Excellence in worship on display
The WELS Commission on Worship hosted the 2017 National Conference on Worship Music and the Arts June 13–16 at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis. More than one thousand people attended the conference, which included a focus on Martin Luther’s contributions to worship as part of the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The conference also included:
- morning and evening worship services;
- a plenary address by Rev. Michael Schultz, the director of the Hymnal Project, who offered a Reformation perspective on worship;
- more than 50 breakout sessions;
- performances by WELS musicians in a wide variety of styles;
- a children’s choir and high school honor choir;
- a collaborative art project that was displayed at the closing service; and
- a juried art exhibit.
Read the Together article “Worship conference celebrates Lutheran worship.”
The WELS Hymnal Project
The subcommittees of the WELS Hymnal Project continue to make progress on the development of the synod’s next hymnal. The hymnal and accompanying resources could be available for purchase as early as 2021. As part of the hymnal’s development, WELS Hymnal Project subcommittees have been giving congregations an opportunity to use and review samples of the materials developed so far. The work of the WELS Hymnal Project is closely coordinated with the Commission on Worship.
In July 2017, Forward in Christ magazine began running a series of nine articles that are focused on the use of hymnody. Along with those articles, the WELS Hymnal Project has published online the current list of Christian Worship and Christian Worship: Supplement hymns, indicating which hymns have been selected for inclusion in the next hymnal and which ones have not. All members of the synod may offer feedback on this preliminary list. Visit welshymnal.com.
