Rev. Henry V. Gerike, Kantor
Church of the Reformation—Lutheran,
Affton, Missouri
One of the contributions of Lutheran Service Book to the worship
life of many congregations is the Service of Prayer and Preaching (LSB 260-267).
It is a service that provides a liturgical structure for services in which the
Lord’s Supper is not celebrated. While
most will be probably use this service on a Sunday morning, it can easily be
used at other times of the day.
After the opening hymn, the Service
of Prayer and Preaching allows for seasonal variants for Advent or Lent in the
opening versicles. There are also other variations available in the
service. The Old Testament Canticle is a
setting of Isaiah 12:2b-6 by composer Phillip Magness that can be sung by the
entire congregation or with congregation only singing the Refrain and a soloist
or choir singing the verses. There is another setting of the same text given at
LSB 927. Again the congregation may sing
only the refrain, or alternate on the verses with a choir or soloist, or sing
all the verses and refrain. Other Old Testament canticles are given at LSB 925,
926, 928, 929, as well some given in Lutheran Service Builder (electronic
version of LSB).
After the Old Testament Canticle
comes the reading of Holy Scripture, usually two or three of the readings
assigned for the day. A psalm may be
chanted or spoken after the Old Testament reading, while a hymn or choral music
may be sung after the Epistle reading.
The use of a psalm and a hymn provide an opportunity to reflect on the
reading of God’s Word, giving each its due consideration. The Responsory
concludes this section of the service.
Portions of the Small Catechism are
provided for congregational reciting and review. The “more” of the rubric may include that
portion of the Catechism presently being studied by the confirmation class
(catechesis); see LSB 321-330. The sermon then follows or an appropriate
section from Luther’s Large Catechism may be read. All of this may be reflected when a hymn (or
the appointed Hymn of Day) is sung as a response to the Word of God read and
proclaimed. After the hymn is sung, the
offering may be received.
The prayer section of the Service
of Prayer and Preaching is given at LSB
265. By looking at each petition it can be seen how each can be expanded to include
special concerns and needs of the church-at-large as well as the local
congregation. The prayer section concludes with three collects: the Collect of
the Day, the Collect for the Word, and either the Morning or Evening Prayer
from the Small Catechism.
The New Testament Canticle is text
reflecting the Easter season and life of the church given in a setting by
composer Carl Schalk. During the season
of Lent, one of the other biblical
canticles (LSB 925—941) will be more appropriate. A choir setting of a biblical text may also
be appropriate. The service then concludes with the blessing. Using a concluding hymn is an option many
congregations use.
No comments:
Post a Comment