Workshops to introduce hymnal supplement
Filed Under: , Christian Worship, supplement, Worship
In an effort to familiarize all interested WELS members with the new Christian Worship: Supplement, the Commission on Worship has initially scheduled 45 introductory workshops throughout the 12 districts beginning Sept. 13 and continuing into 2009. The three-hour workshops will cover each section of the book and explain how the supplement fits into worship life in WELS.
"There are new hymns, but there are other things in the book that we want to help people see and appreciate," says Rev. Jon Zabell, chairman of the supplement introduction committee. "And I think the experience of being with others and trying some of the things is a benefit you can't get just flipping through the pages on your own."
The supplement was introduced in July at the National Conference on Music, Worship, and the Arts in St. Peter, Minn. Since its release, the pew edition has already sold out and is in its second printing.
"It's exciting to have a sellout in less than a month," says Rev. Bryan Gerlach, administrator for WELS Commission on Worship. "We are hearing of very high interest when we talk to people out in the districts."
This is the first hymnal supplement in WELS history, and includes new hymns, gathering rites, divine services, psalm arrangements, meditations, and a supplemental lectionary. Additional resources are also available in the electronic pew edition, guitar edition, and accompaniment edition, which includes a CD of alternate accompaniments, MIDI files, and instrumental scores.
"This publication offers the most creative variety of any worship publication we've done to date in terms of instrumental variety," says Zabell. "I wouldn't be surprised if a vast majority of congregations in WELS use at least something from the supplement."
Gerlach hopes that the supplement will enrich worship in WELS. "I think the breadth of variety will be very appealing in many congregations," he says. "We want to strike a balance between comfort and familiarity and some good, new resources that are solidly Lutheran with excellent texts that proclaim the gospel with depth and substance. This book helps us do that."
For more information about the supplement or to register for an introductory workshop, visit www.wels.net/jump/cwsupplement
The second printing of Christian Worship: Supplement and the accompaniment edition will be available at the end of September; the guitar and electronic pew edition will be available at the end of October. Visit www.nph.net for ordering information.
