During the summer of 2005, an urban congregation of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod went from using Setting 2 from the Lutheran Book of Worship to a movable summer worship without books or formal setting, steeped in ancient liturgy with Eastern Orthodox overtones. Wicker Park Lutheran Church was the congregation, and the worship of St. Gregory […]

It’s about time. Of course, it is not entirely about time. Worship points to eternity beyond time. In the Eucharist we are given a foretaste of the feast to come. In both Eucharist and the daily office we are gathered with others who have been called and baptized, thus bringing us into the communion of […]

I have deliberately chosen the terms “modern” and “postmodern” as opposed to “contemporary” culture. This is because “modern” and “postmodern” are specific. Modern can be understood to refer to the culture generated by the mindset of the Age of Enlightenment, which gained momentum in the Age of Romanticism and came to a head in the […]

Saint Patrick’s Breastplate is a well-known prayer that has echoed throughout many centuries of Ireland’s history. It expresses the hope that Christ will be “in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that […]

Paul Nicholson, composer, singer, conductor, organist, and Music Director of First St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Chicago, was commissioned by Andrew Lewis, Cantor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Evanston, to compose a cantata for Reformation 2004. This cantata and first performance at Immanuel were made possible through a Worship Renewal Grant from the Calvin Institute […]

This statement is from the third international consultation of the Lutheran World Federation’s Study Team on Worship and Culture, held in Nairobi, Kenya. 1. Introduction 1.1. Worship is the heart and pulse of the Christian Church. In worship we celebrate together God’s gracious gifts of creation and salvation, and are strengthened to live in response […]

Worship is central to who we are as Lutherans. I am very ecumenical, but I think it is important to maintain our Lutheran tradition. It isn’t only justification by faith that makes us Lutheran; how we carry that theme through our worship life is also central. Lutheran worship is really the Mass, and when you […]

My family is under siege, and our adversary’s strategy for conquest is “divide and conquer.” Amazingly, the context in which this struggle takes place is worship. You see, my family and I have just moved from Chicago, our home of the past eight years, to California. I have never before in my life needed to […]