the worship service to my con+rmands, but I sects—which is exactly what happened outside also should have made education a central part Lutheranism among the Reformed—but he sug- of worship itself—not by replacing proclama- gests that preachers read prepared sermons or at tion with indoctrination but by using children’s least use his (and others’) commentaries on the sermons, bulletin notes, and especially opportu- texts. We have an abundance of such resources nities in the sermon to tie things together. Such for the common lectionary nowadays. practice would also involve +nding new ways Luther then turns to the meal. He be- to bring parents and guardians into the pro- gins with a paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer, cess. Luther concludes by saying, “And let no said by the pastor and constituting the eucha- one think himself [or herself] too wise for such ristic prayer, followed by an instruction about child’s play. Christ, to train human beings, had what communicants were about to receive in to become a human being himself. If we wish the supper. He thinks these should be deliv- to train children we must become children with ered, along with a general prayer for the church, them” (LW 53:67). In the Large Catechism Lu- from the pulpit. !e reason for this, I believe, ther says, “Wir müssen ihn lallen” (“we have to has to do with people’s ability to hear the spo- talk baby talk to them”).16 Of course, the parts ken word—which in large churches could best of the catechism are all also parts of the liturgy. be heard from the pulpit. Although the German Fifth, Luther describes worship in Witten- Mass omits any direct mention of the dialogue berg on Sunday: with matins, Mass, and vespers and proper preface, Johannes Bugenhagen, the (with preaching on the appointed epistle, the gos- head pastor in Wittenberg, included it when he pel, and some continuously read text of the Old went to reform Braunschweig in 1527. More- or New Testament and, during the week, with over, Luther simply says that the Amt follows the preaching on Matthew and John). He envisioned prayers (in the German of his day Amt meant the daily services especially in towns where there are schools, and he emphasized at every turn the role of the psalms. If there is anything for which One of the mistakes I made as a pastor was we can thank ELW it is precisely the inclusion of ignoring or at least neglecting and all the psalms in the hymnbook and numbering them as part of the hymns. Would that our peo- underemphasizing the connection between ple could learn what strength they can get from education and worship.

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 39 L COUNTERPOINT “Mass text,” which would have included these each day of Holy Week, or as often as one want- things) .17 !e idea of reducing the Lord’s Sup- ed, should be devoted to reading and explaining per to reading the words of institution turn those the Passion story. !e worship of !e !ree Days words into a magic formula—and many pastors in ELW (ows from this spirit. read it not as proclamation but as something out His point? “For among Christians the whole of a phone book. Luther wanted it chanted, but service should center in the Word and the Sacra- this time not in the tone of the Lord’s Prayer ment [of the Altar].” And then he returns to his but in that of the gospel, which is a remarkable opening point: “An order is an external thing. match even when a presider does both today. He No matter how good it is, it can be abused. !en even suggests breaking the meal into two parts it is no longer an order, but a disorder. No order and distributing the bread after the +rst words is, therefore, valid in itself—as the popish orders and the cup after the second. He also thought were held to be until now. But the validity, val- women and men should commune separately, ue, power, and virtue of any order is in its proper a practice that continued at least through the use. Otherwise it is utterly worthless and good days of Henry Muhlenberg in America. Again, for nothing” (ibid.). !e proper use of ELW or the elevation during the German Sanctus (“Isa- other Lutheran books should be the goal of every iah, Mighty Seer in Days of Old”) was included, Lutheran worship leader. and this time Luther says why: “it…signi+es that Christ has commanded us to remember him.” Concluding Comments (LW 53:82) Christ is elevated by the words of Here, then, we have Luther’s blueprint for evan- the sermon and in the meal and received only gelical, Lutheran worship and for ELW. What by faith, since we cannot see him but only bread began as a plea for good preaching and care for and wine. Finally, Luther has a sending—in- the poor became both a criticism of “salvation cluding his closing prayer: “We give thanks to for sale” in the form of the Mass and a reorien- you…that you have refreshed us with this your tation of both preaching and the supper back to saving gift” (LW 53:84). !en, once again, the the proclamation of Christ for us. !is revolu- blessing from Numbers 6, which Luther thought tion, far from dismissing the liturgical tradition Jesus may have used at his ascension into heaven. in the search for something newfound, shows Seventh, after more notations for how to new appreciation for the catholic tradition and chant the lessons, he includes comments about its rich witness to the gospel. Here the bath, the the daily services, which he views as instruction table, the word, and the prayers, ringing with in the word of God. In this Luther again rails music, formed the order of worship, where the against “those who itch for new things” and who center is never what we do for God but rather “will soon be sated and tired with it all” (LW 53: what God in Christ did, does, and will do for us 89). !is is a useful warning not to create litur- poor, ordinary creatures. Luther’s revitalizing of gies based on the daily barometric pressure or worship leads deeper into the gospel—the good wind speed. news—and invites us in our day to use the en- Finally, Luther talks about the church year, tire panoply of witnesses throughout the ages to mentioning that Wittenberg still used Latin for do the same. the high festivals of Christmas, Easter, Pente- cost, St. Michael’s (Sept. 30). and Puri+cation Timothy J. Wengert is the of Mary (Feb. 2; also known as Candlemas or, emeritus Ministerium of today, the Presentation of Our Lord). He also Pennsylvania professor of the praised Lent, Palm Sunday, and Holy Week, history of Christianity at Lu- although he was rather skeptical of chanting theran #eological Seminary all four Passion stories and preaching for eight at Philadelphia. A parish pas- hours on Good Friday (often with the purpose of tor for over seven years, he served the Philadelphia rousing hatred for the Jews) (LW 53:90). Instead, faculty from 1989 to 2013. With Robert Kolb he

40 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT edited the English edition of #e Book of Concord it squarely to our baptism—an even more uncon (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2000) and translated the ditional sacrament³ ©hen we say hrist is present Small Catechism (Minneapolis: Augsburg For- here£ and is here for you%£ this is not demanding some secret understanding—as if it were a mat tress, 1994). He edited and contributed to Cen- ter of learning to solve quadratic equations ©hen tripetal Worship (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 2007) we confess hrist°s presence we are saying% hrist and authored (with Gordon Lathrop) Christian promises to show up%£ and when we confess that it is Assembly: !e Marks of the Church in a Plu- for you%£ that is what it means ¦o one knows how ralistic Age (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2004). His hrist°s body and blood are present with the bread and wine—which is why uther told lrich ®wing most recent work is as editor of !e Annotated li to stop asking him geometrical questions see © Luther, vol. 1, !e Roots of Reform (Minneap- ut we can surely know that hrist°s body olis: Fortress, 2015). and blood are present for us t would be tragic for people to receive the ord°s upper assuming it is simply a nice communal snack and tragic for us not Notes to care enough to welcome them into the full pano ¥or more information about this paragraph% see ply of od°s promises% where baptism ushers us into the introductions by the author to The Annotated od°s family and the supper provides a viaticum Luther% vol % The Roots of Reform% ed imothy ¬ atin for a picnic lunch for our faith under attack ©engert ¡inneapolis ¥ortress% he ord°s upper is not chiefly a sign of hris bid% tian community it is od°s unconditional prom ise to us% a promise that begins in baptism and will bid% – continue to support us until the resurrection t is bid% f not clear why anyone would support a practice that could end up denigrating baptism and turning the bid% supper into a kind of magic—good for us no mat ited in ibid% % n ter what aptism makes us od°s new creation the ee erndt ¯amm% ¡artin uther°s evolutionary supper feeds that new life heology of ¤ure ift without eciprocation%£ Lu- ee ¬unghans theran Quarterly – © ¹¹% % cited in $ric © ritsch% Mar- $ric © ritsch and obert © ¬enson% Lutheranism: tin—God’s Court Jester: Luther in Retrospect ¤hila The Theological Movement and Its Confessional Writ- delphia ¥ortress% % ings ¤hiladelphia ¥ortress% % he arge atechism% trans ¬ames chaaf% ord°s ¡artin uther% Luther’s Works ´hereafter © in upper%£ paras –% in The Book of Concord ´µ% textµ% merican edition% vol % Word and Sacra- ed obert «olb and imothy ¬ ©engert ¡inne ment % ed bdel oss ©entz ¤hiladelphia ¥or apolis ¥ortress% % – tress% % ee imothy ¬ ©engert% “Per mutuum colloqui- ee ¯elmar ¬unghans% “uther on the eform of um et consolationem fratrum: Monastische Züge ©orship%£ Lutheran Quarterly 13 (1999): 315–33. in Luthers ökumenischer Theologie,” in hristoph uther°s words do not support the regular recep ultmann% ²olker eppin% and ndreas indner% tion of the supper without baptism f someone in a eds% Luther und das monastische Erbe übingen congregation is not baptized and receives the ord°s ¡ohr iebeck% % – upper—which is bound to happen—there is no sin arge atechism% en ommandments%£ par % committed ut the pastor should then go to such a % ¥or the mall atechism in ELW, see pp one and invite them to be baptized% saying% ©ow¿ – f you liked the supper% wait until you hear about f © % which does not explain the difference baptism£ ¡oreover% it is no condition£ to hear and between office£ and consecration£ believe that the supper is hrist°s dual promise ¯ere am% for you£ n adult or child taught these promises is not doing a work£ to become worthy of the supper Àuite the contrary¿ his meal is not like a potluck in the church basement or a meal for the indigent% where the main point is welcome and community and love and where we turn the food into ourselves his meal turns us into it— we become what we eat% the body of hrist ©hy would one not want to tell people this and connect

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 41 L TwelveCOUNTER YearsPOINT a Lutheran: Some Peculiar Legacies of a Peculiar Institution

by Harvard Stephens Jr.

his discussion paper re$ects an idea that came to me T nearly one year ago. When I shared it with the organizers of the 2015 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Worship Ju- bilee as a potential workshop or forum, I wrote the following de- scription: “!is forum will explore the impact of Christian faith, liturgy, and hymnody on the lives of enslaved Africans in the Western hemisphere. !ere will be an emphasis on spirituality, worship, and lingering legacies for Lutherans in particular to consider on the eve of the 500th year of the Reformation. Participants are encouraged to read in advance Solomon Northup’s au- tobiography, Twelve Years a Slave (Auburn, NY: 1853; reissued New York: Penguin, 2012), and take note of its numerous biblical allusions.”

Longing for a Diverse Church !ose who read Twelve Years a Slave or view the movie this book inspired are likely to have in common two things: an abhorrence of the brutal and inhumane system of slavery in the United States that is

42 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org ISTOCK/PEOPLEIMAGES L COUNTERPOINT described and depicted; and a visceral response am wondering aloud: who among us will strug- that causes you to root for Solomon Northup, gle to come to terms with the particularities of a free man who was kidnapped, drugged, and our legacy as a church steeped in the narratives then sold into slavery where he languished for 12 of Europe’s colonial expansion into the Western horrifying years. We are moved to hope against hemisphere, a political and economic juggernaut hope with him, to keep watch as the prophet Ha- that seized land belonging to other tribes and bakkuk kept watch; to keep watch and see what nations, subjugated and often nearly eliminated God will do concern- ing our complaint, and Racial diversity by U.S. religious groups to trust—even against mixed/ the overwhelming odds white black asian other latino that continually conspire Seventh Day Adventist 37 32 8 8 15 against his freedom— Muslim 38 28 28 3 4 that deliverance, freedom, Jehovah’s Witness 36 27 6 32 and justice will surely Buddhist 44 3 33 8 12 come. !is paper invites “Nothing in particular” 64 12 5 5 15 you to share in the urgent Catholic 59 3 3 2 34 longings of people with- All U.S. adults 66 12 4 4 15 in our church who are proud to claim that they Assemblies of God 66 3 1 5 25 are of African descent— Church of God, Cleveland, Tenn. 65 3 1 3 28 and indeed, to share in Churches of Christ 69 16 3 4 8 the hopes of all who are American Baptist Churches USA 73 10 1 5 11 willing to confront and Atheist 78 3 7 2 10 come to terms with the Agnostic 79 3 4 4 9 legacies of American slav- Presbyterian Church in America 80 6 3 5 6 ery (what historians have Orthodox Christian 81 8 3 2 6 called “a peculiar institu- Anglican Church 83 12 1 4 tion”) that continues to Church of God in Christ 5 84 4 8 have an impact on the life Southern Baptist Convention 85 6 5 3 we share as the body of Mormon 85 1 1 5 8 Christ. I have come to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 88 5 31 4 conclusion that what we Church of the Nazarene 88 2 1 3 7 collectively call “the Lu- Unitarian 88 1 7 4 theran church” in this United Church of Christ 89 1 7 4 country is also, in its own Jewish 90 2 2 2 4 way, a peculiar institu- Episcopal Church 90 4 1 3 2 tion. As we anticipate a Hindu 4 2 91 2 1 worldwide observance United Methodist Church 94 1 1 2 2 of the 500th year of African Methodist Episcopal Church 2 94 3 1 the Reformation, most Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod 95 2 2 1 Lutherans in North Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 96 2 111 America are ready to fully embrace the narratives of National Baptist Convention 99 1 American Lutheranism The Pew Foundation recently released data from the 2014 Religious as the story of an immi- Landscape Study that names the ELCA and The Lutheran Church— grant church. Today I Missouri Synod among the least racially diverse groups across the spectrum of American religious bodies.3 PEW RESEARCH CENTER/THE LUTHERAN

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 43 L COUNTERPOINT As we anticipate a were never of one mind during the post-war era worldwide observance of of Reconstruction. Entering the 20th century, Lutherans aligned themselves with a broad range the 500th year of the of institutional interests and social concerns, Reformation, most including immigration, while the prevailing Lutherans in North America public policies in the United States continued to accommodate the era of Jim Crow segrega- are ready to fully embrace tion and exhibit a high level of social tolerance the narratives of American of institutions (such as banks, schools, and real Lutheranism as the story of estate agencies) that systematically excluded and exploited people of African descent. Under these an immigrant church. conditions Blacks knew well the meaning of second-class citizenship. We understood the ef- the indigenous people that occupied that land, fects of hiring policies that kept us at the end and became fully aligned with the African slave of the line—literally the last hired and the +rst trade—a source of great wealth and a stimulus +red. We knew that we would never have equal for economic growth and the creation of a new access to public services unless we organized and kind of aristocracy comprised of slave owners, fought for it. industrialists, and others who directly pro+ted American society continues to function from chattel slavery? (Edward Baptist describes with both blatant and surreptitious manifes- in detail how slavery was the catalyst for the tations of institutional and personal racism. I emergence of a global economy that launched contend that despite the variety of social, cultur- “an unexpected and unprecedented process of al, religious, and political forces that shaped the growth” and “sustained economic expansion growth of Lutheranism in the United States, the that would produce higher standards of living legacies of slavery are fully present within all of and vastly increased wealth for some—and pov- the core narratives of this church’s historical ex- erty for others.”1) perience. Most of us will admit that Lutherans What legacies have emerged for this church have signi+cant di/culties in addressing racism from these particular narratives, and how do within and outside of our churches. !is church those legacies impact the life and witness of Lu- struggles in a variety of ways with the outcomes therans of African descent? I hope that the broad of White privilege, social segregation, and the outlines and questions considered here will also many faces of race-based poverty and economic encourage dialogue on behalf of other ethnic disparity. We may have a lot to celebrate, given and racial groups who seek a place of wholeness our level of attention to multicultural concerns, and dignity within the Lutheran church. We are environmental concerns, global mission, and all climbing Jacob’s ladder, and in the dynam- our commitments to inclusivity and fair access ic world of our institutional realities, we must to leadership roles within our church struc- +ght the good +ght if, indeed, every round will tures—but we have much to confess and admit go higher, higher. about our failings and our struggles to fully real- !ere are certainly many speci+c Lutheran ize the high aspirations of our vision statements connections to slavery all across the social and and self-described sense of mission. political spectrum.2 Some Lutherans became !e Evangelical Lutheran Church in Amer- apologists who embraced slavery as a way of life, ica (ELCA), for example, was organized in 1988 while others aligned themselves with abolition- with a demographic goal to achieve a member- ists and worked to dismantle the legal structures ship that was at least 10 percent people of color and the social approval of slavery. !e Civil War and primary language other than English. !e saw Lutherans on both sides of the battle+elds. ELCA at its inception was at least 98 percent After that bloody war ended, Lutheran churches White, and the most generous estimates today

44 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org We have much to confess and

L COUNTERPOINT admit about our failings and our struggles to fully realize the high aspirations of our vision statements and self-described sense of mission. claim that we are now 94 percent White. (!e Pew Foundation recently released data from the 2014 Religious Landscape Study that names the ELCA and !e Lutheran Church—Missou- ri Synod among the least racially diverse groups across the spectrum of American religious bodies.3) Whatever numbers you consider reliable and relevant, it remains true that this goal of growing a Lutheran church in the United States that is no more than 90 percent White has not been reached. Moreover, in my opinion, the sup-

port structures that were designed speci+cally to JOHN SANTORO undergird the ELCA’s strategies to become more Roosevelt Credit, 2015 Biennial Conference racially and culturally diverse have lost the vitality that once buoyed the hopes of non-White Lutherans, especially Lutherans of African "e Example of the Caribbean descent. In my journey as a leader within the Lutheran !e presiding bishop of the ELCA, Eliza- community I have twice served as pastor of Fred- beth Eaton, wrote a public letter in June 2015, erick Evangelical Lutheran Church on the island a day after the horror of the mass shootings at of St. !omas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In this Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal cultural context liturgy has many faces because (AME) Church in Charleston, SC. At the end of the forms of liturgy received from both Danish this letter she said, and United States Lutheran traditions have been I urge all of us to spend a day in repentance infused with the sounds, symbols, rhythms, and and mourning. And then we need to get to colloquial expressions of the local island culture. work. Each of us and all of us need to examine It is an example of how worship, ethnicity, and ourselves, our church and our communities. culture dance together. We need to be honest about the reality of rac- For example, we blow a conch shell at bap- ism within us and around us. We need to talk and we need to listen, but we also need to tisms, recalling the sound that sparked great act….Look with newly opened eyes at the celebration when emancipation from slavery many subtle and overt ways that we and our was declared across the islands of St. !omas, communities see people of color as being of St. John, and St. Croix in 1848. Virgin Islanders less worth. Above all pray—for insight, for also commemorate Transfer Day, an annual ac- forgiveness, for courage.4 knowledgment of the political and cultural shifts I am hoping that this paper will signi+cantly that were set into motion when the United States assist us all in recognizing some of the work that purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark in we need to embrace. It is up to you to determine 1917. Most Virgin Islanders also embrace the an- how my remarks will impact the leadership you nual weeks of Carnival and enjoy the parties and o&er within your various spheres of service in the parades and community gatherings—never for- name of our Lord. getting that Carnival is also a celebration of the

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 45 L COUNTERPOINT he calls a “polymusicality” that allows musicians to “move across the ‘stylistic continuum,’” creating “integrated wholes [rather] than jumbled assortments of separate and competing cultural traditions.”6 !is is Bilby’s conclusion as noted in Davis: Caribbean music cultures—with their emphasis on individual expressiveness, collective interaction, improvisation, and experimentation—are distinguished by their receptivity to new combinations of ideas and in(uences. Borrowing and blending between traditions, after all, has been occurring for several centuries; it is part of the Caribbean heritage. Whatever else may be said about Caribbean music, it remains always ripe for change.7 While in St. !omas I discovered that Ca- lypso music in particular has become a highly sophisticated form of satire and political commentary, and the annual Calypso competitions during Carnival provide rich fodder for the public discourse around governmental a&airs, prominent leaders, and the issues that challenge the island community. You perhaps may +nd it hard to imagine a community so diverse and yet so culturally attuned to one another. In these beautiful islands, people of African descent freely commingle with other native Virgin Islanders, Europeans, Puerto Ricans, immigrants from other islands, and newly settled individuals and

JOHN SANTORO families from around the world. Seth Mesiaki Ole-Sululu, 2015 Biennial Conference Confronting the Legacy of Slavery stories of liberation and the struggles for equal in Lutheran Worship rights within the island community. During I rejoice at the intentionality of the 2015 Worship Carnival and during other celebrations (such as Jubilee, held in conjunction with the biennial Emancipation Day and even Christmas) the sto- gathering of the Association of Lutheran Church ries of indigenous life and cultural history are Musicians, to explore many traditions, styles, interwoven into the pageantry and the sounds of and innovative expressions of liturgy, hymno- island music and performing arts. dy, and other sacred music. !is gathering has Kortright Davis is an Anglican priest and embraced a profoundly signi+cant image and theologian from the island of Antigua who has symbol, the living voice of the gospel, and has written extensively about the faith and spiri- identi+ed many streams where conversation and tuality of Caribbean people. At one point he education can (ow together, sometimes quite references the research of Kenneth M. Bilby, literally in concert. I hope that events like this an anthropologist at Johns Hopkins University, encourage us to examine the liturgy and worship who has observed “the way in which the Euro- of our church with fresh eyes and open hearts. pean and African musical heritages are blended As I push you to re(ect on how these expres- 5 together” in Caribbean culture creating what sions of our faith impact Lutherans of African

46 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT descent and the cultural and ethnic mix of our The issues of liberation from captivity and the Lutheran community I am keeping in mind the freedom to return home require us to confront wisdom of Leonard Pitts, an award-winning syndicated journalist who recently reminded his the historical legacies of slavery, including readers that “before we can have a fruitful ‘con- the social and psychic wounds that slavery versation on race’ we need to +rst have education has caused and that our society repeatedly on race.”8 As leaders we will stumble badly without the bene+t of greater education about race. fails to acknowledge and work to heal. !is is why Carter G. Woodson urged an annual observance of Black History Month in the were discovering a new respect for the richness United States in response to the preponderance of humanity in its diversity and its unity.”12 All of misperceptions and misinformation about well and good—but this struggle is still with us. African American history and cultural life. I recall one statement in the Manual that is espe- Woodson ultimately called this the problem of cially relevant to our topic: miseducation. It a&ects all of us, and one of the Just as there is no Lutheran liturgy, but only sources of miseducation with the biggest impact a Western liturgy as practiced by Lutherans, is often our churches! so there is not Lutheran music for worship, Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW), released but only liturgical music used by Lutherans. in 1978, was developed through the initiatives of !is means that Lutherans have not only the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship. It the strong music of their own backgrounds was published in ful+lment of what it called “a to draw upon for worship, but that they can dream of Lutherans since Henry Muhlenberg’s broaden their views of worship music to em- time that Lutherans on this continent might be brace other traditions that will support the Lutheran understanding of worship.13 one people using one book” with the desire to o&er “a broadly representative book which draws I like that. It says a lot about why I am ask- upon all the traditions of Lutherans in North ing questions and raising concerns on behalf of America.”9 African-descent Lutherans. I can’t say with certainty how the kinds of !e 2015 Worship Jubilee provided many concerns we are discussing today had an impact opportunities to re(ect on how the legacies of on the scope and content of LBW. Other lead- our shared history shape and in(uence what we ers have far more expertise than I regarding the do in worship, especially in the context of our processes that determine how this church creates diverse cultural and ecumenical settings. !e new worship resources. In fairness, the Manu- workshops, forums, and plenary sessions gave al on the Liturgy clearly articulates our shared powerful examples of creative approaches to in- concerns for “the inclusiveness of the Gospel as tercultural worship, liturgical arts, contextual the Lutheran Church moved out of its ethnic worship, traditional worship, and contempo- ghettoes.”10 It also describes how “Germans and rary worship. I was especially pleased to see that Swedes and Danes and Norwegians and Finns time was set aside to look speci+cally at one of came to talk together and eventually merge with the crown jewels of grace that emerged from the one another” and that “the next step was for a tragedies of American slavery and the triumphs new multi-ethnic Lutheran church to expand its of those who endured and survived this Afri- view and become aware of other non-European can holocaust: the Negro spiritual. I am hopeful groups it had not traditionally had much associ- that these discussions have set the stage for us ation with.”11 to connect even more concretely with the im- !e Manual on the Liturgy also expressed plicit themes always associated with the biblical a commitment to address “the pervasive preju- notion of jubilee: freedom from debt, liberation dices against women and also against the young from captivity, and renewal of the land and the and the old” as “church and society together environment.

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 47 L COUNTERPOINT I cannot avoid giving attention !ese features of the traditional biblical jubi- to what our Lutheran eyes lee should not be considered merely as historical need to see and consider: the artifacts that have no bearing on the contempo- remarkable juxtapositions of rary world in which we live. Many nations and many international +nancial institutions (such as racial hatred and amazing the International Monetary Fund and the World grace, ﬁerce anger and the Bank) reduce or cancel debt as a way of resetting power of forgiveness—all political alignments and encouraging economic stimulus. Renewal of the land and other natu- intertwined with the politics ral resources takes place as our environmental of cultural change. concerns begin to have an impact on legislation, international agreements, and corporate deci- inferiority and the inconsequential nature sions. It is marvelous to see how our churches of their basic cultural heritage…they [Ca- are increasingly involved in serious advocacy to ribbean people of African descent] began to preserve the fragile resources of our planet and assume that anything foreign and white was to make people more conscious of their respon- good, whereas that which was local and non- sibilities to care for the earth itself and become white was not good enough. People became more in tune with a vision of interdependence institutionally and systematically alienated having an impact on all creation, not just hu- from their own inherent characteristics and mans. But the issues of liberation from captivity their own natural cultural endowment…and from their rightful access to the corridors and the freedom to return home require us to of power, social mobility, and participatory confront the historical legacies of slavery, includ- citizenship. Power, prestige, privilege, and ing the social and psychic wounds that slavery participation had a distinctly white bias.14 has caused and that our society repeatedly fails It is my prayer that what I have written, to acknowledge and work to heal. though it will not exhaust the subjects at hand Davis identi+es a critical outcome of slav- nor pretend to be su/ciently comprehensive in ery’s legacies: the preponderance of alienation scope, will contribute to many larger discus- that has grown out of these psychic and social sions, just as a piece of cloth +nds its place in wounds. Although he is writing within the par- a well-fashioned quilt. God expects this whole ticular context of Caribbean culture, I recognize church to gather up the seeds that have been how many of these same concerns continue to sown among us—the questions, the testimonies, have an impact on the communities and person- the research, and the urgent cries of the faith- alities of people of African descent living in the ful—and consider the kind of harvest that will United States. He says this: make our church a more humble, more honest, Although we have insisted that there is in- and more e&ective sign of God’s grace-+lled do- deed a distinctive Caribbean culture, we minion. I especially hope that we will all +nd must also admit that cultural alienation exists, primarily as direct result of the plan- renewal in our understanding of and commit- tation mentality. Plantation society thrived ment to a mutual ministry of reconciliation that principally on some very basic characteristics: calls us to deconstruct and then reconstruct how rigid social strati+cation, a weak communi- our music and liturgy equip us to share the Holy ty structure, minimal social responsibility, Gospel and proclaim “peace to you who were far poorly developed educational systems, high o& and peace to those who were near” (Ephe- levels of social instability, and a perversion sians 2:17; NRSV). of human values emanating from the “great houses” on the plantations. !e o/cial colonial policy of “divide and rule” was re- June 17, 2015 lentlessly pursued and rigidly woven into the Our church was perhaps caught o& guard by fabric of Caribbean social life. !us under a the tragic events of Wednesday, June 17, 2015, dominant policy that stressed their natural

48 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT in Charleston, SC. We found ourselves caught what theologians and historians call the invisible up in the strange tension of being both far o& Black church. We also recall that Daniel Payne, and near, observing this act of terror from afar perhaps the +rst African American graduate of while also being confronted with a strange and Lutheran !eological Seminary at Gettysburg, unexpected level of intimate connection. In the was also associated with Christian ministry aftermath of the horrible violence that took the among the Black people of this region. Payne’s life of Clementa Pinckney, pastor of Emanuel leadership contributed substantially to the birth AME Church, and eight leaders of this thriv- of the AME Church, a Black Christian denom- ing historic congregation, the focus of this paper ination founded in protest over the segregation substantially shifted when I learned that this pas- policies of Protestant congregations. tor of Mother Emanuel and one of his associate !ese chapters in our shared history should ministers were graduates of Lutheran !eolog- remind us that there is always a political and cul- ical Southern Seminary and that the man who tural subtext informing our narratives of how shot all nine victims was a member of St. Paul the Lutheran church has grown up in this part Lutheran Church. of the world. Lutherans have not always been Given these sobering realities I cannot avoid open to the spirituality of those who were vic- giving attention to what our Lutheran eyes need tims of slavery. It’s the experiences of European to see and consider: the remarkable juxtaposi- immigrants that have largely determined our tions of racial hatred and amazing grace, +erce aesthetic, theological, and cultural biases as a anger and the power of forgiveness—all inter- church. !is reality signi+cantly challenges how twined with the politics of cultural change. !e we create and communicate our expressions of shock and indignation that has touched so many liturgy and hymnody. !e selection criteria for people in South Carolina and across this na- the songs that go into our hymnals have often, tion—and the resolve to honor the slain while in my opinion, re(ected theological and cultur- encouraging healing and unity—have paved al preferences that exclude or limit the voices the way for the removal of the Confederate (ag and paradigms for liturgy and worship that have from the grounds of the South Carolina state- emerged from African-descent communities. house. !e su&ering of the faithful at Emanuel “Careful,” some may want to say, “that sounds AME and the determined expressions of solidar- highly prejudicial.” Is it true? Only you can de- ity with them have opened up many churches to cide, because this is not just about what is bound a larger conversation about faith, heritage, and in hymnbooks today. It has more to do with the ongoing +ght for racial justice and reconcili- what you will value, trust, and encourage in the ation, both within the body of Christ and within liturgies this church chooses to create, utilize, the arena of public policy. and support in the years to come. We have been reminded that Denmark Ve- sey, a former Virgin Islander, prepared plans for a A Prophetic Liturgy slave rebellion early in the 18th century as a part !e book Twelve Years a Slave was also made into of the Christian community in South Carolina a movie that was designated Best Picture by the that eventually became Mother Emanuel. !is Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences courageous attempt to seize power forcefully and in 2014. During the +lming the actors and the to win freedom from slavery was undermined director recognized how profoundly the power by one slave’s betrayal. In the aftermath of this of Northup’s story was impacting their personal thwarted rebellion, White society’s fear of Black emotions and a&ecting their professional work. religion grew. Black people in South Carolina In an interview that was published in the Los An- and other places across the South were forbidden geles Times the movie’s director and the lead actor to gather for worship without the armed supervi- discussed a scene from the movie that depicts the sion of Whites. !is pushed many to +nd ways to burial of one of the slaves. !is burial scene, ac- meet in secret and further enhance the legacy of cording to these artists, o&ers a highly focused

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 49 L COUNTERPOINT The narratives of a European insight into how slaves experienced the interplay immigrant church seem to of grieving, burying the dead, and +nding con- overshadow, in signiﬁcant ways, solation in songs of faith. !e following is taken the narratives of Lutherans who verbatim from that LA Times interview. "e scene: !e slaves bury one of their own, continue to struggle for full Uncle Abram, in the cemetery. Standing freedom and emancipation. over the grave, they begin to sing the spiritual “Roll, Jordan, Roll.” At +rst, Solomon is con(icted and silent, but he eventually our sorrows as well as our joys? Can innovative joins in, singing with his whole heart. liturgy help us augment the rhythm and culture Steve McQueen [the director]: !at’s the of the traditional church year so that what we moment where, through singing the spiritual, Solomon +nds his voice. He belongs do on Sundays becomes even more of an accom- to that community in a way he has nev- paniment to what we experience, for better or er belonged before. We’re in this together. worse, outside of the worship service? !ere’s a power in that. He’s overcome by Here’s another question: how can a prophet- the emotion of it. ic liturgy emerge that “begins with the end in Chiwetel Ejiofor [the actor portraying mind”? (I’m borrowing this phrase from Ste- Northup]: It always struck me that, like phen Covey.16) To some, the goal, the end, the so much of Solomon, the singing came purpose of gathering in worship is for every- out of a re(ex. It’s not considered. At thing to culminate in the celebration of the Holy this point, he’s not in a battle for his free- Eucharist. I’m certainly not against that. I’m dom. He’s in a battle for his mind. And steeped in the traditions of our sacramental the- his survival instinct is so strong, he realiz- es there’s support around him that he has ology. I know the power of word and sacrament never seen. He hasn’t abandoned hope, ministry, and whenever I preach or preside in but he has to allow for the possibility that our Lutheran churches I stand before the people he’s not going home. How is he going to with the unambiguous claim that Jesus is here deal with that and still keep his mind alive right now—in the word, at the table, and among and his body on the planet? Community. the people. But what if there are other ends to McQueen: When the camera holds on Chi- consider as we gather in worship, other necessary wetel, we see Solomon at his lowest, lowest goals to consider in our planning and structure ebb. But at the same time, we see his high- and preparation for our assembly in the name of est, highest hope. It’s in one shot. From the Triune God? What might those ends be? the depths up to the clouds. !at’s why !is brings to mind a series of questions that scene is so powerful. It transforms from despair into courage. Gordon Lathrop posed in his book Holy #ings: A Liturgical #eology. Ejiofor: If anything tells you about the human spirit, it’s that scene. !at’s why we’re Do the structures of power in the assembly at least begin to reorder the structures still here today.15 of power in the world? Is the stranger—and After I read this interview, a series of ques- the stranger in all of us—welcome?...Does tions came to mind. How can liturgy become the sermon say what the shared cup says?… a more reliable means for giving voice to our Are the prayers really intercessions? Do they laments as people who are wounded by the lega- set situations of chaos, injustice, and need cies of slavery and racism? In what ways can and throughout the world next to the grace that should liturgy direct us toward the empower- has been proclaimed in scripture and preaching?...How are lives to be changed?…Is ing embrace of a God who is present, near, and forgiveness of sins, ministered in a full vari- dwelling among us? How do liturgy and hym- ety of means, at the heart of the life of this nody articulate the power of our hope in an community?...Can the community laugh at incarnate God who knows our frustrations and its mistakes, while labouring to strengthen

50 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT immigrant church seem to overshadow, in signi+cant ways, the narratives of Lutherans who continue to struggle for full freedom and emancipation. !e liturgies we prepare and o&er our congregations do not, in my opinion, present an intrinsic intention to celebrate a spirituality of freedom. !ose who represent the demographics of the majority of our church often wrestle with the sins that come with White privilege and White racism, and our written confessions and intercessions consistently +t this pro+le. How can we o&er liturgy that relates to the spirituality and norms of the majority of Lutherans in the Unit- ed States and at the same time invokes the story and the promise of a God who has heard the cries of enslaved Africans and their descendants? !is is not impossible, but it does present a great challenge. I hope that our best thinkers and most innovative worship leaders will wrestle with these particular concerns and acknowledge that this is indeed both an unresolved problem and a great opportunity going forward as we create ISTOCK/POCO_BW and interpret the forms of liturgy and the selections of hymnody that will equip this church for both signs and signi+cance, secure in the worship and ministry that is life-changing and great mercy of God rather than anxious over cultic detail?17 relevant to today’s world. A prophetic liturgy is possible, but it will not !e fullness of the central signs is to be ac- always look like a typical Lutheran setting for centuated not for their own sake, but in order to communicate the meaning of Jesus Christ Holy Communion. A prophetic liturgy might, to present human need. Assembly, Sunday, at one level, seek to mimic some of the quali- bath, word, meal, prayers, and ministries are ties of ritual and symbolism we turn to during called upon to “speak and drive Christ.”… Advent and Lent. Advent and Lent are quite !e liturgy is about this world, now, before explicit about the expectation that what we do 18 God. during worship will have an impact on our con- Davis also reminds us that as the church duct outside the worship space and away from brings the Holy Gospel to the world it becomes the assembly. !e call to intensify our devotion “a major sign of the liberating work of the God to prayer and to Scripture and our care for oth- of Jesus Christ” and an expression of “the sacra- ers has a signi+cant impact on our use of time mental movement of divine freedom in human and other resources. Our fasting does not end history.”19 !at is why he insists that our worship after the worship hour. No, the seasons of Ad- in particular must always retain its “emancipa- vent and Lent are marked by our decision to step tory signi+cance”20—so that the meaning of outside of the mainstream culture and choose emancipation can +nd authentic expression in disciplines of preparation and self-examination our liturgies and our shared ministries. !ese instead of premature celebrations of Christmas ideas, in my opinion, directly confront the pre- and Easter. !ey challenge us to dismantle and dominant dynamics of what we typically see as transform our lethargy, apathy, denial, and de- Lutheran worship. !e narratives of a European spair. !is purposeful attitude in worship is

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 51 L COUNTERPOINT signi+cantly and wonderfully counter-cultural suppressed. On the other hand, those who and nonconventional. love Amos may think that they are called Begin with the end in mind! A liturgy to be absolutely rid of feasts and solemn as- purposefully attuned to the concerns we are semblies, only to substitute in their place the narrower references of their own rhetoric. In examining here might choose to eliminate por- a time of massive injustice, it is easy to think tions of the liturgy’s normal structure; to explore that liturgy has nothing to do with real hu- changes in the design and colors of the wor- man need. ship space; to utilize candles or incense or other ... sense-connecting devices; to consider varieties Our liturgical criticism wants to +nd rit- of music and other liturgical arts that present ual seriousness that has room for a sense of alternative cultural expressions of confession, humor, wants to +nd a Leviticus that has in- contemplation, lament, doxology, praise; and of teriorized the crisis of Amos, wants to +nd course, to give sustained attention to the voices symbols made to speak God’s word for the of both living and ancient prophets and bibli- poor, wants to +nd bread for a holy epiphany cal characters in crisis who confront systems of that has been baked by outsiders and sin- injustice and act in faith to achieve empower- ners….It also requires human su&ering to be ment and liberation. What, in your view, can we juxtaposed to ritual beauty. It requires both the symbols and the crisis in the symbols. learn from the patterns of Advent and Lent that Liturgical criticism is the conscious organi- can creatively inspire and in(uence the shape zation of the liturgical tradition that knows and mood of other seasons and occasions for this crisis is essential to liturgical meaning.21 worship? While a student at Lutheran !eological Lathrop also reminds us: Seminary at Philadelphia, where Lathrop taught, To turn the symbols and rites toward the cru- I frequently heard his emphasis on the idea of “cri- ci+ed Jesus is necessarily to turn them toward sis.” I’ll never forget his phrase, “the crisis of the su&ering humanity outside of the assembly’s circle. Liturgical criticism asks whether the o&ertory,” which he intended to convey a sense assembly, by the presence of the elements of of humility before God and a constant confes- its classical composition, is open to the cha- sion that whatever it is we o&er in Jesus’ name it os and the hope for order and justice in the is never enough, never all, never a su/cient sac- world….Liturgical criticism, in its expla- ri+ce, but it is made su/cient and acceptable by nations of the liturgy and its proposals for the Holy One who receives it in love and sancti- local change, will try to hold Leviticus and +es it through the gifts of grace. So my question Amos together. !at is di/cult to do. !ose remains: how can the liturgies we o&er become who love Leviticus are easily inclined to ab- solutize the rituals and evangelize for their a prophetic accompaniment to prophetic minis- importance. In a chaotic time, it is easy for try? How might they more clearly anticipate and ritual order to seem to be enough, [and] for echo the transforming power and promise of the contradictory experiences to be excluded or Holy Gospel announced through word and sacraments? Despite our human imperfections and limitations, and perhaps precisely because of them, how can liturgy give greater support for the ongoing struggles for freedom and justice? How can this church develop patterns of worship that more directly name and confront the persistent scourge of racism and White privilege?

ISTOCK/CHRISTOPHER FUTCHER How can our weekly assemblies in the name of the Triune God help us live in greater solidar- ity with all God’s children who seek salvation that brings healing and wholeness to our hurting hearts and to our broken communities?

52 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org The word of God can still

L COUNTERPOINT penetrate the blindness of with the concerns and the fears and especial- those who look away from the ly the great hopes that are evoked when we say, realities faced, shaped, and “Black lives matter.” Even if progressive Black theologies seem to hoped for within the spheres some as if they are awash in an idealized orienta- of the Black church. tion to Christ as one who su&ers and dies with us and who brings resurrection power to heal and liberate and bring justice to Black people in the here and now, this is the historical prerogative Black Lutherans Today of our tradition as Christians who have suf- Black Lutherans are often con(icted about fered under slavery, under Jim Crow, under the these things. We are used to living with a dou- prison industrial complex, under both the bra- ble consciousness that allows us to interact and zenness and the subtleties of institutional and function within both the dominant White world personal racism, under segregated schools and and amidst the milieu of our own diverse cultur- segregated work places and segregated military al realities. As Christians we have learned many units and segregated sports teams and segregated ways to a/rm with the psalmist that the joy of dormitories and segregated neighborhoods and the Lord is my strength. We +nd joy and aes- segregated churches. thetic pleasure in surprising ways. Some of us We share in a heritage that is not taken are immersed in the world of opera—yes, op- by surprise when Eric Gardner says, “I can’t era! Others +nd inspiration in the magni+cent breathe,” or when Freddie Gray is thrown in the artistry of that thing we call jazz. We know the back of a police van and comes out with inter- cultural idioms of hip hop, and we also can ap- nal injuries that will end his life in a matter of preciate the profound beauty of music composed hours. We mourn deeply for all of our kindred by Bach, Mozart, and Handel. Many of us are who su&er the indignities of racial pro+ling, and totally prepared to comply with the norms and we can never accept the demands of the privi- structures of typical Lutheran worship. At the leged who expect us to live submissive lives and same time, though, the close of worship brings accommodate the isolation and degradation of us back to the places where we live. our impoverished and oppressed communities. “Go in peace and serve the Lord” often sends We question constantly why a simple tra/c stop Lutherans of African descent back to commu- could lead to the untimely death of our sister nities where unemployment is high and public Sandra Bland, who in 48 hours was found dead services are in disarray. Whether or not we live in a jail cell, another Black woman restrained, amidst proud signs of upward mobility, wheth- alone, and afraid. er or not we are the habitual targets of violent !is is the backdrop, the subtext, that shapes crime and police aggression, whether or not our and informs the lives of even the most faithful social and economic context displays the endur- Black Lutherans. !ey may wholeheartedly em- ing strengths of a resilient Black culture, whether brace the liturgy and hymnody of their Lutheran or not we su&er from the depression and despair congregations—but still, because you can only that easily takes hold of marginalized commu- be who you really are, they will still +nd them- nities, our diversity as a people seldom separates selves seeking the joy and peace of a Holy Spirit us from a common narrative of where we are in who speaks and moves through the music and Black America today. We know that systemic, arts of the Black cultural experience. !ey will race-based oppression is poised to entrap us and still acknowledge that there is a God who will bring harm to our men, women, and children in embrace and comfort their Black children and ways that people who enjoy White privilege will elders, loving them for who they are, a/rming never experience. Whether we say it in church them for the gifts that others may want to distort or not, most people of African descent resonate or suppress, and empowering them to recognize

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 53 L COUNTERPOINT calling the church today? And to what are Chris- tians called? !e planning team appropriated

ISTOCK/IMAGES BARBARA BY one of the key phrases that emerged from the Reformation, “the living voice of the gospel,” viva vox evangelii. We have been reminded that this involves many things: our interpretation of the Bible, the kerygmatic nature of preaching, and the proclamatory role of music and the arts. !e funeral service for the Rev. Clementa Pinckney showed us once again that the ancient themes and symbols we celebrate through liturgy and hymnody are neither stagnant nor impotent nor irrelevant to the struggles and the opportunities we recognize in our world today. !ese central themes of cross, resurrection, grace, forgiveness, freedom, justice, spiritual gifts, and the mystery of that thing we call “soul” that God’s new creation are meant to come alive and comes in a thousand ways to help us smile and connect with the cries of the people and the mis- say our God made us beautiful, our God made sion of the church. !e word of God can still us good, and our God is going to be with us till penetrate the blindness of those who look away traveling days are done. from the realities faced, shaped, and hoped for within the spheres of the Black church. !is was Begin with the End in Mind summed up quite eloquently at Pastor Pinck- ney’s funeral service as one of the AME bishops Liturgy always has this potential to convey our said, without even completing his sentence, “the intentions as the whole people of God in Christ stone that the builders rejected!” Jesus. We know that the witness of our faith is After delivering the eulogy for Pastor Pinck- anchored in and strengthened by the call to ac- ney, the president of the United States sang tively wait on the Lord, to prepare for something “Amazing Grace.” I’m sure that had we been promised and hoped for, to engage individually there every one of us would have lifted our voic- and corporately in self-examination and repen- es to join in singing this magni+cent hymn of tance, and to encourage spiritual disciplines that the day that so powerfully celebrated the hope impact our personal and corporate actions, espe- of an assembly gathered in worship and that so cially when there is a sense of urgency that drives fully embodied the mystery and promise of the our desire to make amends and bring about rec- church of every time and place. What matters onciliation among estranged people and groups. most is not that such a diverse gathering of peo- We can’t rush the gift of healing. We can’t turn ple shared in the worship traditions of the AME God’s justice into another on-demand app on Church, but rather that for so many people a our smart phones. But we can imbue our litur- great hope in the transforming love of Christ was gy with an exciting blend of the new and the old, rekindled. What always matters most are the the historical and the contextual, the theologi- ways that liturgy serves to articulate and signi- cal and the interpersonal, things we can act on fy the power of Christ to energize congregations immediately and the gifts of enduring visions of and communities that struggle with the trage- what God can make possible that will require dies of division, hatred, violence, war, poverty, our attention and support for years—and even disease, and environmental degradation. What generations. matters most are the words and deeds that come !e 2015 Worship Jubilee was conceived to life because we have come together for wor- with speci+c questions in mind. How is God ship, prayer, and praise in Jesus’ name.

54 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org Twelve years is symbolic of a time that is not eternal—and

L COUNTERPOINT the image of 12 years in this the Black church against impossible odds is an biblical account reminds us a/rmation of God’s love in spite of all, the Black that we gather in worship to church serves as a theological model for White Christians.”23 rekindle our passion to live free Inasmuch as this tradition is indeed alive from bondage to sin and the and well, why can’t it be welcomed and support- powers of wickedness, ed among Black Lutherans and others for whom God’s grace and truth comes alive through sim- oppression, and death. ilar patterns of worship? If God is shining light all around us, don’t let a narrow view of litur- Our kerygma has always been grounded in gy keep the shutters closed. If the Holy Spirit the ancient proclamation: “the One who was is moving among us with a fresh and powerful cruci+ed lives.” !e echoes of this living word wind, don’t let the rules of one culture operate inspired Northup to write the story of his own to restrict what God is doing to nurture and heal tragedy and vindication, the narrative that told the people who +nd their authentic selves among the world how the one who was kidnapped and the holy things that honor and nurture what W. sold into slavery had been set free. !e fam- E. B. DuBois called “the souls of Black folk.”24 ilies of the victims of the Charleston massacre If our children are staying away and seeking have written on the pages of history their own spiritual nourishment elsewhere—because we kerygma: the ones whose lives were shattered by are unable or unwilling to feed their hunger for gunshots +red inside their church have o&ered worship that touches their hearts, worship that the gift of forgiveness to the man who killed sounds familiar to their ears, worship that feels their loved ones. !e state of South Carolina re- like “church” to their hands and feet, worship sponded (somewhat reluctantly and after much that looks like an assembly poised and preparing heated debate) by removing the Confederate (ag for the Spirit to come down when the praises go from the grounds of the statehouse, a political up—if our children can’t look to this church for action that had been stymied for more than 20 worship that gives them living bread, living wa- years—and others might say, avoided for more ter, and living praise, then why are we surprised than 150 years. !e world is still responding to that so many of our houses of worship have be- the word given to and proclaimed by the church come completely generationally imbalanced? of every time and place, the church God sends to !e young, those new to the faith, and those announce redemption, restoration, and revival who have tired of being required to conform to of hope that may have seemed lost forever. worship standards that are not true to their own If there is a living tradition that makes the cultural heritage and spiritual needs are all mov- good news come alive again—and we contend ing on. Attrition is having its way. that as an article of faith, that tradition is indeed alive in many ways—then let us joyfully Twelve Years acknowledge how that tradition is embodied Our theme, “Twelve Years a Lutheran,” brings in the hymns and praise songs and the worship to mind the twin stories of healing recorded in culture of Black churches that don’t have to be Mark 5:21-43, a powerful narrative of a wom- coaxed to respond to the leader’s call and won’t an who su&ered 12 years with a terrible disease sit down and listen when good music and good accompanied by the account of the 12-year- preaching and rich fellowship is all around. Al- old daughter of Jairus, a sick child who was at bert Pero, a leading Black Lutheran theologian, the point of death. Both women, young and has observed: “!e freedom that is going on in old, were destined to +nd healing and new life Black worship is not one of its aspects; it is its through the mysterious power of the Lord Jesus 22 goal. It is as ethical as it is liturgical.” He also Christ. writes: “To the extent that the joy expressed in

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 55 L COUNTERPOINT Surely, in all the ways this discussion may challenge Some teachers emphasize Jesus’ decision to make Jairus wait while he gave his full at- us to our core, God has set tention to the urgent cries of the woman who before us an open door. had reached out to touch his garment. !is event in Jesus’ ministry does seem to o&er a bit Sunday I was scheduled to be a guest preacher. I of commentary because our Lord refuses to ac- was the only person of color in the building. !is commodate the expectations of a privileged man is what I said: (Jairus, a leader of the synagogue) at the expense What’s urgent for you, for our church, for of one who had lost all that she had and was now our nation, and for our world? !e list is long, relegated to a meager existence on the margins you might say. I’ll tell you this: many are cry- of society. It also says something about the pow- ing out for healing, just like Jairus, and just er of touch and about our common need to be like the woman who touched Jesus’ garment. touched by the healing of love of Christ, espe- Many are crying out for justice, for system- cially as we gather for worship. !e touch of a ic change, for more compassion toward those bruised and forlorn woman moved Jesus to ac- who live in poverty and amidst violence and broken institutions. Many are crying out for knowledge the vitality of the faith alive in her equal opportunities for education, for eco- despite the di/culties of her daily circumstanc- nomic advancement, for citizenship, for the es—and he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has right to marry the person they love. What’s made you whole.” A 12-year-old girl and a wom- urgent for you? an who lived a tragic life for 12 long years are !e events of the last two weeks have forever linked in this gospel story. !ey both are taught us a lot about the power of open doors. acknowledged as daughters who are loved and Open doors let a killer into the church, but a/rmed, and their twin stories draw our atten- this act of terror did not become a victory tion to a particularly purposeful reckoning of for Satan, a victory for hatred, or a victory time: 12 years. for racism. It is becoming a victory for grace. Twelve years is symbolic of a time that is Grace has moved people to forgive. Grace has moved politicians to change their minds. not eternal—and the image of 12 years in this Grace has moved Lutherans to again admit biblical account reminds us that we gather in that the battle for peace and justice is not worship to rekindle our passion to live free from over. Grace has shown our church that we bondage to sin and the powers of wickedness, are more connected to one another than we oppression, and death. True freedom re(ects our ever imagined. Grace has allowed us to see shared freedom as God’s people in Christ—and what we didn’t see before—in ourselves and we cannot be free until all of us are free. As we in others. Maybe what’s most urgent for us is move forward together, our renewal as heirs of simply to look more deeply at what it means to open doors. Yes, when you don’t really the Reformation must be attuned to a new kind know someone, open doors bring risk. But of freedom, a freedom that will bring a deeper this is the +rst thing we must do in ministry. reconciliation between the heirs of enslaved Afri- !e walls may want to de+ne who and where cans and the heirs of those who still bene+t from we are, but our open doors remind us of who the cruel indignities and injustices and lingering and what we are becoming. legacies of the peculiar institution of slavery in I believe that the Holy Spirit has been sent America. to call us out of our upper rooms and our build- !ese healing stories from Mark’s Gospel ings with doors closed and locked. She comes were a part of the assigned lectionary reading to awaken our faith, to show us the wonders of for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, which God’s dominion, to revive our commitment to happened to be the +rst Sunday after Pastor mission, to renew our trust in a faithful God’s Pinckney’s funeral service in Charleston. !ese power to heal our brokenness, and to restore our words of Scripture were literally waiting for us joy in the gifts of God’s new creation. !is Holy as we gathered together in worship. On that Spirit builds bridges that connect the stories

56 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT of our sacred Scripture with stories of our continuing reformation and renewal. She comes to encourage our celebration of the exciting ecumenical and interfaith breakthroughs that we are witnessing in the world today. Despite the “terror of the night, or the arrow that (ies by day, or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday” (Psalm 91:5-6), this Holy Spirit is indeed calling us to turn toward a future in Christ that will be di&erent from anything we’ve ever seen before.

Still Reforming I want to refer you now to a very signi+cant statement about the 500th year of the Reforma- tion, a commemoration that is fast approaching, and for some, has already begun. A recent issue of #e Christian Century featured a provocative article co-authored by Sarah Hinlicky Wil- son, a professor at the Institute for Ecumenical

Research in Strasbourg, France, and !omas JOHN SANTORO Albert Howard, who teaches at Gordon College Rev. William Flippin, 2015 Biennial Conference in Wenham, MA. !eir words are tremen- dously applicable to the experiences of enslaved Ephesians calls us to proclaim “peace to you Africans in the Western hemisphere: “When who were far o& and peace to those who were theology has led to violence or when violence near.” Surely, in all the ways this discussion may has informed theology, Christians have a duty challenge us to our core, God has set before us to look this grave evil in the eye and repent.”25 an open door. We who shape and lead the wor- After lifting up the example of the Lutheran– ship of this church have a particularly important Mennonite dialogue and the public declarations responsibility and a historically amazing oppor- of repentance and forgiveness it engendered, tunity as heirs of the Reformation. !e 2015 they observe that “new possibilities for unity… Worship Jubilee has boldly a/rmed this task: will remain invisible to us as long as we refuse “to make this good news come alive, again and to confess our sins openly and in detail....Free- again. We become God’s voice, calling out to re- ing ourselves from the burden of our guilt-laden form a fractured and changing world.”28 pasts, whether individually or collectively, can !is document is being o&ered to join in the be accomplished only by the power of the One a/rmation that this church is called by God to who takes away the sins of the world.”26 preach good news to the captives and set at lib- !e authors conclude that this anniversary erty those who are oppressed—in ways great and cannot only be about Luther or Lutherans. !ey small, local and global, and in unlikely settings instruct us: “!e theological task in 2017 is not that may not appear at +rst to have any impact so much to retrieve Luther, but to follow him on the practices of the powerful or alleviate the only insofar as he pointed the way to Christ in su&ering of the poor and the forsaken. We are faith and to turning to our neighbors, near and called to come together because our mission is far, in love….Luther at 500 is not primarily for empowered by our worship. People are healed, Protestants, not even for Lutherans, but for all strengthened, renewed, restored, and changed who hunger for the real presence of Christ.”27 by the time we share that is devoted to prayer, Again, we remember how the Letter to the song, sacraments, and the transforming power

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 57 L COUNTERPOINT of the living word of God. It is a strange time “Do you miss him sometimes? Do you long for not governed by the logic of this world, a time of assurance that you have not been left behind? wonder and mystery. !en why do you stand looking up toward heav- Barbara Brown Taylor’s book Gospel Medi- en? Look around you, look around.”30 cine is a magni+cent collection of sermons that are +lled with powerful images. !e following Look, Listen, Trust, and Begin excerpt helps us experience a heightened sense I have asked you to look around: to look at your of commonality. !e words strain at the edges of congregations, to look at your parishes, to look the arguments I have made and the questions I at your service and mission organizations, and to have raised. !is preacher’s manuscript was pub- look at yourselves as leaders who will help guide lished 20 years ago. Listen to her now as we press this church into God’s promised future. I have ahead, remembering that we are a confessing asked you to admit some di/cult things, to ex- church, a church infected with racism, a church amine them, to hear my questions, and to ask endowed with both privilege and poverty, and a your own. church that must be God-directed, Christ-cen- “Twelve Years a Lutheran” is a theme that tered, and Holy Spirit-inspired if it is to have a was never meant to be presumptive or dismis- relevant future marked by ministries sustained sive of the gifts and commitments of those who by worship that empowers the people for mis- lead this church. I too, like Taylor, believe that sion today. we come to church to learn where we +t. No On Sunday mornings a great division one should be in a church that is not alive in the takes place among American people, as some freedom of Christ. And no one should come to go to church and most stay home. !ose who worship without being challenged and nour- stay home are not taking a week o&; church is simply not part of their lives….It is one of ished and blessed to go into the world with a the most peculiar things twentieth-centu- better understanding of the mission entrusted to ry human beings can do, to come together all of us. Look around. Look around. week after week with no intention of being When Jesus felt the healing power (owing useful or productive, but only facing an or- because someone who needed his help reached nate wall to declare things they cannot prove out to touch his garment, he wanted to know about a God they cannot see. Our word for “who touched me?” and he looked around to it is worship and it is hard to justify in this see who it was. !en he reminded everyone: we day and age, but those of us who do it over and over again begin to count on it. !is is all need to hear her story. !ere are stories that how we learn where we +t. !is is how we need to be told in our churches, and preachers locate ourselves between the past and the aren’t the only ones who need to lift their voic- future, between our hopes and our fears, be- es. !ere are stories in our Scriptures that we tween the earth and the stars. !is is how we may have heard all our lives, but they will sound learn who we are and what we are supposed fresh and new as the Holy Spirit interprets them to be doing: by coming together to sing and with the wisdom of people to whom we aren’t to pray, to be silent and to be still, by peering used to listening. !ere are stories we all need to into the darkness together and telling each other what we see when we do. We may baÄe hear from people who have nothing to do with our unbelieving friends and neighbors, but our Lutheran institutions and traditions. Who it cannot be helped. Half the time we baÄe is reaching out to encounter the presence of the ourselves, proclaiming good news when the living Christ? Twelve years of bondage must give news is bad, trusting the light when the sky is way to the freedom we need to look around and so dark, continuing to wait on the Saviour in see the faces of and hear the stories of those we our midst when all the evidence suggests that have failed to recognize and a/rm. Whatever he packed up and left a long, long time ago.29 you do next, I encourage you to look around, lis- !is was a sermon preached on Ascension ten to the Spirit, trust your faith in Christ Jesus, Day. !e +nal words of her message are these: and begin with the end in mind.

58 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L COUNTERPOINT Harvard Stephens Jr. serves ¤hillip ¯ ¤fatteicher and arlos ¡esserli% Man- as dean of the chapel and pas- ual on the Liturgy: Lutheran Book of Worship ¡in neapolis ugsburg% % tor to the community at Lu- theran School of #eology at bid% Chicago. He is a soprano sax- bid% – ophonist who improvises in bid% . worship and integrates poetry, jazz, and spon- bid% . taneity in the assembly gathered for Christian avis% worship. lenn ©hipp% Å §ears a lave° teve ¡c Àueen% hiwetel $jiofor on «ey cenes%£ Additional Bibliography Los Angeles Times ec % % accessed pril % % http¹¹graphicslatimescom¹ towergraphicyearsaslavekeyscenes¹ ilby% «enneth ¡ #e Caribbean as a Musi- tephen ovey% The Seven Habits of Highly Effec- cal Region. ©ashington% ©oodrow tive People: Restoring the Character Ethic ¦ew §ork ©ilson nternational enter for cholars% imon and chuster% % «indle edition% ¤art wo ¤rivate ²ictory% ¯abit egin with the end in mind arroll% ¬ulius ©e ay hat ©e re u therans ²irgin slanders and ¢ther ordon athrop% Holy Things: A Liturgical Theology ¡inneapolis ¥ortress% % – frican mericans within the $£ Word & World: #eology for Christian Min- bid% – istry % no pring – avis% bid ¤atterson% ¢rlando Rituals of Blood: Con- sequences of Slavery in Two American athrop% Centuries. ¦ew §ork ivitas% lbert ¤ero% ©orship¹©itness and heology in ontextual orrelation%£ in Theology and the Black Experience: The Lutheran Heritage Interpreted by Af- rican and African-American Theologians, ed by l Notes bert ¤ero and mbrose ¡oyo ¡inneapolis ugs $dward $ aptist% The Half Has Never Been Told: burg% % Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism bid% ¦ew §ork asic ooks% % © $ uois% The Souls of Black Folks hicago ichard hapman% ¬ust $nough³ utherans% lav ¡clurg% ery% and the truggle for acial ¬ustice%£ The Cresset % no rinity – arah ¯inlicky ©ilson and homas lbert ¯ow ard% epent and elebrate%£ The Christian Century ¤ew esearch enter% he ¡ost and east a % no ¬uly cially iverse eligious roups%£ accessed ¢ct % % http¹¹wwwpewresearchorg¹fact bid% tank¹¹¹¹themostandleastraciallydiverse bid usreligiousgroups¹ ¥reed ¨ enewed in hrist §ears of od°s $lizabeth $aton% $ tatement on the harles race in ction%£ ¬ubilee website% accessed ¢ct % ton hooting%£ accessed ¢ct % % http¹¹www % http¹¹wwwelcaorg¹events¹¹¹¹ elcaorg¹esources¹¤residingishop¡essages worshipjubiliee «enneth ¡ ilby% quoted in «ortright avis% arbara rown aylor% Gospel Medicine ambridge Emancipation Still Comin’: Explorations in Caribbe- owley% % – an Emancipatory Theology ¡aryknoll% ¦§ ¢rbis bid% ooks% % bid bid% eonard ¤itts ¬r% ¤rior to ny Åonversation on ace° ©e ¦eed $ducation on ace,£ Kenosha News ¡arch %

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 59 L BOOKREVIEW and prayed and praised and debated and edited and proposed and compromised and wept and worked and completed their task. Sort of. !e Worship and work was never fully adopted in the church body Culture: For- that directly prompted this particular e&ort, the eieign Country or LCMS. HoHomeland? On a sad note, in the two decades since this EdEd. Gláucia Vas- e&ort there has not been another mutually en- coconcelos Wilkey. dorsed ELCA/LCMS worship project leading GrGrand Rapids, MI: to the production of a common document. Per- EeEerdmans, 2014. haps those in the centers of North American Lutheranism should look more to the outsid- xxxxvii, 442 pp. er perspective of minorities to lead in fostering ISISBN-13: 978-0- inter-Lutheran e&orts. !ose at the margins— 8028-7158-9. including the liturgical sidelines—often are $36.00, paperback. better positioned to see the future and can change the priorities of the in(uential with ears rior to o%ering a review of this notable vol- to hear when it comes to ecumenical initiatives Pume, I would like to take a few paragraphs and the renewal of tradition. to describe a saga in worship and culture that I In the case of this African American Lu- hope illustrates the need for a work like Worship theran project, after frequently animated and Culture. deliberation, ELCA and LCMS representatives Twenty-+ve years ago, in June 1990, the Af- (comprised signi+cantly of grassroots leaders) rican American Commission on Worship was prevailed and +nally reached an agreement on convened as a subcommittee of !e Lutheran a common resource supplement for worship that Church—Missouri Synod’s (LCMS) Commis- they proposed formally to their respective Lu- sion on Worship. !eir immediate focus was theran decision-makers. !e ensuing doctrinal the selection of hymns, some 300, that they de- dialogues about worship and culture, particu- termined as viable within the corpus of Black larly within the LCMS, further decelerated the church hymnody. Two years later, in Decem- process to the point that practicality determined ber 1992, that project became an inter-Lutheran that the only ELCA’s Augsburg Fortress Press e&ort. Sparked by local congregations eager to published #is Far by Faith: An African Ameri- cultivate expressions of African American heri- can Hymnal Supplement in 1999. tage within a primarily European-enculturated As someone invested in this process during Lutheranism and sustained by the generosity the 1990s, I confess my own deep disappoint- of the Lutheran Brotherhood Foundation (as it ment in the nonendorsement of #is Far by Faith was then called), both the LCMS and the Evan- by my church body, the LCMS. Time heals, gelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) however. Historical distance has helped me committed measurably to the project. Parish-lev- recognize some logical—if not theological— el practitioners, churchwide sta&, musicians, reasons for the outcome. Which is why we need liturgical theologians, and +nancial resources works like Wilkey’s as well as documents like were devoted to support this initiative and bring the Lutheran World Federation’s (LWF) wor- it to fruition. !eir consensus goal: “To provide ship and culture series: because of the crucial congregations in Black ministry with a book of underdevelopment of biblical, confessional, and worship resources which presents the Gospel so ecclesial categories for critical and self-critical that it can be heard in the musical idiom and discussions about contextualization in Luther- spiritual vocabulary of African American Chris- an worship. tianity.”1 For some six years they met and sang What Paul Grime (then the executive

60 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org BOOKREVIEW L director of the LCMS Commission on Worship) years been disrupted by the ample availability stated rather unexceptionally in 1998 is now, in of communication technology, increased ease of retrospect, blatantly insightful—namely, that transportation, and the (uidity of human mi- the LCMS “‘has a lot of work to do’ in dealing gration patterns across and within borders. All with issues of theology and culture. Part of the traditions have an opportunity to experience reason this project foundered is that we have multidirectional renewal by sources and resourc- not wrestled with these issues and their impli- es within and without themselves. !ese realities cations for what it means to be the Church.’”2 I make this volume and the way it is organized all would extend his critique beyond the LCMS to the more necessary and noteworthy. all my good Christian friends who rejoice and A frequent challenge for volumes like this, sing. Indeed, among the factors that led to the with multiple authors, is the quest for tonal inability of the LCMS to sign o& on the +nal unity. Strident uniformity is not the goal, but proposal for #is Far by Faith was the tempta- evenness of presentation ampli+es perspicuity, tion by some among the ELCA participants to legibility, and the reader’s comprehension. Some insist on the inclusion of rare+ed practices that sections of this volume are more consistent with were not recognized in the worship customs of that goal than others, but what singularly im- the vast majority of everyday African Americans. pels it are the LWF statements on worship and (For example, the committee spent hours debat- culture. !e +rst two LWF consultations— ing libation rituals, a traditional heritage ritual Cartigny, Switzerland (1993) and Hong Kong among some West Africans that is virtually un- (1994)—led to Worship and Culture in Dialogue known among Black Lutherans or committee (1994). !e consultation in Nairobi, Kenya, gave members from “real” congregations who were birth to Christian Worship: Unity in Cultural Di- suspicious of the wisdom of their introduction.) versity (1996); and that in Chicago, IL, generated As is often the case, both sides had a hand in the Baptism, Rites of Passage, and Culture (1998). failure of this project. Wilkey has organized this work accord- Since we are speaking of worship conducted ing to three sections corresponding, more or by humans,3 culture is inevitably and often in- less, with the three resultant documents from decipherably enmeshed, invisibly con(ated, and the LWF consultations. !e introduction, pro- undetectably confused with theology. !ere is viding essays of historical and theological no acultural theology or culture-less liturgy— contexts, helps to orient the reader as signi+cant- behooving us to note patterns of inculturation ly as the concluding section tends to disorient. not for their own sake, nor to debunk a par- Titled “Two Re(ections of the Roman Catholic– ticular tradition, nor to provide “decorative Reformed Church Dialogue,” there are actually appendices,”4 but (as one to whom this vol- four separate essays in this section with divergent ume is dedicated puts it) to promote the “active content that could be distractive to the central and intellectual participation of all in the con- point of the volume, especially for some Luther- gregation...[toward] a profound appreciation an readers. of Christ’s mystery made present in the litur- I found Worship and Culture to be both gy.”5 !e Christocentricity for which Christian ambitious and limited in scope. For example, worship aims is enhanced by the gift of incul- if you note the diversity of contributors within turation, especially as it shakes o& the shackles the original LWF documents (conveniently list- of cultural captivity that do not glorify God or ed on pp. 404–9), they are broadly parallel in nourish holy living. diversity to the ecumenical and ethnocultural Such a call for deep re(ection and intellec- intent of the original LWF statements. Judicious tual wrestling on matters of liturgy and culture intentionality was likely applied to that invita- is more profoundly needed, especially in our tion list. A limiting factor in this volume, on the own time of expanding global Lutheranism. other hand, consists in the narrowness of the !e Eurocentricity of our tradition has for 50 backgrounds of the contributors with respect to

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 61 L BOOKREVIEW We would do well… to renew that same measure. !is “ecumenical and inter- our evangelical mission of disciplinary study of the relationship between engaging an expanding globe Christian worship and cultures” (xi) is over- for the sake of the whole church, whelmingly White and Western, with English speakers predominating. Joseph A. Donnella II, which includes burgeoning an African American, is the only person whose Reformation traditions from race or ethnicity is speci+cally and awkwardly which we can learn. This volume noted (xxiv). Why not note the background of the others? directs us toward that task. If it is intended to be a volume inclusive of the Reformed tradition (as the last section in- examination of the Australian aboriginal myth fers), where are scholars from, for example, the of Tiddalek applied primarily to baptism—but Presbyterian Church in America? If it is meant also to “ambiguous identity”—titled “Of Frogs, to be a U.S.-based, Lutheran volume, why are Eels, Women and Pelicans.” there are no LCMS contributors? !e mission- At times some writers lapse into an un- al energy and extroverted evangelism of more intended, sentimentalized ethnocentricity of conservative interpretations of the Lutheran and their own. Mark Bangert suggests, for example: Reformed confessions are neither without con- “Experienced observers will thrill in the exot- sidered opinions on the topic of worship and ic sounds of the gamelan scale patterns” (107). culture nor without considerable global con- What level of education or preparation consti- stituencies with whom they have engaged in tutes one being “experienced”? Why the outsider dialogue. Admittedly this may be an LWF ef- posture of “observer” and not the engaged Chris- fort, encompassing only their partner churches. tian insider, as Anscar Chupungco describes !e essay of S. Anita Stau&er—one of the axiomatically, the worshipper’s “active and intel- two named honorees of this volume—should be ligent participation” (278–79)? Why “thrill” and requisite reading in every Lutheran seminary’s not, say, “edi+ed”? Who gets to categorize oth- Intro to Liturgy 101. Its classic consideration of ers as “exotic,” and exotic to whom? A volume the categories, pitfalls, and opportunities of faith focused on worship and culture (1) should more and culture are timeless. readily disclose its own starting-point perspec- Besides the expectedly stellar contributions tives, and (2) should not objectivize or fetishize from Stau&er, Benjamin Stewart, and Gordon the art forms of others (“exotic”!). !at sentence Lathrop, there are numerous, luminous moments might better read, “Western liturgical scholars on these pages. I enjoyed seeing Melinda Quivik might +nd captivating the sounds, perhaps exot- deal in a methodical manner with the apparent ic to them, of gamelan scale patterns.” incongruity between scienti+c approaches to !e heartfelt center of this volume is the medical treatment and rituals of faith healing. essay by Lathrop in memory of Chupungco, a She proposes a transcultural response: “Where Roman Catholic priest, Benedictine monk, and the church understands that God’s work can be ethnocultural liturgical scholar, whom Lathrop e&ected through human vocation, healing rites describes succinctly and delicately as “learned do not intend to subsume or replace reasoned, and gracious” (287). !ere is likely not a more scienti+c, medical help for the sick” (354).6 +tting encomium to his legacy (in light of his un- !e breadth of the chapters is wide ranging expected death on January 9, 2013) than to have and, at times, disparately creative, often pro- his lustrous contributions lauded by an esteemed viding practical suggestions, even litany-like colleague from outside of his own tradition. readings as usable material. Intellectually curious Chupungco’s second contribution in this worship a+cionados will delight in such topics book, “Methods of Liturgical Inculturation,” as the editor’s own “Susurrations Where Life elucidates the ways in which he was both a debt- Unites”; and the provocative anthropological or to Luther and a provocateur of Lutherans. He

62 Fall 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L BOOKREVIEW muses on one disagreement he once had with themselves warrant re-reading within the con- Lutherans: “!ey raised the warning that cul- text of these contributions. As such, a more ture is inherently evil because of human sin” provocative imperative is stirred up within these (279). I found his response to that point com- pages, and it echoes unsurprisingly from him pelling, a point with which he says he “could not who now worships with the saints and angels, disagree more.” (279). He contends that we, on Fr. Chupungco: “!e question now is: Where do the basis of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, can- Lutherans go from here?” (280). not categorically assign the moral marker “evil” to culture. !is seems to be aligned remarkably John Arthur Nunes with the Lutheran condemnation of so-called Jochum Chair, Valparaiso University Flacianism.7 Valparaiso, IN Often reveling in the birthday he shared with Martin Luther, November 10, Chupungco Notes o&ers ironically the lengthiest and best Luther ¡inutes of the ¬une meeting of the frican citation in the book, one that is essential for any merican utheran ¯ymnal ¤roject committee Lutheran consideration of dynamic equivalency ¤aul rime% quoted in avid ¡ahsman% lack in worship and culture: ¯ymnal oes to $ ¤anel ites ¥rustration% We do not have to ask about the literal Latin elays%£ Reporter ¡arch or how we are to speak German. Rather we s contrasted with mountains and hills and trees must ask the mother in the home, the chil- saiah or heaven and earth and sea and field dren on the street, the common person in and forest ¤salm worshipping od the market about this. We must be guided by nscar ¬ hupungco% nculturation in ©orship%£ their tongue, the manner of their speech, and in this volume do our translating accordingly. !en they will understand it and recognize that we are bid% – speaking German to them....!e literal Latin Àuivik also cites well the leading experts on this is a great barrier to speaking proper German topic from a utheran perspective% including ²al (267). paraiso niversity°s hristoffer ¯ rundmann he church is called Åto work toward an unbiased On the brink of the 500th anniversary of the theological attitude toward healing%° one that is ap start of the Reformation in 2017—that “trag- propriately integrated into the church°s ministries£ ic necessity,” as Jaroslav Pelikan called it8—we would do well, +rst of all, to renew our evan- ¢n the other hand% we also reject the false teaching gelical mission of engaging an expanding globe of the ¡anichaeans% when it is taught that original sin is something essential and autonomous that a for the sake of the whole church, which includes tan has infused into human nature and mixed to burgeoning Reformation traditions from which gether with it% as when poison and wine are mixed£ we can learn. !is volume directs us toward that obert «olb and imothy ¬ ©engert% eds% The task. And secondly, we would do well to be re- Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical minded by a Roman Catholic, Chupungco, that Lutheran Church ¡inneapolis ¥ortress% % rt % ¦egative hesis % and see also – ¥lacian Lutherans are not without a heritage of navi- ism refers to the utheran doctrines and treatises gating questions of worship and culture. In his of ¡atthias ¥lacius llyricus% especially his attacks estimation of the Second Vatican Council, he on ¡elanchthon and others for distorting uther°s states: “It took twelve centuries for the Roman teachings and emphasizing adiaphorism Catholic Church to recover the noble simplicity ¬aroslav ¤elikan% The Riddle of Roman Catholicism of its worship. It would have not taken that long ¦ew §ork bingdon ¤ress% % had Rome, in the 16th century, heeded Martin Luther’s call for liturgical reform” (281). Whether or not the LWF statements achieve the goal of providing a thematic thread on which these essays hang, the LWF documents

Fall 2015 CrossAccent 63 L SOUNDFEST fortissimo +nal stanza. !is thrilling setting CONGREGATIONAL deserves much usage. No choir necessary but SONG ensure that the trumpeter has some experience with articulation and sharp rhythmic attacks. Parts in both C and B-(at. JG Samuel Metzger. ReRejoice, the Lord Is King.Ki INSTRUMENTAL | Congregation, two trum- ORGAN pets, trombone, bass trombone, with optional timpani, suspended John Behnke. cymbal, choral descant. 5 Preludes of MorningStar Praise, Set Nine. (MSM-20-783), $25.00. Concordia (97- 7703), $20.00. Metzger uses the powerful tune D`~ `DD’? ÇÈÉX, found in most denominational hymnals, !is volume in and creates an extremely festive setting for many Behnke’s series uses. Permission is granted to the purchaser to includes six ar- copy the brass and percussion parts; in addi- rangements of tion, the choral descant can be printed with the hymn tunes, text included, or with any text from a particular some of which hymnal, or simply sung on “ah.” Trumpet parts are not often arranged for organ. !e six tunes are provided in both C and B-(at and are rhyth- included are IQX D`| }{Z ?QXD=>_; L`\Ê @_ mically exciting. A tuba could also play the bass G@Z; M`QX? \= \=~, G@; S=DD> N`QX; trombone part, if desired. JG S~`_ \=QX {=QX; and W>\ ={ L>=Z>{?- `|>{. !ese arrangements do a good job of JaJacob B. Weber. re(ecting the lyrics of the hymns throughout. PrPraise, My Soul, the !e selections are of medium di/culty. MS KiKing of Heaven. Organ, trumpet. Concordia (97-7699), Je&rey Blersch. $14.00. Feast after Feast: Easy Preludes !is is a festival hymn on Communion setting of the tune L`}- Hymns, Set 2. Z` `{=\`. Jacob Weber Concordia (97- brings creativity and ener- 7702), $22.00. gy to the practice of using traditional Christian !is useful collec- hymnody as the basis for organ and choral music tion features eight for worship and concert. An extended prelude is arrangements of provided for the hymn introduction; if a trum- communion peter is unavailable, it is possible to perform with hymns, including H>~~ J>?} CX~=?, Z=QX } a sturdy trumpet stop on the organ. !ere are }{? >{Z, P=Q`~ZË, S. M=QX`>D, and S@{{> two hymn stanza settings, followed by an inter- Z>~ G>~>QX=|>=. Each piece brings the text lude that guides the assembly into a magni+cent to life. “At the Lamb’s High Feast” is arranged in

64 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L SOUNDFEST a fresh fanfare setting; Blersch arranges “Let All meditative music is needed in worship, such as Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” for (utes and strings, preservice, o&ertory, or communion. Eggert using long sustained note values over quar- demonstrates excellence in four-part writing ter-note movement. “Your Table I Approach” is throughout. Creative registration suggestions a dance-like setting full of staccato eighth notes, are provided for a two-manual instrument. En- proclaiming the joy of the eucharist. !is col- glish, American, German, Swedish, and French lection may be just the book to have in reserve traditions are represented in this collection, during the distribution. JRB which features a particularly pleasing setting of S. C@D}\Ê`. CP

JamesJa L. Brauer. FiveFi Hymn Pre- Kevin Hildebrand. ludes for Organ. Six Hymn Improvisa- Concordia (97- tions, Set 10. 7687), $20.00. Concordia (97-7701), $13.00. Brauer employs a variety of tech- !is collection is not spe- niques to treat ci+c to a season but will +ve well-known be most useful for the fall tunes from the (second half of Pentecost). Lutheran tra- Since all but one of the dition: fantasy, six tunes are associated fugue, chorale, syncopation, and blues-styled with two (and sometimes three) di&erent hymn harmony. Some thirty-second-noterhythms and texts from Lutheran Service Book (and most are active pedal parts are included. !e collection is also in Evangelical Lutheran Worship and Chris- written for two-manual organ, with registration tian Worship), there is also a notable degree of suggestions given. Tunes that Brauer has set in- (exibility. !e tunes chosen are A}_ \>={>{ clude G`D=D>`{ (in two di&erent keys); K@\\, D=>Ê>{ G@, F@~}{`}? N> , H@DË M`{- X>=D=|>~ G>=?, H>~~> G@; L`??> }{? {`, K={|’? W>?@{, T~Ë||`~> `{ ={|>{ \= J>?} =>X>{; O Z`?? =QX `}?>{Z Z}{- `~`, and W>?\={?>~ AÊÊ>Ë. Each setting |>{ XÌ>; and S. L}>. Settings are easy has a unifying motif leading to one or two clear to medium level of di/culty, slightly above iterations of the melody. !ey will thus work well sight-reading. CP as hymn preludes or musical o&erings during the service. DR JohnJo Eggert. Twenty-Six HymnHy Hymn Prelude Library, Introductions.In vol. 6. Concordia (97- Ed. Kevin Hildebrand. 7692), $26.00. Concordia (97-7459), $50.00. AlthoughAl designed for use as hymn !is volume, from Con- introductions, cordia’s series of organ this collection preludes based on the also can be uti- tunes found in Luther- lized wherever an Service Book, includes

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 65 L SOUNDFEST the hymn tunes beginning with the letters J, K, in length from one to six pages. !e di/cul- and L. !e series will contain 12 volumes when ty level varies as well, with a few sight-readable complete. Forty-four composers are used for this settings, many of medium di/culty, and a few volume, which contains 53 arrangements. One that contain signi+cant rhythmic and technical of the goals of this series is to present longer, challenges. Although there is some use of dis- more complete arrangements of the hymn tunes sonance, mixed meter, and one brief passage that are useable in worship services. !e ar- notated in two simultaneous meters, no prelude rangements are very well written and of medium in this volume could be considered avant-garde. di/culty. !e series is available on a discounted Ferguson selected pieces that are both well-craft- subscription plan from Concordia or by individ- ed and accessible for the average listener. ual volumes. MS Composers represented include Seth Bingham, Jeanne Demessieux, Emma Lou Diemer, Marcel Dupré, Egil Hovland, Jean Langlais, Paul Manz, David Lasky. Charles Ore, Hermann Schroeder, and Searle LeLet All Mortal Flesh Wright. Hymn tunes include AZ>?> _=Z>D>?, KeKeep Silence: !ree A}? =>_>~ N@, E>{=Z>, N}{ Z`{> `DD> PrPreludes for Organ. G@, O Z`?? =QX `}?>{Z Z}{|>{ XÌ>, AuAugsburg Fortress (978- SD`{>, T~}~@, and W`QX> `}_. 1-4514-9702-1), $11.00. Each prelude is accompanied by material by Ferguson himself: a brief commentary Lasky o&ers three pre- on the prelude, biographical information on ludes in a style that is both the composer, a hymn introduction, and one meditative and intellectu- or two alternate harmonizations of the hymn. ally engaging. Tunes set Most of the hymn introductions and harmoni- are AZ@~@ > Z>@>, zations are newly composed, with a few reprints; A>{Z> D@\={>, and P=Q`~ZË. !e setting all showcase Ferguson’s ability to skillfully en- of A>{Z> D@\={> features changing, nontra- liven congregational song. Whenever possible, ditional meters, while that of P=Q`~ZË is written the prelude appears in a key commonly used for for three manuals. Tempo and dynamic (uc- congregational singing. None of the hymn-tune tuations as well as changes of registration and preludes are new publications; they all appeared manual enhance the aural and intellectual ap- previously in print. However, this volume is peal of this collection. Lasky’s settings have been highly recommended. Ferguson’s care in selec- given an easy-medium level of di/culty. CP tion, his concise and helpful commentary, his creative introductions and harmonizations, and the convenient spiral-bound layout make this a valuable resource for both organ instructors and A New Liturgical Year, church musicians. LW vovol. 2. Ed. John Ferguson. AuAugsburg Fortress (978- 1-4514-9907-0), $40.00.

Like Bach’s Orgelbüchlein and like volume 1 of A New Liturgical Year (1997; 978-0-8006-5671- 3; $40.00) this is a collection of relatively brief hymn-tune preludes arranged according to the liturgical year. Written by 18 di&erent composers over the last 100 years, the 23 preludes range

66 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L SOUNDFEST lively passagework traded back and forth be- Organ Events: tween right and left hands. Six short chorale Concert Organ preludes by Bach are included; they have been MuMusic from transposed to lower keys to accommodate set- FoFour Centuries tings of the corresponding chorales in modern –O–Originals and hymnbooks. Other little-known works, such as ArArrangements. Fughette in C-Dur by Karl Hoyer (1891–1936) Ed. Martin and Zwei Vorspiele by Helmut Degen (1911–95), Weyer.We are noteworthy for their creative compositional Bärenreiter (BA styles, which lend themselves to use in the wor- 11220), €24.95 (approx. $28.00). ship service. One of the best works in the volume is Parti- !is eclectic volume of organ music covers ta on “Wir Christenleut” by Arnold Mendelssohn styles ranging from 17th-century Portuguese (1855–1933). !e chorale tune is presented in to 19th- and 20th-century German, French, a di&erent voice for each successive variation. and American works. Also included are organ Mendelssohn treats each variation as a miniature arrangements of works for harpsichord, pia- character piece: the +rst slow and mysterious, no, and string orchestra. Meio Registo 2° Tom the second a little animated, the third a solemn by Diego da Conceição is an attractive piece march with dotted +gures, the fourth light and featuring a variety of rhythmic +gures in the quick, and the +nal variation a summation much right-hand solo. Concerto in F-Dur (BWV 978) in the style of the Orgelbüchlein organ chorales by J. S. Bach is a keyboard arrangement of An- of Bach. tonio Vivaldi’s Concerto in G major, op. 3, no. Many of the works in this volume are of 3. Both the opening and closing Allegro move- only moderate di/culty and can be learned eas-

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Ú ï ï á à Ý Ú ä à å Û ß Ú ä Ü ã à Ú á â ¤ Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 67 L SOUNDFEST Hans F. Micheelsen, which is loosely based on Tylman Susato. N}{ Ê=>{ =~. !e rhythmic style is remi- Seven Renaissance Dances. niscent of Distler. Another attractive piece is Arr. David A. deSilva. Risoluto by the American composer Horatio Concordia (97-7704), $18.00. Parker (1863–1919). !is dramatic piece is not only accessible, it is also relatively easy to per- Susato, who lived approximately 1510–56, was form. In summary, this volume contains many an instrumentalist (sackbut, trumpet, crum- less-familiar organ works that will be e&ective horn, (ute, and recorder), composer, and music for use in either concert or worship venues. JB publisher but was most famous as a music callig- rapher. He published dozens of books of music, including some by such early composers as Jos- David Schelat. quin des Prez, Jacobus Clemens non Papa, and LeLet All Creation Join: Orlande de Lassus. His own music sounds like FiFive Hymn Settings it should be performed with a recorder ensemble fofor Organ. or perhaps a portative organ. !e delightful piec- MorningStar es are mostly two or three pages in length. Each (MSM-10-643), $12.00. charming in its own right, they would make +ne repertoire for worship, weddings, and teaching !e tunes chosen are purposes. Simple, basic organ registrations are found in most hym- suggested. Titles are “Allemande and Triple,” nals and are probably “Dance for Strings,” “Bassoon Dance,” “Pavane,” sung rather frequently. “Pipe Dance,” “Gaillarde,” and “Nachtanz.” Be !ree of the settings are sure to have fun with them! JG straightforward, almost sight-readable, and could +nd usage as chorale prelude introductions. One (P}>~ N@Ê=?), al- Jacob B. Weber. though charming, may present slight challenges Advent Mosaics. to organists who aren’t yet comfortable playing Concordia (97- dotted chords against straight beats played in the 7690), $22.00. pedal. A bit of practice will be worth the e&ort. Of special note is the +ve-movement variations Here are seven on R>{Z> Ô D=>}, a French hymn tune from creative settings 1543. In addition to the “!eme,” Schelat in- of beloved tunes cludes a “Pedal Solo” for both feet to play a duet, for Advent, beau- a “Bicinium,” a movement simply called “Freely” tifully crafted for (which allows the performer to sustain each note various ability until the end of its measure), and a swashbuck- levels, ensuring ling “Toccata” (full organ with cantus +rmus that every organist will +nd several pieces to her played with the feet). !is is enjoyable and useful or his liking. Helpful registration suggestions are music. In addition to the tunes cited above, there included. !e Toccata on “Savior of the Nations, are settings of N}{ Z`{> `DD }{Z Ê~={|> Come” is destined to become a favorite. Tunes >X~, R}?={|@{, and W`? G@ }. JG include B>~>Z>{ Ì| _Õ~ H>~~`{; G`Ê~=>D’? M>??`|>; H>D\?D>Ë; J>__>~?@{; N}{ @\\, Z>~ H>=Z>{ H>=D`{Z; and V>{=, E\\`{}- >D. JG

68 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L SOUNDFEST JacobJa B. Weber. MuMusica Sacra: PIANO EaEasy Hymn Pre- Sandra Eithun. ludes for Organ, !y Strong Word: Piano vovol. 10. Music for Reformation. Concordia (97- Concordia (97-7697), 7700), $36.00. $22.00. Church organ- !e value of this col- ists and organ lection is in providing teachers alike will contemporary settings of appreciate this collection of tunes that are fre- traditional Lutheran Ref- quently sung in many denominations. Many ormation hymns. !ese pieces will +t right in can be used in the classic Lutheran practice of to a blended worship style. !ey can also help introducing a hymn or chorale; others will be to “bridge the gap” by incorporating traditional perfect as service music; and all make +ne teach- hymnody into a praise-style service or by pro- ing pieces. Weber has included a few hymn tunes viding a new perspective during more traditional that are frequently sung but rarely included in worship. !ere are a total of eight di&erent hymn published prelude collections. !ey are certain tune settings, including EÊ>{>>~; E={ _>?> to enjoy wide use. !e tunes in volume 10 are B}~| (isorhythmic); E~X`D U{?, H>~~; F=D- TX> A?X G~@>; B`QX@_>{; B=Q>{>{{=`D; >~; K=~>{ Z>{ >~ > |`\\>D X}?; R>}>~; D@~@XË; E={ _>?> B}~| (rhythmic); E={? V@{ G@ =DD =QX {=QX D`??>{; and W=- =? {@; F~>}> >}QX, =X~ CX~=?>{; HË\{ >{Ê>~| N> . Most of the arrangements are @ J@Ë; K}@~`{>; L@Ê> Z>{ H>~~>{, O re(ective and end quietly, but “A Mighty For- \>={> S>>D>; M>{Z>D??@X{; ODZ ÇÖÈX; S. tress” marches right along, as well it should. DR C~=?^={; SQXÕ{?>~ H>~~ J>?}; T@ G@Z B> X> GD@~Ë; and W`~}\ ?@DD =QX \=QX Z>{ |~Ì\>{. JG Duane Funderburk. Praise to the Lord, the Almighty: Five Hymn Settings for Piano. MorningStar (MSM-15-740), $13.95.

!is collection includes +ve fresh, new settings on traditional hymn tunes. Funderburk sprinkles in second, fourth, and seventh harmonies; changing meters; and pleasing, tuneful motives to give the hymns a contemporary (air. A range of dynamic and articulative nuances add to the appeal of this collection. Hand crossing, octaves, and intervallic leaps put this at a medium level of di/culty. Funderburk’s setting of L@Ê> Z>{ H>~~>{ tops this reviewer’s list; other tunes included are ADD X> W`Ë, C~=- \@{Z, M`~Ë~Z@\, and S. L>@{`~Z?. CP

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 69 L SOUNDFEST

HANDBELLS Lauran Delancy. Reformation Ringing. JoJohn A. Behnke. 3 or 5 octaves EcEchoes of Westminster. handbells. 3–6 octaves handbells. Concordia (97- Concordia (97-7680), 7683), $5.00. $4.50. !is four-hymn WrittenWr in ABA form, this tune collection piece truly captures the will be a wonderful addition to the music library, feel of a carillon sounding including favorites “By Grace I’m Saved”; “Lord, out over the countryside. Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word”; “Lord Jesus !e familiar Westminster Christ, with Us Abide”; and “A Mighty Fortress Quarters melody does in- Is Our God.” !e composer has done a masterful deed play a role, appearing in the bass line after job of including such techniques as singing bell, layers of eighth notes and quarter notes have en- shake, mart, let vibrate, pluck, and mallet. !is tered. Dynamic changes and tempo variations, would serve a choir for many seasons, making it in addition to such techniques as let vibrate and easy on the music budget. Level II–III. ML echo ringing, are included tastefully. Appropri- ate as a call to worship or as an introit, this piece would be a wonderful way to provide any bell Dan R. Edwards. choir with self-con+dence. Level II+. ML Be !ou My Vision. 2–3 octaves JohnJo A. Behnke. handbells. O Come, O Come, Concordia (97- Emmanuel.Em 7673), $4.50. 3–5 octaves handbells, with optional 3–5 octaves A lyrical arrange- handchimes. ment of the fa- Concordia (97-7678), vorite hymn tune $4.25. SD`{>, this piece includes an original melody after each phrase !is arrangement of V>{=, that is reminiscent of a familiar Irish tune. It E\\`{}>D, a favorite does not in any way distract from the worship- AdventAd tune, is quite ac- ful nature of this arrangement. !is would be a cessible for the beginning choir. !e techniques wonderful teaching piece as well, including such include shake, let vibrate, and singing bell. !e techniques as let vibrate, ring, thumb damp/ entire piece can be played on bells alone, but the mallet/pluck, and echo ring; changes in dynam- addition of the handchimes adds just enough of ics; and various tempo variations. Level II. ML a timbre change to be interesting. !ere are no eighth notes and only gradual dynamic changes. !is would also be a perfect opportunity to include very beginning chime choirs along with adult choirs. Level II. ML

70 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L SOUNDFEST Sandra Eithun. EaEarth and All ADULT CHOIR Stars. Christopher Aspaas. 3–5 (6) oc- St. Olaf Choirbook for taves handbells, Men. 3–5 (7) octaves TB, TTB, TBB, or handchimes. TTBB, piano or a Concordia (97- cappella. 7675), $4.50. Augsburg Fortress (ISBN 978-1-4514-9903-2), Using the hymn $11.95. tune of the same name, the com- !is excellent collection poser has written a fairly straightforward piece. of 14 men’s choir anthems She has added an introduction as well as a coda contains various voicings, and a beautiful melodic descant in the high from TB to double men’s treble bells while the handchimes ring the mel- choirs. Some of the pieces, such as “Rise Up, ody. !is would be appropriate for an anthem O Men of God,” were originally composed for or o&ertory. In this case the handchimes are not men’s voices. Others are arrangements for men optional. Level II+. ML of mixed-voice anthems, such as the F. Melius Christiansen version of “Lamb of God.” In addition, Aspaas includes helpful teaching tips for VOCAL | each anthem at the end of the collection. A wide CHILDREN’S CHOIR variety of liturgical seasons and ability levels are represented in this anthology. AW AlfredAl V. Fedak. HHoow Far Is It to Michael Burkhardt. BeBethlehem. Gaudete. Two-part treble Unison treble choir, SATB, vovoices, keyboard. tambourine, drum. MorningStar MorningStar (MSM-50-1126), $1.70. (MSM-50-1213), $1.70. !is anthem is an energetic arrangement of the 14th-century tune !e arrangement G`}Z>>. Although it is written for of this traditional SATB choir and unison treble choir, Christmas car- the anthem is quite (exible. !e refrain ol is in G major in Latin repeats multiple times, most- and has an e&ec- ly in SATB voicing. Tambourine and tive piano accompaniment. !is is suitable for drum help add to the excitement of the an older children’s choir or sopranos and altos of rhythm. !e stanzas are in English and could be an adult choir. Most of the anthem is in unison, sung by a separate choir, a small section, or a so- with some two-part sections. It is suitable for loist. !is anthem is accessible for a wide variety Christmas or a Lessons and Carols service. AW of ability levels and can be sung by large or small choirs. A helpful syllabic and IPA pronunciation guide are on the inside cover. It is suitable for a Christmas or a Lessons and Carols service. AW

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 71 L SOUNDFEST JamesJa Chepponis. !etford, England. With a delicate beginning, Sing Joyfully to God!/Go Childs takes the listener through two modu- FoForth into the World! lations to end with a big “Glory be to God in SATB, congregation, heaven!” !e melody of the piece will be attrac- brass quartet, timpani, tive to singers and accessible to the congregation. organ. !e choral score is complete by itself, but repro- MorningStar ducible instrumental parts for two (utes, oboe, (MSM-60-6300), $1.95. piano, and strings are also available (MSM- 50-1960B). Songs in the Night would be a nice !is octavo includes two addition to any Christmas service without need- sets of lyrics to be sung ing a lot of extra preparation time. KO to the tune F>?`D S@{|. !e +rst hymn setting is based on Psalm 100. !e David Conte. settings begin with a festive introduction by the Pat-a-Pan. brass and organ. !e brass parts are cued into the SATB a cappella. accompaniment to make it useable without the E. C. Schirmer brass quartet. !e congregation is involved in all (8167), $2.80. of the stanzas, with the choir singing harmony on stanzas 2 and 3. Stanza 4 is sung in unison Conte gives us a with a soprano descant. !e organ accompani- new setting of the ment calls for a reed stop, which would need to French Burgundian be strong enough to be heard over the brass. carol “Pat-a-Pan.” !e second hymn text is based on Mat- !e piece begins thew 28:19-20 and centers on mission and with the tenors discipleship. !ere are reproducible congrega- and basses singing tional pages for each text, and the choral score repetitive pianissimo “pat-a-pans” in open +fths, includes both sets of lyrics. !e instrumental soon joined by the sopranos with the melody and parts (MSM-60-6300B; $30.00) and full score altos in harmony. !e second stanza is a mirror (MSM-60-6300A; $14.00) are sold separately. of the +rst, as the sopranos and altos sing the re- !is is an exciting opportunity to have two new petitive “pat-a-pans” and the tenors and basses well-written hymn texts for your congregation. have the text. !e opening text (“Willie, bring MS your little drum”) returns, this time with the sopranos and basses in canon with the melody and altos and tenors trading o& “pat-a-pans.” !e Edwin T. Childs. music builds to forte to begin the third stanza, Songs in the Night which also modulates from G minor to C minor, at Jesus’ Birth. before returning to the original key, the open- SATB, keyboard, with ing text, and a quieter dynamic to conclude the optional orchestra. piece. Choirs with experience singing unaccom- MorningStar panied and capable of soprano and bass divisi (MSM-50-1960), $1.85. will +nd this to be a fun addition to a Christmas concert or Christmas Eve service. Also avail- Childs has given us a able for SSAA (8168; $2.25) and TTBB (8169; lovely setting of the $2.25). AE thoughtful words of Tim- othy Dudley-Smith, poet and retired bishop of

72 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L SOUNDFEST two stanzas are set for unison congregation ac- Brad Croushorn. companied by organ and optional brass and PsPsalm 118: Alle- timpani. An unaccompanied, lively, contrapun- luia, !is Is the tal choral setting of the third stanza follows. A DaDay! brief instrumental interlude then leads to the SATB a cappel- +nal stanza, set for congregation, organ, brass, la, medium voice timpani, and choral descant. !is is a great addi- solo, two uni- tion for a festal occasion or Epiphany season. !e son small groups, full score, including brass and timpani parts, is drum. available separately (97-7706; $40.00). AE MorningStar (MSM-50-4057), $1.95. Benjamin M. Culli. Who Puts His Trust in From the very beginning Croushorn energetical- God Most Just. ly sets the tone of Psalm 118, “!is is the day that SATB, organ or piano, the Lord has made,” with lively 5/4 recurring Al- C instrument. leluia refrain. !e soloist continues proclaiming Concordia (98-4194), the text of Psalm 118 alternating between 6/8 $2.30. and 3/4 meter, with the choir exuberantly singing one measure of “Alleluia” between stanzas. Culli has set this text by !e eight-measure refrain is sprinkled through- Joachim Magdeburg (tr. out the piece, with the refrain +rst sung in Catherine Winkworth) unison, then four-part, then +nally in canon. in the style of a Buxtehu- While the piece may be rhythmically challeng- de cantata. !e +rst and ing, particularly the canon section, the melody third stanzas are set with a delightful accompa- and harmony parts are quite intuitive. !is piece niment featuring a dialog between the keyboard is easily adaptable based on the musical resourc- and C instrument as the tune W>~ G@ >~- es of a parish. It will clearly sparkle, however, ~`}, X` @XD |>Ê`} unfolds in unison with clear conducting, precise drumming, and voices. !e second stanza is a four-part harmo- a strong soloist. JRB nization by J. S. Bach. While the chorale tune itself is not memorable, the harmonization and Culli’s instrumental accompaniment provide a Benjamin M. digni+ed Baroque-style setting for this profound Culli. theological text. JRB Rise,Ri Shine, You People.Pe SATB, congrega- J. William Greene. tion, organ, with Te Deum: We Praise You, O God. optional brass SB, SAB, or SATB, two trumpets, organ, quartet, timpani. congregation. Concordia (98- CanticaNOVA (3092-c), $1.85 (choral parts). 4212), $2.30. If a festival canticle is needed, one can hard- !is choral con- ly do better than a Te Deum. !e text used in certato on Dale this setting is from the English Language Lit- Wood’s powerful tune W@Ø=> =>Q opens urgy Consultation. It would be advised to have with an extended organ introduction. !e +rst a cantor available to intone the +rst antiphon/

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 73 L SOUNDFEST refrain but not necessary. (According to the presents a variety of contrasting elements: a mod- publisher, the entire canticle can be sung with al-sounding intonation by the altos that begins cantor and congregation only, in a separate ver- some of the sections, interesting chordal mate- sion, 3092, $4.00). !e choir sometimes sings rial, and a contrapuntal “Gloria” to accompany in two parts and other times in four parts, and the +nal stanza. Ideally the two choirs would be occasional soprano descants soar. Meter changes separated by some distance in a resonant room, occur frequently, but with the composer’s direc- evoking the mystery of the annunciation and the tive, “Con+dent and very smooth,” everything joy of heaven itself echoing across the skies at the should work well. !e B-(at trumpet parts could singing of the +rst “Gloria in excelsis.” !e e&ect be played by +ne high-school trumpeters. High- would be stunning KO ly recommended. !e score (3092-s; $10.00) and instrumental parts (3092-p; $4.00) are also available. JG Neil Harmon. !e Lord Is My Shepherd. Nancy Grundahl. SATB, pia- Gabriel’s Message. no or organ or SATB, keyboard. orchestra. MorningStar MorningStar (MSM-50-0102), $1.70. (MSM-50-586050- 5860), $1.70. Zachary Wadsworth. Gabriel’s Message. !is setting of SATB/SATB, organ, Psalm 23 is taken soprano solo. from Neil Harmon’s’s larger workwork, Requiem. It is a ECS (8176), $4.10. gently (owing arrangement in 6/8 time. !e choral parts are relatively easy. !e +rst two sections A quick Internet search are sung in SA and TB, respectively. !e ar- shows a half dozen or more good SATB arrange- rangement begins in E-(at major but modulates ments of G`Ê~=>D’? M>??`|> in print, but these regularly throughout. Most of the modulations two +ne versions of the Basque carol also de- will be easily accomplished by the choir; howev- serve consideration. !e Grundahl arrangement er, the change from B major to D-(at major may is well crafted. !e story of the annunciation is prove challenging. !e accompaniment sup- sung in a straightforward manner against an at- ports the choral parts well throughout the piece tractive accompaniment. !e piece concludes but does not duplicate them. !is is an excellent with a festive, contrapuntal treatment of the setting of this ever-popular psalm and is useful word “Gloria.” Aside from some divisi parts, at almost any time in the church year. MS the arrangement is easy enough for most church choirs to master in a couple of good rehearsals. !is is an important factor because the text is perfect for the fourth Sunday in Advent when rehearsal time is at a premium. In contrast, the Wadsworth setting requires more rehearsal time and more singers. !e piece needs two independent choirs or one choir “with soloists or semi-chorus acting as the second choir.” Chorus 2 primarily sings the carol’s melody with straightforward harmonies. Chorus 1

74 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org L SOUNDFEST Derek Healey. maintain the (uctuating meter of the chant Draw Nigh and style. !is anthem would be especially e&ective Take the Body for All Saints Sunday (the +nal, restful phrase is of the Lord. “To all believers life eternal yields”) or during SATB, organ. Lent. DR Ione Press (7839), $1.55. Robert Lehman. Seemingly in- Behold, How Good and spired by the Joyful. 7th-century or- SATB a cappella. igins of this communion hymn, Healey has Paraclete Press composed a meditative chant-like setting with a (PPMO1550), $1.70. predominantly treble color. !e +rst stanza is for women alone, slowly growing from one to three Lehman’s beautiful an- parts and ending back in unison. !ere are divi- them is a lyrical setting si parts in the alto section only, and the sopranos of Psalm 133. !e open- sing the melody throughout. !e tenors join the ing contrapuntal measures are reminiscentmini of a sonority for stanza 2, and then the basses add Renaissance motet. !e remainder of the piece more vocal depth for stanza 3. All the singing is largely homophonic, with rich harmonies and is well supported by the organ, which also helps sensitive voice leading. General usage, medium di/culty. AE VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY

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Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 75 L SOUNDFEST

K. Lee Scott. Je&reyJe McIntyre. Child in the Sing to the Lord. Manger. SATB, organ. SATB, organ or MorningStar piano. (MSM-50-9121), $1.70. Concordia (98- 4200), $1.90. Sing to the Lord is a fresh, exciting setting of joyful Composed in C psalm stanzas and para- major, this text phrases, o&ering a fresh is set to the tune look at these ancient B}{>??`{. !e accompaniment in this version is words. Singers dance for piano or organ, but there is also a full orches- through frequent changes of meter and modula- tral score available for download (97-7711PDF; tions. Eighth notes in measures of 6/8 meter are $45.00). Although written for SATB choir, only either grouped in twos or threes, sometimes at the third stanza contains SATB voicing. Stanza the same time in di&erent voice parts. !e rhyth- 1 contains unison melody for the sopranos and mic tension thus creates great energy. !e piece altos. Stanza 2 contains the melody for the ten- ends with a jubilant “Amen” and a high A for the ors and basses, while the sopranos and altos have +rst sopranos. Sing to the Lord would be a good lyrical countermelodies. !is anthem is accessi- addition to a choral library for festival occasions ble for a wide variety of ability levels and can be or for !anksgiving. KO sung by large or small choirs. It is suitable for Christmas. AW

Joel Raney. O Come, Little Children. !e Truth from SATB, unison choir (or soloist), Above. with optional (ute. Arr. Stanley Hope (C 5952), $2.05. Livengood. SATB a cappella. !is piece partners two beloved Christmas car- Paraclete Press ols, “O Come, Little Children” and “Gesu (PPMO1543), Bambino.” Raney artfully structures the piece $1.70. with a soloist +rst welcoming the children to Bethlehem in a lilting 6/8 tempo. !e SATB !is a cappel- choir continues the narrative by singing the la anthem is an “Gesu Bambino” text, with the soloist singing excellent ar- the melodic ostinato descant “O come little chil- rangement of the dren.” A unison choir joins all voices in singing English carol “!e Truth from Above.” !e vocal “O come, let us adore him.” !is would be a lines are quite friendly to the singer, and the text beautiful intergenerational piece for multiple en- contains a wonderful thread between Christmas sembles at Christmas, with the children joining and Easter. However, there are several challenges the simple refrain “O come, let us adore him.” in the piece, especially with unexpected lengths !e optional (ute, with its trills accentuating the of phrases and changing meters between 3/2 and “Gesu Bambino” melody, would be a lovely ad- 5/4. !is Christmas anthem would be better dition to the piece. JRB suited to more advanced church choirs. AW

76 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org EssaysL forSOUND the FEST church musician… Worship Open- ers III: Introits Church Musicians 5HÁHFWLRQVRQ7KHLU&DOO&UDIW+LVWRU\DQG !at Work! &KDOOHQJHV Ed. Jane Paul Westermeyer Holstein. This book of lectures examines the work and craft of the church musician from a historical SATB. perspective through current practices. Hope (8674), 90-60 $15.00 $4.95. More First Person Singular 5HÁHFWLRQVRQ:RUVKLS/LWXUJ\&KXUFK0XVLF !is collection DQG&KLOGUHQLQ:RUVKLS Carl Schalk contains 12 easy A delightful second volume of brief essays by introits based on worship music contemporary revered professor of church music, Carl Schalk. to the 1980s and 1990s. !e upbeat settings are 90-51 $12.00 consonant, featuring basic rhythms, robust dynamics, and supportive piano accompaniment. Church Music in the United States CP 1760–1901 David W. Music and Paul Westermeyer Not a comprehensive history, these essays can be read singly or as a whole.

Reviewers: 90-49 $24.95

John Bernthal (JB) www.morningstarmusic.com 800-647-2117 Associate Professor Emeritus of Music Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN

Jean R. Boehler (JRB) Cantor Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church, !e Bronx, NY

Ann Edahl (AE) Choir Director Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Fresno, CA VRXQG INSPIRATION James Gladstone (JG) Retired Cantor, Saginaw, MI Music Assistant, Ev. Lutheran Church of St. Lorenz, Frankenmuth, MI Riedel enhances the worship experience by inspiring the dynamic expression of speech and sound. By blending art, Marilyn Lake (ML) science and skill, we help enrich the fullness, presence and Handbell Director Southminster Presbyterian Church, clarity of speech and music, as well as silence unwanted noise. Prairie Village, KS Music Educator, Shawnee Mission School SCOTT R. RIEDEL & ASSOCIATES, LTD. 819 NORTH CASS STREET MILWAUKEE, WI 53202 District, KS ZZZULHGHODVVRFLDWHVFRP email: [email protected] hear the difference. Karl A. Osterland (KO) Music Director Historic Trinity Lutheran Church, Acoustical Design & Testing Organ Consultation & Inspection Detroit, MI Organ Maintenance & Tuning Sound & Video System Design, Evaluation & Training

Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent 77 L SOUNDFEST Reviewers, continued: Lara West (LW) CrossAccent Music Review Editor Carla Post (CP) Music Minister Organist Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, St. Mark’s Episcopal Pro-Cathedral, Lawrence, KS Hastings, NE Lecturer, Benedictine College, Atchison, KS St. Paul Lutheran Church, Blue Hill, NE Austen Wilson (AW) Editor/developer, www.thepaulineproject.com Director of Music Deborah Reiss (DR) Lutheran Church of Our Savior, Minister of Music Haddon+eld, NJ Village Lutheran Church, Bronxville, NY

Mark A. Schultz (MS) Minister of Music Trinity Lutheran Church and School, Wausau, WI

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÷ ù ø ù ÷ ú ù ø ý L POSTLUDE Anne Krentz Organ President, ALCM

any thanks to our contributing writers At the closing eucharist in Atlanta we were for their thought-provoking, inspiration- blessed to hear a sermon by Nadia Bolz-We- M al articles; these +rst appeared as spoken ber on the feeding of the +ve thousand. It was presentations at our 2015 biennial conference in a true word of grace and encouragement for all Atlanta. Each of them invites us to contemplate who serve the church. (To read Nadia’s sermon, how we are called to be a living voice, focusing visit her “Sermon on the Feeding of the 5,000 on vocation, reformation, and mission. [Preached for Pastors, Musicians and Church A new document, “Called to Be a Living Leaders]” posted on her blog at http://www. Voice,” is currently under review by the ALCM patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber/2015/07/.) It membership. !is draft document is an import- is good to be reminded that, as Nadia preached, ant addition to our 2003 “Statement on Worship “the work you do is important and it is transfor- and Music.” It attempts to more speci+cally de- mative but you, my sweet, dear friends, are loved scribe who we are and what we are called to do entirely and completely by God with or without as church musicians. We believe that this doc- doing that work.” Our worth isn’t reliant on how ument will be a valuable planning tool as we beautifully we play or how many people we can seek to serve our members in the future. If you recruit for our choirs or how spectacularly we ex- have not yet done so, please read it and send ecute our liturgies. Our worth comes from being your comments to the task team at tkschmidt@ children of God, beloved for all eternity. aol.com; there is a link on the homepage of the May each of you be blessed, and may you be ALCM website at www.alcm.org. We plan to a blessing. have further discussions about the document at the summer regional conferences in 2016, followed next fall by an e-mail vote for approval. Each of us contributes in our own way to the ongoing renewal of worship in the church. !e work that we do is important not only for the people we serve in our particular locations but for the life of the world. We proclaim the living voice of the gospel. !is good news is life-giving and life-changing and is what the world desperately needs to hear.

80 Fall/Winter 2015 CrossAccent www.alcm.org