| Dear friends,
One of my favorite verses from the book of Lamentations is: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, the Lord’s mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (3:22-23). Recently, I was reminded of this verse by a friend while I was telling them how many things I had to get done and all the number of changes happening in my life. That friend reminded me that God’s love never ceases, nor God’s mercies, and that each day is a new day from God. Each day is an opportunity to live out and show forth the mercies, love and faithfulness of the Lord in all our work and to not get caught up in the busy-ness of life. Each day in this work that I have been called to on behalf of this whole church, I am able to greet God’s mercies new every morning. There is never a boring day, to be sure! We are a small staff of three but always striving to keep worship central and the means of grace always present in all we do, as a church. I am thankful for this group of dedicated people that I get to work with. Scott Weidler, who has been with the ELCA Worship staff for 21 years, will be leaving on Nov. 7 to pursue a new journey in Canada with his spouse. I give thanks to God for Scott’s dedicated and transformational work all of these years. Scott has helped point this church to the steadfast love of the Lord that never ceases through this church’s song and centered in worship.
How have you recently been reminded of the steadfast love of the Lord that never ceases? The Rev. Kevin L. Strickland |
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Meet the new ELCA program director for music: John E. Weit John Weit will begin his call with the churchwide organization on Oct. 17. John completes a seven-year call as cantor to Trinity Lutheran Church in Worcester, Mass., where he facilitated the worship and music life of the urban congregation, was the organist and conducted various choirs and ensembles. Having previously served congregations in Philadelphia and his hometown of Lititz, Pa., John earned a Master of Arts in Religion degree with concentration in liturgy and music from The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in 2009. At the seminary he also served for one year as interim seminary musician, coordinating and leading music for daily chapel liturgies and conducting the seminary choir. John is a rostered minister of Word and Service in the ELCA and serves on the boards of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians and Leadership Program for Musicians. We welcome John and pray for him in this work. |
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Walk-in registration is also welcome; however, lunch will not be available for on-site registrants. Visit the Strong Center-Open Door site to register. Contact worship@elca.org for questions or assistance.
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| TUNE UP worship band gathering On Sat., Aug. 20, continuing in its fourth year, the Worship Excellence Team of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod hosted another TUNE UP worship band gathering. More than 60 worship musicians, pastors and sound and video techs assembled on the campus of Faith Lutheran Church in Bellaire, Texas, for a multi-denominational training event that provided ways to improve the quality of band-led worship in smaller congregations. The assembled musicians and techs represented 14 congregations, including Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist and United Methodist. Participants came from as far away as Austin, Texas, and DeRidder, La.Centering themselves in worship and community, those attending participated in a panel discussion about the intersection of worship and culture, instrumental/vocal/tech tracks (offering hands-on activities for worship leaders, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, drums, vocals, sound and video techs) and conceptual tracks (offering sessions on music theory, collaborative worship design, making worship contextual, live streaming, and a web tool called Planning Center Online). During the “Coaching for Bands” session, a volunteer band from Messiah Lutheran in Cypress, Texas, received feedback and help with their music from a panel of track leaders. One of their special guests for the event was Brian Hehn, director of The Center for Congregational Song at The Hymn Society in the U.S. and Canada. Brian, who joined the house band on percussion, commented: “Great event. Thanks for doing this important work. The overall spirit of the event and people who attended/led was very joyful and kind-spirited.” Watch the website for details on upcoming events: TuneUpGathering.org. |
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 ‘More Days for Praise: Festivals and Commemorations in Evangelical Lutheran Worship’
For centuries the church has paired its church year – focused on Christ’s life, death and resurrection – with a second calendar that uses the lives of saints as a lens to see God’s gracious acts. Evangelical Lutheran Worship has continued that practice with its calendar of festivals and commemorations. In this volume, teacher and scholar Gail Ramshaw shows that those the church has lifted up are both faithful and fascinating, always pointing to Christ. Here is a guide to help you include these observances in your prayer life. Each day’s entry includes a brief chronology of the person’s life, a summary of why the person is remembered by the church, an image of – or related to – the commemoration, a quote from the person where possible, and devotional hymn and prayer suggestions for the day. |
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Three new keyboard collections for the Reformation ‘Augsburg Organ Library: Reformation’ ‘A Wittenberg Collection: Lutheran Chorales for Organ’ ‘Piano Reflections on Chorale Tunes’ |
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National Conference for Sacred Music Featuring Robert Hobby, Allen Hightower, Craig Mueller, Tom Shelton, Stephen Mitchell and Mark Lawson, the National Conference for Sacred Music is a unique conference designed to provide the practicing church musician fresh ideas to help create a vital, growing music ministry. The emphasis of this conference is providing a variety of new approaches to revitalize and reinvigorate the church’s passion for music in worship. For information about the conference, registration, hotels, schedule and workshop descriptions, visit augsburgmusic.org/ncsm. |
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 “Music That Makes Community” eventsDes Moines, Iowa, Sept. 29 Greenfield, N.H., Oct. 9Music That Makes Community equips people to connect and grow through singing. It an ecumenical, not-for-profit organization connecting a worldwide network of practitioners and leaders who share a practice of paperless song leading. This ancient way of singing can help bridge the gaps between traditional and contemporary, creating an engaging relational way of singing. If you are an experienced song leader or are leery about leading, but can carry a tune, these events are for youTwo events are coming soon:
Visit musicthatmakescommunity.org to read about these events and to access the interactive and growing database of songs, which includes cross references for planning and many recordings to help leaders learn new songs and prepare to lead. |
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Earth to Earth: Natural Burial as Spiritual Practice conference
Many people are seeking simpler and more natural ways to return to the earth at death, including practices that honor the dignity of the body and the goodness of the earth. In response to the growing natural burial movement, an upcoming conference on natural burial will offer practical, liturgical and theological resources for those interested in planning for natural burial or for offering ministries of natural burial. Click here for more information and to take advantage of early registration, or check out the event page on Facebook. |
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This small booklet, a study guide of sorts, recently was mailed to all ELCA congregations as an encouragement to join a journey of discussion and experience about how worship and culture engage one another, and how we, God’s people, engage this sometimes challenging, but important, topic. Drawing on the wisdom from the Nairobi Statement on Worship and Culture from The Lutheran World Federation in the mid-1990s, “Can We Talk” provides contemporary commentary on the statement, along with suggestions on how to use this material in an engaging and helpful way in your congregation. If you did not receive the paper copy in the mail, do not worry! “Can We Talk” is easily accessible at ELCA.org/worship. Click on the “Can We Talk” link to download the booklet. Even if you received the paper copy, the electronic version is worthwhile for the many active links to examples. Also included in the mailing was another booklet, “Worship Care: A Guide for Reflection and Connection,” which is designed for worship leaders to begin or continue to cultivate an ongoing, caring and interested spirit in one another’s worship lives. We hope that both resources will assist in nurturing a healthy spirit of renewal across this church. |
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‘The Worship Sourcebook’
“The Worship Sourcebook” is a comprehensive guide to planning worship, published by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. It offers a collection of more than 2,500 prayers, litanies and spoken texts for every element of the worship service throughout the seasons of the church year. Being from our Reformed colleagues, all the material may not work in the context of a Lutheran liturgy, however, many of the texts, especially for particular seasons or occasions, may be extremely helpful. Also, don’t overlook the seasonal alternative texts that are available in “Sundays and Seasons” (both the print and online versions) from Augsburg Fortress. “In These or Similar Words” is an invaluable tool in exploring the craft of creating and adapting liturgical texts for various contexts or settings. |
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As we bid farewell to Scott, I am also joyful in welcoming John Weit. John will become the new program director for music on Oct. 17. More information about John is included in this e-news, and I encourage you to learn more about John and welcome him to this new call. As your worship staff, we thank you for your continued support and prayers in all that we do.
Registration for these events is open, and it isn’t too late to sign up.
‘Can We Talk: Engaging Worship and Culture’
