New online resources: Worship Terminology and Hymn of the Day

NATIONAL – Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC)’s online content continues to expand, featuring two new resource pages on its website, developed through LCC’s internship this past summer: Worship Terminology and Hymn of the Day.

Andrew Hayes, LCC’s summer 2022 intern, is a talented musician working towards his Bachelor’s Degree in Music at Brock University (St. Catharines, ON) and currently serving as the organist for his home congregation, Resurrection Lutheran Church (St. Catharines, ON). Andrew was eager to further explore the bold Gospel proclamation through God’s gift of music—looking at new ways of supporting and equipping Lutheran Church–Canada congregations and beyond to better understand why Lutherans worship the way we do.

Worship Terminology Webpage & Printable Resource

As part of his internship, Andrew assisted in the development of the new Worship Terminology Webpage, which walks you through some of the “Lutheran Buzzwords” you may encounter from your first steps through the door and into a typical Divine Service at your local Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) congregation. The webpage notes: “If you are coming from a different denominational background, or even if you have never stepped foot in a church before, you may find that you are already familiar with many of these terms. It is helpful to keep in mind that this glossary of worship terminology approaches these words from a confessional Lutheran context.”

The page includes an explanation of “worship” from a Lutheran perspective, features citations from our Lutheran Confessions, and includes concise definitions of various so-called “Lutheran Buzzwords” related to worship and the structure of the Divine Service. A printable PDF version of the webpage is also available as an additional tool for congregation or individual use.

All photos on the webpage feature actual Lutheran Church–Canada churches from our West Region thanks to Anna Kraemer, LCC’s 2021 intern, who developed the LCC’s Stock Photo Catalogue last summer.

Lutherans have an honoured tradition of thoughtfully choosing the hymns for inclusion in the Divine Service. The Hymn of the Day Project, coordinated by Peter Steinke, LCC Musician, and Andrew Hayes, builds on the framework of the existing Hymn Selection Guide by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). This webpage will serve to highlight some of the rich hymnody we have in the Lutheran Church, by providing an example of an organ and acoustic guitar rendition of select ‘hymns of the day’. We hope this project will provide opportunity for members to reflect on God’s gift of music, through the inclusion of confessional, Christ-focused hymns which can serve as a blessing to our devotional lives.

The project feature hymns that fall under public domain for both tune and text, and so far includes renditions of the following hymns: I Know My Faith Is Founded (LSB 587); Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart (LSB 708); and Jesus Sinners Doth Receive (LSB 609).

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