Lex Orandi Lex Credendi Two Memoirs of Making the Lutheran Book of Worship

Philip H. Pfatteicher, Gracia Grindal

Cooperative Ventures in Liturgy and the Common Service Book (1917–1918) laid the ground- work for the merger that produced the United Lutheran Church in America, and the work on the Service Book and Philip H. Pfatteicher Hymnal prepared the way for the mergers that produced the American Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church hortly after his election as Bishop of Rome, John xxiii, in America. A new, common liturgical book, it was hoped Swho at age seventy-seven was expected to be a merely by many, could prepare for a yet more inclusive Lutheran transitional pontiff, announced his intention to convoke a unity. It was a heady and exciting time.3 Council of the Roman Church to renew it by “opening the The work of the Second Vatican Council had brought windows to let in some fresh air,” as he put it. The Second into focus the liturgical scholarship of the earlier decades Vatican Council began its work in 1962; the first document of the twentieth century, the changing needs and practices it produced was the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, of the culture, and a broadening view of the world. What promulgated by Pope Paul vi on December 4, 1963. A the Roman church declared in the documents of Vatican half-century later, its fiftieth anniversary was the occasion ii reflected what many Christians outside Rome were also of a number of observances and publications evaluating learning and teaching. the legacy of the Constitution on the Liturgy. Part of that The work of the Second Vatican Council had its effect legacy is the Lutheran Book of Worship of 1978. on the Anglican world as well. As Lutherans began work The first and most important observation to be made on their book, Episcopalians were working on a revision about the lbw is that it was a cooperative venture, and that of the American Book of Common Prayer, continuing its dis- fact immensely enriched the book. The lbw was the joint tinctive traditions and making use of the emerging work work of the principal Lutheran bodies in North America.1 of the Roman church. There was therefore a remarkable The initial invitation to begin the work was, as a result of convergence of the effort of three Christian bodies, and necessary political maneuvers,2 issued by the Lutheran the Lutherans were the beneficiaries of the work of the Church–Missouri Synod in 1965 to five other Lutheran Roman Catholics as well as of the Episcopalians. Luther- bodies to join work on a common liturgical book and hym- ans were moving out of the confines of their own tradi- nal: the American Lutheran Church, the Lutheran Church tions and learning to open their eyes to other traditions and in America, the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, practices to the enrichment of their own life and worship. the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and the Evan- Indeed, one Lutheran pastor, having examined the 1976 gelical Lutheran Synod. Even though the lcms withdrew Proposed Book of Common Prayer, which was identical to the from the process just before its completion, the work of final form approved in 1979, exclaimed, “Why don’t we its representatives was invaluable throughout the entire save ourselves further work and just adopt this?” process. The Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship was for- The Service Book and Hymnal, itself the product of eight mally organized in November 1966. The ilcw created cooperating Lutheran churches, was only seven years old four working committees: a Liturgical Text Committee (of at the time work on the new hymnal began. One might which I was a member), a Liturgical Music Committee, a therefore argue that the new one was premature, but Hymn Text Committee, and a Hymn Music Committee. developments in the world of liturgy and music were mov- The four committees met separately two, sometimes three ing quickly. Many Lutherans cherished Henry Melchior times a year for the ten years it took to draft the new book, Muhlenberg’s hope for one people using one book, and the and individual studies and work continued throughout the invitation from the Missouri Synod was too promising to year. The lbw was the product of a long and careful pro- pass up. Moreover, the work on the Common Service (1888) cess of creation.

22 Summer 2015 The eventual inclusion of Canadian Catholics was quickly accepted and mover in this effort) are identified by Lutheran representatives enriched adapted by Anglicans and Lutherans an asterisk in the index of first lines our perspective. Americans had to and eventually by other denomina- in the lbw. Unfortunately, the lbw was think carefully about references to the tions as well. As we worked on the text the only hymnal to employ the recom- national government; there were two of the liturgy, we found ourselves con- mendations. countries to be considered, with two stantly looking over the shoulders of Although the ecumenical conver- different forms of rule. A classic and our Roman and Anglican colleagues gence was exciting, it was not a prom- instructive example of the use of lan- to see what they were doing, how they ising time for the English language. guage comes to my mind. One Ameri- were handling difficult issues, which Nearly everyone by the time of the can representative, in the interest of texts they were altering. The work was publication of the lbw had turned straightforward language, suggested thoroughly cooperative and, indeed, from the Tudor forms such as “beseech replacing “purificator” with “napkin.” generally congenial. thee” to contemporary usage like “ask The Canadian member of the com- Lutherans expect their service you.” But it was also a time of relaxing mittee responded, “Why would you book to be two books in one: a litur- standards of speech as well as dress ever want to do that?” “For clarity gical book and a hymnal. When the and manners. Elegance of language, and simplicity.” “But,” the Canadian Missouri Synod proposed a joint which includes precision, clarity, and continued, “a napkin is what you call rhythm, was losing its appeal. The a ‘diaper’; it’s a ‘nappie’ for a baby or A basic principle for makers of the Service Book and Hymnal a ‘sanitary napkin’ for a menstruating could agree that their goal in the col- woman.” “Oh,” said the American. the liturgical work lection of hymns was to make “not “What then do you call what Ameri- simply the finest Lutheran hymnal but cans call a ‘napkin’?” “Serviette.” So was that the new the finest English-language hymnal.”4 the word remained “purificator.” Such an expectation and hope of A basic principle for the liturgi- book should be no excellence was not on the horizon for cal work, enunciated by Hans Boeh- the drafters of the lbw. Jean-François ringer of the lcms, was that the new less inclusive than the Lyotard, in The Postmodern Condition book should be no less inclusive than (1984), lamented that our “epoch is the previous books. So the Athana- previous books. one of slackening.” sian Creed, although not often used, With the changing language came was included, as it had been in The effort, the invitation was to work on also a changing sensitivity to the Lutheran Hymnal of the lcms. Some a common liturgy and at least a com- emerging issues in society and cul- wanted to exclude Matins, Vespers, mon core of hymns. It was assumed ture. In the third stanza of hymn 519, and the Litany because they were that Lutherans could agree on the lit- the description of God as “father” in seldom employed in congregational urgy without much controversy. After The Lutheran Hymnal’s translation was practice any more, but the principle all, the Common Service of 1888 replaced with “mother,” an interest- held: they had been in all the prede- had been adopted by most of the ing but awkward step toward inclu- cessor Lutheran books, and so they Lutheran bodies in North America. siveness, especially since the pronoun were retained. In addition, the daily But it was assumed that we probably following was “his,” but “mother,” offices were enriched by the emerging could not agree on a common collec- present in the original German (Mut- revisions of the Roman and Episcopal tion of hymns, perhaps because of the terhänden) of hymn 285 in the Common churches. various ethnic traditions represented Service Book of 1917–1918 and accu- The desire for cooperation and in American Lutheranism: German, rately translated by Frances Elizabeth furthering unity also influenced the Scandinavian, Slovak, English. The Cox, was removed in the adaptation inclusion of the entire Psalter (in the work on the hymn collection took into of Cox’s translation of that hymn (lbw Ministers Desk Edition) in the transla- account a proposal by the Consulta- 542). Some of the changes and rewrit- tion of the American Book of Common tion on Ecumenical Hymnody re- ings were clear triumphs. The trans- Prayer (with just one word changed, commending 150 hymns and tunes to lation of Bartholomäus Ringwaldt’s in Psalm 8:1, from “Govern-or” to serve as a common core of hymnals “The Day Is Surely Drawing Near” “Lord”), and the borrowing of the of the various denominations. Eighty (321) is a distinct improvement on the two-year daily lectionary from the bcp additional hymns and tunes were previous English translation in The with only minor alterations and addi- also recommended. These hymns Lutheran Hymnal: “And hungry flames tions to provide alternative readings recommended by the Ecumenical shall ravage earth/As Scripture long for those who did not use the Apoc- Consultation (Mandus Egge, Execu- has warned us,” for example, power- rypha. The introduction of the three- tive Director of the Commission on fully expresses the terror of the Last year eucharistic lectionary by the Worship of the alc, was the prime Day. Other textual changes weakened

Lutheran Forum 23 the original. In William Chatterton Dix’s wonderful Ascen- Lutherans was, among other things, a tribute to his calling sion hymn “Alleluia! Sing to Jesus” (158), the lbw, in a gener- of the Second Vatican Council, which across denomina- ally commendable intention to shy away from the personal tional lines did indeed breathe fresh and invigorating air emphasis of too many popular hymns, rewrote the original into a languishing church. of the third stanza, “Intercessor, friend of sinners,/Earth’s redeemer, plead for me,” to “Earth’s redeemer, hear our Philip H. Pfatteicher is a retired Lutheran pastor who plea,” completely ignoring the references to intercessor serves as Honorary Assistant at the Church of the Advent and friend of sinners. The point is that the risen Lord, now in Boston, Massachusetts. returned to heaven, intercedes for the church that remains on earth. In this case, the intense personal cry for Jesus’ Notes intercession—“plead for me”—is exactly and powerfully 1. For a full history, see Ralph W. Quere, In the Context of Unity: A History of the Development of the Lutheran Book of Worship (Minneapolis: right. Lutheran University Press, 2003). With every change there is loss as well as gain. The adop- 2. See the explanation by Henry E. Horn given in Philip H. Pfat- tion of the three-year eucharistic lectionary introduced by teicher, Commentary on the Lutheran Book of Worship: Lutheran Liturgy in Its the Catholic church was widely welcomed across the spec- Ecumenical Context (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1990), 5. trum of Christianity as a way of getting more Scripture 3. See chapter 1, “Convergence and Cooperation,” in Commentary on heard by the people in an increasingly biblically illiterate the Lutheran Book of Worship, 1–12. 4. Edward T. Horn iii, “Preparation of the Service Book and Hymnal,” age. Its use did indeed invigorate preaching and encourage in Liturgical Reconnaissance: Papers Presented at the Inter-Lutheran Consultation on congregational Bible study. The former one-year lectionary, Worship, ed. Edgar S. Brown Jr. (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1968), 93. All the nonetheless, had certain strengths that now are lost except documents in this collection hold interest for those interested in the story in a handful of lcms congregations. The use of the same of Lutheran worship in North America. readings year after year provided close familiarity with the passages that were read throughout the year; I can still say many of them, especially the Epistles, from memory. That, however, is a necessary loss in achieving the greater gain of a truly ecumenical lectionary. A more important concern Treasured Hymns is that, in the present lectionary, the continuous reading of various books of the Bible presumes first that people will be Unearthed or Buried in church every Sunday, and second that they will pay close attention to the reading, and third that they will remember Gracia Grindal from week to week what has been read on the preceding Sunday. “Lectio continua [continuous reading] requires audi- tio continua [continuous listening],” George Muenich used t was an invitation that would change my life: a letter from to say. The present lectionary ought to be an encourage- IMandus Egge, the executive in charge of worship in the ment to attentive attendance every Sunday. alc. Would I serve on the Hymn Text Committee of the Looking back on our work, it is regrettable—to me Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship? The next meet- anyway—that we did not consider more carefully mak- ing would be in St. Louis during the first week of January ing the assignments of the Prayer of the Day in the lbw 1973. I was twenty-nine, settling into my work as Associ- match more closely the revised course of the Collects in the ate Professor in the English department of Luther College, Roman and Episcopal liturgies. We missed an opportunity where I taught creative writing and freshman English. I for further strengthening the unity we seek. had been recommended to Egge by two of my teachers at A great contribution of the lbw was the expanded cal- Ausgburg College, Gerald Thorson and Leland B. Sateren, endar of commemorations with its implied teaching that both also serving on committees of the ilcw. the saints of God did not cease with the close of the New I flew to St. Louis on a Braniff, one of the luxuries of Testament period and that God is at work in the church the day—half-empty planes, good food, and passengers throughout the centuries. The result of this expansion con- dressed to the nines. The place we were to meet was a tinues in both elw and the lsb. cheerless motel near the airport. There had been a snow- The lbw was the product of an exciting convergence storm before we arrived and life in the city just reviving. We and cooperation of three church bodies: Catholic, Epis- met in a room with full-length windows looking out into copal, and Lutheran. The influence of the first two on the the blinding snow. It was freezing so we requested blan- third is evident throughout the lbw. In one case, we can kets. When they came we wrapped ourselves in them and be pleased to boast, the Lutherans were ahead of Rome. began, looking rather like a Native American powwow. The lbw was the first liturgical book to add Pope Johnxxiii Our first task was revising a hymn for the Key ’73 evan- to its calendar; in 2014 he was canonized and is now on gelism campaign. The committee didn’t like the theology the Catholic calendar as St. John xxiii. His inclusion by of the proposed hymn, banal and “hymnish,” too much

24 Summer 2015 chiliasm and semi-Pelagianism. Maybe think of making a Lutheran hymnal (“male chauvinist pig”). The question as a kind of hazing, they assigned me without significant numbers of hymns of inclusive language for God had not the task of rescuing it. I returned to by Luther, Philip Nicolai, Nico- yet been broached. my room after the evening meeting las Decius, Paul Gerhardt, Johann It is also important to note that and began working it over, trying to Heerman, and so on. Even Chinese the generation of men sitting in the invigorate it with images, irony, and Lutheran hymnals begin with them. room with me were moderns and other good things from the world of The ones that received only three to had been influenced by the historical- poesy. All for naught. The next morn- four votes were the Scandinavian trea- critical method of interpreting the ing my work was greeted with polite sures unknown to the Germans. Bible, especially Rudolph Bultmann dismissal—first of all, they sniffed, When we had winnowed enough and his demythologizing. For most, hymns were not poems. I would spend to have about four hundred hymns, the three-storey universe was gone. the next three decades trying to descry which was the goal at the time, we To speak of heaven as up and hell as what a hymn was. were then assigned the task of edit- down was proscribed. They could not In the succeeding days, the commit- ing several of them to present to the think of the biblical language and the tee continued to reject my revisions, larger committee for examination and language of many hymns as being lit- but finally it made little difference reworking. As that time approached erally true—and any suggestion to the because, on the second day, an official we began to wonder about editorial contrary pained them. (Postmoderns from the ilcw (maybe Gilbert Doan) guidelines. There was little doubt that would see this attempt to revise every- burst into the room and announced we had to update the Tudor language thing to fit with their new worldview that it had just voted that the time as culturally imperialistic.) The call of had come for a new hymnal, one put Each hymnal is Tillich and others like him for a new together by the three major Lutheran language of worship and preaching churches involved in the ilcw, a fulfill- something of an was imprinted on their minds. In addi- ment of Muhlenberg’s dream of “one tion, they were fighting the Pietism book, one church.” The thrill was pal- attack on the of their mothers and disapproved pable. We were standing on the edge of sentimentality. They were embar- of history. We were sent to our rooms previous hymnal. rassed at the failure of the church to to nominate hymns for this new work stand up to Nazism and deplored the and spent the next day going through of the King James Version of the “quietism” of their youth. Altogether old favorite hymnals nominating Bible with its thees and thous, since they wanted a hymnal that was more the obvious hymns necessary for a few people understood that these socially engaged than the hymnals of Lutheran hymnal—the German Kern- second-person pronouns were origi- their childhood. Most had been madly lieder of the Reformation, the English nally the intimate singular forms, for Adlai Stevenson in their emer- and American hymns the sbh had unlike “you,” which started out its gence from the conservative Repub- helped many Lutherans cherish—and grammatical life as plural. Although licanism usual for Lutherans at the then seeking redress for past omis- I disliked having to do this, when we time. All these prejudices were at work sions, most keenly felt by the Danes did, it was our goal to make sure that in the deliberations of the committee. and Norwegians who had never recov- the changes were poetic. As we were assigned texts to retrans- ered from the sbh’s failure to include Not so pressing, but out there, was late or reedit, we received a packet Grundtvig’s “O Day Full of Grace,” the question of inclusive language. of all of the former translations and among others. That was the begin- The Presbyterians had just published original-language versions that staff ning of the lesson I learned quickly: their Worship Book (1972), which had assistant Theodore Delaney could each hymnal is something of an attack modernized the language but kept find. While a marvelous thing to have, on the previous hymnal. the references to “man” and “broth- the copies of these documents were The hymns we nominated became ers.” The revisions sounded jarring. daunting. I remember a pile stacked part of a long list of potential hymns, I had heard that some women were on a shelf in my office that was two each of which was taken seriously by planning to sue the Presbyterians for feet high! the committee. I can’t remember how the book’s male-dominated language. There were few new texts to con- many, but as we began winnowing We passed the motion that we should sider, since the hymn explosion of the the lists we kept count of how many seek, wherever possible, to change 1960s via Great Britain had not quite hymns received how many votes. Not such language as poetically as pos- made itself felt among Lutherans in surprisingly, the German Kernlieder all sible. Members of the committee America. Most regrettable, neither received twelve votes—there were four agreed to change the offending terms had the very rich explosion of new people from each major church on the in the versions they presented to us. texts from Scandinavia, which might committees—since no one would ever We came to call them “mcp problems” have been a refreshing contrast to the

Lutheran Forum 25 tions sound authentic. The best the Norwegians and Danes got was Carl Døving who, on the whole, was pretty good but still struck eastern Lutherans as fustian. As we worked, we would hear of the passions of the Hymn Music Committee, who had strong prejudices regarding texts as much as they did regarding music— musical thirds and the sentimental gospel songs of their childhood repelled them. Once we received a note from them to the effect that the Ancient of Days was an inac- curate picture of God, to which we retorted, “Send us an accurate one!” This went on for three years, about four weeks out of every year, hard work and exhausting to those of us with real jobs. Only gradually did I begin to realize that simply finding appropriate hymns for our congregations to sing, which had been the major work of previous hymnals, was not the major work of the ilcw. There was a movement of which I had been blissfully unaware: the new liturgi- cal revival, fueled by Vatican ii. It had thrilled the older generation sitting with me—now they could kiss Catholics! Ecumenism was as powerful an engine as was the liturgical revival, and in many ways the same force. A hymn could be included if it was ecumenical, meaning already known. It was my naive notion that we all brought our different treasures to the feast, but I soon discovered this would not be the case, especially for those from the smaller streams of American Lutheranism. More surprising to me was that those who espoused the liturgical revival wanted to create an ecumenical church by using a similar version of the mass—which meant rejecting five hundred years of Lutheran practice—with a worst of the new that was inflicted upon us. Fred Kaan eucharistic prayer, the bringing forward of the gifts, and an and F. Pratt Green were just becoming known in America. increased emphasis on baptism and the sacrament of the Almost nothing from the world church appeared, although altar. While as members of the hymn committee we had we were conscious of needing to include some hymns from very little to do with these battles, we did overhear them the African-American tradition, mostly Negro spirituals. and found we had to provide more hymns for both baptism We would work on our individual texts, send them in, and communion. and then come to the week-long meetings in St. Louis at As an organist using both the Concordia and the Service the Missouri Athletic Club where we each were the per- Book and Hymnal, I had some sense of the way the traditional sonal guest of J. A. O. Preus. The club had a number services went and was interested in things liturgical, having of places—elevators, swimming pools, rooms—where even had an ecstatic reading of Dom Gregory’s The Shape “ladies” were not permitted, and when they were it would of the Liturgy as a sophomore, but I never felt at home in it. be only for one meal and then the space would be closed As one who grew up in a tradition (like most Lutherans at off again. It made me nervous. We often labored from eight the time) where the Lord’s Supper was twice a year and in the morning to eleven at night. In many ways the meet- somberly penitential, I could not get accustomed to having ings turned into something like writing workshops. We it every time I went to a retreat or every Sunday. Suddenly were keenly aware that Lutherans had only recently lost it was everywhere. As the battle over the eucharistic prayer their accents, and so the translations we had inherited were became more and more pitched, I went looking for help. I not always the best. Had it not been for the Englishwoman read Oliver Olson’s argument about the direction of the Catherine Winkworth, there would have been very little prayer and understood it immediately. From that time, I good German hymnody in the English language at all. The began to think differently about the hymnal we were cre- Scandinavian languages had not benefited from such a tal- ating and even noticed that its title was The Lutheran Book ent, so their translations tended to be unacceptable to the of Worship. “Hymnal” had been abolished, although that others except for some of the work of E. E. Ryden, whose is what most Lutherans still called it when it came out, the command of both Swedish and English made his transla- “new green hymnal.”

26 Summer 2015 By the time we were putting the bursting into our room, announcing actually liked and treasured. As one book to bed, in 1976, Missouri was with excitement that we had gotten on the committee said when we real- starting to pull away because they permission to print “How Great Thou ized we had to increase from four hun- realized the other truth about hymnals Art.” The hymnal would succeed!) dred hymns to six hundred, “We don’t among Lutherans—they had almost But now things were changing. Peo- hurt people by what we put in, but by always preceded mergers. If Mis- ple did not go to church on Sunday what we leave out.” In my work with souri congregations had the lbw, soon or Wednesday evenings anymore; they those who have made hymnals over their people would be asking why they worshiped at the altar of the television the past thirty years, I have always were a separate church. So while we instead. When they did go to church been struck by their missionary zeal were meeting at the Missouri Athletic on Sunday mornings, they wanted to give people new things they should Club, enjoying our preprandials in the these old camp songs as well, although like, rather than the old favorites they rather well-stocked club, we noticed a the musicians and the pastors did not. love. It is something like an oat-bran serious group of men at the back of The worship wars broke out as “con- theology of worship—you may not the room carefully going through our temporary” musicians such as John like this, but it’s good for you! Taking work. The Committee on Doctrine, Ylvisaker and others began produc- a song away from a people is a terrible I believe it was called. Although the ing their own songbooks, using old thing to do. A couple of years ago, at committee members from the Mis- folk tunes and melodies that had a a meeting of the Hymn Society, I was souri Synod remained—especially beat and seemed more immediate to amazed to hear a band playing old Jaroslav Vajda, whose career as a hym- many congregants. People began to hymns set to contemporary sounds— nwriter was launched by this commit- attend either the “contemporary” or texts that couldn’t be found in any tee—their pulling away became part the “traditional” services, and rarely of the hymnals its audience had pre- of the drama of the hymnal. We had pared. I found it funny. Earnest young bent to their will and included many Taking a song away people wailing on their saxophones Lutheran chorales that had not been and guitars, singing hymns filled with part of the other hymnal traditions of from a people is a the blood of Jesus and the bride of the alc and lca. These became some- Christ, heaven shining through the thing of the pièce de résistance of the terrible thing to do. texts, and their audience filled with lbw, which meanwhile had kept out experts who had done their level best several classics of Scandinavia that I did the twain meet. While both were to spare the next generation these bad had hoped to bring to the table. deeply a part of Lutheran experience hymns. They looked on dourly, unable Not long after the book was pub- and tradition, this conflict was mostly to grasp that the new generation was lished, another old Lutheran debate a question of musical style, not lan- passing them by. came to the fore, one I did not under- guage or theology. The lbw worship All this being said, it is important stand until I began learning more and settings were products of the liturgical to say that the letter I got in late 1972 more about older Lutheran hymnals. revival and set to music more famil- shaped the rest of my life for the While Lutherans have had a healthy iar to the concert hall, with difficult good. I became a frequent speaker appreciation for American gospel neo-Renaissance tunes. The folk tunes and writer on language in the church, songs, which they published in song- of the contemporary musicians were I began translating and writing my books and sang at Sunday schools, anything but contemporary; usually own hymns, and I was asked to join Bible camps, and evening meetings, they were old folk tunes, or at least like the Luther Seminary faculty where I these songs could not be found in them. The worship wars were fought could continue to pursue these issues, the classic Sunday morning hymnals over the wrong issue. Lutheran wor- learning more and more as time went of any Lutheran church in America, ship should be possible in any musical on about a tradition I wish I had except maybe the Swedish Augus- style. What matters are the words and known better when I entered that tana’s 1925 Hymnal, which included shape of the liturgy. brightly shining but cold room in St. a surprising number of gospel songs. Leland Sateren and I talked about Louis in 1973. LF The lbw was a book for Sunday morn- the lbw once, and for different rea- ing, so none of those songs appeared sons, I suspect, we agreed that it could Gracia Grindal, Professor Emerita except for “How Great Thou Art” be thought of as an “archive with an of Luther Seminary, lives in St. Paul, and “Amazing Grace,” which popular attitude.” He wanted more contempo- Minnesota, where she continues to taste made it necessary to include. (I rary, difficult music. I wanted it to have write. will never forget Leonard Flachman been more open to things that people

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