Why On Earth Do We Do That?
What happened to our bulletin? Where is the church service?
This week we are experimenting with a bit of a different way to do our liturgy. Instead of printing it out in the bulletin, you will find a laminated card in your pews with everything you need to know/read/say/sing to fully participate in the worship service. Anything not on the cards will either be read for you by a Pastor/Elder, or projected onto the screen for all to sing. The goal of this experiment is to simplify and streamline worship participation by limiting your information sources to two: the card, and the screens. We hope this proves easier than trying to juggle a hymnal, a Bible, a bulletin, and watching the screens. Additional information, such as the text of the readings and songs to be sung, will still be included in the bulletin.
What happened to “This is the Feast?” What is this “Hymn of Praise?”
“This is the Feast” is a hymn of praise taken from Revelation 5 and 19. It is the song of the saints and angels in heaven around the throne of God: “Worthy are you . . for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God…” Throughout scripture, we get little glimpses and pictures of what heaven is like. We take their songs and join our voices to them as a symbol of the fact that in our worship, prayer, and the sacraments, we are truly joining in the feast and celebration of heaven even while still on earth. Our “hymn of praise” in this service, while it lacks the refrain, is a paraphrase in metered verse of those same verses in Revelation, sung to a very familiar melody.
...anyways, this new practice will hopefully kill less trees, which we happen to do precisely as the liturgical color of the season turn green! Next up, I'll be posting our new liturgy with more explanation.
From the Large Catechism: on the Third Commandment: Let me tell you this, even though you know God’s WOrd perfectly and are already a master in all things: you are daily in the devil’s kingdom. He never ceases day nor night to sneak up on you and to kindle in your heart unbelief and wicked thoughts against the commandments. Therefore, you must always have God’s Word in your heart, upon your lips, and in your ears. But where the heart is idle and the Word does not make a sound, the devil breaks in and has done the damage before we are aware. On the other hand, the Word is so effective that whenever it is seriously contemplated, heard, and used, it is bound never to be without fruit.
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I always thought that the hymn was a very green way for corporate worship. It can be recycled every Sunday. It doesn't require any electricity to power it. It's portable and it can be shared with two users at the same time. Due to its protective cover, it can last for decades thus not having to replace it for some time, thus saving natural resources.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. For all our newer technology, I don't think the worship experience is vastly improved from the days of singing out of books. I try to encourage use of the books whenever possible, that people don't forget how. The benefits are endless.
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