Service Builder and Books
Research during development of the new hymnal indicated that the future of hard bound hymnals in hymnal pew racks continues to be very strong. There remains a desire both in WELS and in other denominations for continued use of hymnal books. What are the respective benefits of using the hymnal and using a worship folder?
First it’s worth noting that most congregations still prefer to sing hymns from hymnals rather than from a worship folder or via projection even if the rest of the service is from a worship folder. One reason for this is the ability to sing in harmony. Christian Worship: Service Builder, like the digital versions of our current hymnal and supplement, provides only the melody line for hymns. One of the strongest goals for music in the new hymnal is that it be a “singer’s book.” Far more of the hymns than in the 1993 hymnal are singable in harmony.
(There’s still a place for creative accompaniments, used judiciously. These are available in the accompaniment edition for hymns, in Christian Worship: Musician’s Resource, and from various publishers.)
Another reason for hymnals is the message they send — that a church’s primary worship resources have been carefully curated. They represent a church body’s worship ideals and standards. The orders of service and hymns are much more than something a creative pastor put together during the week.
The WELS Commission on Evangelism once produced “Welcoming Worship.” That resource advised: “Put a hymnal in the hand of every worshipper for two reasons: because it shows we are part of a body larger than our congregation, and because the hymnal has great benefit as the prayer book of the people. So the order of service is in the service folder in its entirety, but the hymns are sung from the hymnal.” You can read more on page 4 here.
Are there times not to print the entire order of service? Yes — if a given service is used as printed, without jumping around to other variety, with no choir/solo texts to include, when visitors are not expected.
Are there times to include hymns in the worship folder? Yes — perhaps for festivals or when detailed instructions for singing a hymn are needed (2: men, 3: women, 4: choir, etc).
The thoughts above lead to the conclusion that most congregations will want both hymnals and Christian Worship: Service Builder. Both resources provide unique value for a congregation’s worship life.
Some additional thoughts follow not only on hymnals in the pew but also in the Lutheran Elementary School and for personal use. These may be useful for discussion by church leaders.
Church Use Benefits
A printed hymnal speaks to the dignity and importance of corporate worship.
The hymnal has the complete setting of the music (except for a handful of hymns that are tune-only, and most liturgies).
If only the lyrics or lyrics and melody are printed in a bulletin, some worshipers can still use the hymnal to sing harmony.
The hymnal includes resources not necessarily found in a printed bulletin: personal prayers before worship or communion, preparation for communion, etc.
The story of the church year is communicated throughout the pages of the hymnal -- in the calendar of the church year, the lectionary, and the ordering of the hymns.
A hymnal allows worshipers a) to reflect on a hymn’s text when pre-service or distribution music features hymn tunes without words, and b) to cross-reference and reflect as thoughts, passages, and themes come to mind.
The hymnal’s content is not a fleeting commodity like so much digital content. It is a carefully curated resource of materials spanning history. It is meant to be explored and to serve the worship needs of a church for decades, providing church members with a sense of permanence.
Introducing two new hymns per month will result in eight years’ worth of new hymns from the book. It will be like unwrapping a new gift month after month and year after year. (Two new tunes per month would be too much in many congregations, but some new texts are set to familiar tunes.)
School Use Benefits
The new Hymns for Life school curriculum coordinates with the new Christian Worship Hymnal. Children will grow up learning from the hymnal, and it will remain familiar and treasured into their adult lives.
A hymnal is as important as any other textbook, and even more so.
With printed hymnals, a teacher can more easily extend into teaching worship in general: liturgies and rites, prayers, psalms, devotional life, etc.
Hymnals provide greater flexibility in the classroom if needed. For example, referencing a hymn to answer a question during a religion lesson, using a hymn to sing in place of a scheduled prayer time.
The hymnal provides a resource for learning basic music skills (note reading, harmony, keyboard accompaniment) as well as other concepts including use of indexes, citations and copyrights, poetry, translations, etc.
Using hymnals in school reinforces use within church. When students are learning about hymns in school, they are learning from the same book they will use in church.
Utilizing a printed hymnal in the classroom reinforces its importance as a resource applicable throughout life: school, church, home.
Personal Use Benefits
A hymnal provides an opportunity for personal worship preparation or reflection.
The new hymnal is more devotional than the previous hymnal by providing practical and contemplative resources. Scripture references for each hymn have been restored. The printed hymnal includes the text of Luther's catechism, Christian Questions for those about to attend the Lord's Supper, and a daily lectionary Bible reading schedule.
The hymnal is designed to encourage family worship in the morning, at night, or around the dinner table.
A personal hymnal provides an opportunity for family instruction (a reference when children have questions about what they sang or did in worship, to expand on what was sung or said in worship, or to prepare for upcoming worship).
The printed hymnal maintains the practice and tradition of giving the hymnal as a confirmation or graduation gift.
Other Benefits
Curation, the careful selection and ordering of hymns is best revealed in the printed hymnal. Over 100 of our fellow Christians spent eight years selecting the best options from thousands of choices to develop a cohesive and meaningful body of worship resources. In many cases texts were edited for greater doctrinal precision, clarity of meaning, or quality of poetry.
The German term Lokalgedächtnis means remembering things by their location on the page. This is true of all books (Bibles, children's storybooks). You get familiar with hymns from seeing them on the page the same way every time; they do not move, they are not reformatted. There is value in the familiarity, consistency, and sense of reliability that comes from a printed hymnal.
Printed hymnals convey a sense of permanence. As Keith Getty has been in the habit of saying, “Good solid hymns are hymns we want to be around for 50 years, not 50 months.”