Each month ELCA Worship highlights resources and events from other organizations and institutions. These Lutheran and ecumenical partner organizations work alongside the ELCA to support worship leaders, worship planners, musicians, and all who care about the worship of the church.

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Association of Lutheran Church Musicians

ALCM nurtures and equips musicians to serve and lead the church’s song.

ALCM Fall Webinar Series

 

“For all that is to be” Summer conference
Aug. 4-8, 2025
Raleigh-Durham, N.C. 

Join us in Raleigh! Mark your 2025 calendars now for August 4-8 and plan to register in the “Early, Early” category, which will offer substantial savings. Registration opens in September.

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Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival

Transforming and connecting lives through faith and music since 1981.

New FREE Arrangement from Lutheran Summer Music by Anne Krentz Organ

Download a new FREE arrangement from Lutheran Summer Music 2024 by Anne Krentz Organ: The Ash Grove for a solo instrument with keyboard accompaniment. The Ash Grove is a theme and variations based on the beloved Welsh folk tune and is this year’s installment in the LSM Hymn Tune Project. Free sheet music download: LSMacademy.org/resources.

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Institute of Liturgical Studies

An ecumenical conference on liturgical renewal for the church today.

Rites of Passage: Engaging Occasional Practitioners in a Secular Age
Valparaiso, Ind.
April 28–30, 2025

The American religious landscape is characterized by declining participation in religious institutions, increasing uncertainty about matters of faith, and a growing population identifying as non-religious. Nevertheless, many people continue to turn to churches at some of the most significant moments in their lives—such as the birth of a child or the loss of a loved one—and many others show up to support them. At last year’s Institute, Rev. Dr. Sarah Kathleen Johnson introduced the idea of occasional religious practice to describe a way of relating to religion that is characterized by participation in religious practices occasionally rather than routinely, most often in connection with certain types of occasions, including holidays, life transitions, and times of crisis. She encouraged us not to rush to judge occasional practitioners’ lack of involvement or to come to hasty conclusions about why they are seeking out these practices but instead to listen to and learn from them.

Most of our planning resources are directed at the Sunday assembly. Yet, baptisms, weddings, and funerals are liturgical events rich in their potential for service and outreach. How might we more fully consider the possibilities of these occasions to be better prepared to serve a decreasingly churched culture?

Sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay up to date on the 2025 conference.

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Music that Makes Community

Music that Makes Community (MMC) practices communal song-sharing that inspires deep spiritual connection, brave shared leadership, and sparks the possibility of transformation in our world.

Music that Makes Community invites you to consider the following events and resources for continuing education, community building, professional development, and celebrating this practice of paperless communal song-sharing:

MMC is offering a few workshops in the South, Northeast, and Upper Midwest this fall. Join us in:

+ Waco, Texas: Saturday, Sept. 28 for a One-Day Community Singing Workshop at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church. As part of the 3-day residency, join us for a Friday evening Community Sing and/or worship on Sunday morning. Click here for more details.

+ New London, N.H.: Saturday, Oct. 5 for a One-Day Community Singing Workshop at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Click here for more details.

+ Chippewa Falls, Wis.: Oct. 11-12 for a Friday night Community SING and Saturday morning, 1/2 Day Community Singing Workshop at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. Sponsored by the Lay School of Ministry, Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, ELCA and several local churches. Click here for more details.

The Sacred Lands Playlist Project is in the process of reviewing submissions. Thank you to all who submitted! Mark your calendars for 6-7:30 p.m. Central on Wednesday, Oct. 2, for a hybrid gathering in Minneapolis to learn songs on the playlist, meet their creators, hear the stories of how they came to be, so you can faithfully carry these important songs into your communities. This event will be recorded so you view it afterwards. Stay tuned to register for location details and a Zoom link.

Communities around the nation are gathering together to sing and build bridges of connection. Join one of these if they’re near you or start your own (we can help you with that; just reach out!):

Albuquerque, New Mexico – 1st Tuesdays
Brownsburg, Indiana – 1st Tuesdays
Chicago, Illinois – 3rd Wednesdays
Ellensburg, Washington – 2nd Thursdays
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota – varies

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Resources from the Center for Church Music

The Center for Church Music is a place where one can tap into an expansive library of resources and perspectives on the music and art of the church, with a focus on a Lutheran context.

“Profiles in American Lutheran Church Music” presents video interviews with prominent ELCA church musicians Scott Weidler (interviewed by Rev. Gerald Spice, 2016) and Paul Bouman (interviewed by Michael Costello, 2013) as well as many other Lutheran Church musicians.

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Augsburg Fortress Events and Resources

Augsburg Fortress is an imprint of 1517 Media, the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Augsburg Fortress hosted five Music Clinics this summer, welcoming hundreds of church musicians and other ministry leaders to workshops; reading sessions for handbells, keyboard music, and choral pieces; and an evening festival choir. Music clinician David Cherwien’s workshop was especially poignant, as he led attendees through the hymn texts written by his late wife, Susan Palo Cherwien. Explore and experience her creative works in four hymn collections, including the recently-released Living in Wonder: Hymns of Susan Palo Cherwien, Volume 4.

 

The new program year is getting started, and that means one thing—new church year calendars aren’t far behind! We are thrilled to offer the breathtaking work of Ukrainian artist Ivanka Demchuk in the Calendar of Word and Season, Year C 2025. This spiral-bound wall calendar for planning helps you keep time in the office, sacristy, and home.

 

Our Advent Devotional is hot of the presses. When they’re gone, they’re gone, so order now! Good News, Great Joy: Devotions for Advent and Christmas 2024-25 is available in pocket size, large print, and ebook editions. Tip: if you have a handbell choir, this year’s devotion is an especially fitting gift!

 

The ELCA has released social teachings for decades. Our NEW book series reengages these teachings to help individuals and groups who wish to revisit these statements in today’s context. The first two titles in the Re-Engaging ELCA Social Teaching series are ReEngaging ELCA Social Teaching on The Church in Society by James M. Childs Jr. and ReEngaging ELCA Social Teaching on Abortion by Caryn D. Riswold.

 

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This blog post is written by Dr. Benjamin M. Stewart. Stewart is Distinguished Affiliate Professor of Worship at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and pastor to Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Two Harbors, Minnesota.

 

With growing mainstream awareness of environmental crises, several experiments with a liturgical “Season of Creation” have emerged. Now, a significant ecumenical movement is championing the inauguration of a liturgical “Feast of Creation” to be shared across Eastern and Western branches of Christianity. The possibility of the new festival is being discussed by church leadership in the major global denominations and is being considered for introduction as part of the commemoration of the 1700^th anniversary of the Council of Nicea in 2025.

The potential new feast would likely be associated with the time between September 1 and October 4, already observed by some as a season of creation. The dates have ecumenical significance: September 1 is the beginning of the Orthodox liturgical year, and in recent decades the date has become associated with care for creation among the Orthodox. It has even more recently been adopted as a day of prayer and action for creation by the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church – though usually without a liturgical celebration. October 4^th is the commemoration of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the most popular occasions on the church calendar associated with care for creation.

 

 

An ecumenical conference – with participation by LWF and ELCA theologians – convened in March 2024 in Assisi, Italy, to study the possibility of a new liturgical festival of creation. (A report designed for wide readership about the conference and next steps is available online here as a PDF.)

There was considerable enthusiasm at the Assisi conference for the new ecumenical festival. Some ongoing questions included:

• How would the potential feast balance the emphases on creator, creation, and creation’s woundedness/healing?
• What would the festival be called? (e.g. “The Feast of Creation” or “The Feast of the Mystery of Creation” or “The Festival of God the Creator,” etc.)
• Would the date of the festival be associated with September 1^st or with the September equinox, a day of global balance between light and darkness? Would the festival be marked on a precise date or the Sunday following?
• Which scriptural themes – and specific readings – should anchor the festival? (This is where the first question above gets very real!)
• How might the festival be introduced in the relatively short time before September 2025, and to what extent is ecumenical consistency important in the introductory process and in the liturgical practice of the feast?

It is worth remembering that our existing chief festivals already include creation themes at their heart: the chief gospel reading at Christmas is John 1 (“In the beginning was the Word”), and the first reading of the Easter Vigil is from Genesis 1 (“In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth”). As early as Justin Martyr some Christians have noted that every Sunday is a feast of creation as much as it is a feast of the resurrection:

“We hold this meeting together on the day of the sun since it is the first day, on which day God, having transformed darkness and matter, made the world. On the same day Jesus Christ our savior rose from the dead.” (1 Apology 67. Translation in Lathrop, Holy Things, 45.)

The most recent feast to be introduced ecumenically was Reign of Christ / Christ the King, in response to rising fascism in the 1920s (though it was only adopted by Western churches). The possibility of a new Feast of Creation being inaugurated across the global church in both Eastern and Western Christianity holds profound theological promise – even as it too comes at another moment of global crisis.

Each month ELCA Worship highlights resources and events from other organizations and institutions. These Lutheran and ecumenical partner organizations work alongside the ELCA to support worship leaders, worship planners, musicians, and all who care about the worship of the church.

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Association of Lutheran Church Musicians

ALCM nurtures and equips musicians to serve and lead the church’s song.

“For all that is to be” Summer conference
Aug. 4-8, 2025
Raleigh-Durham, N.C. 

Join us in Raleigh! Mark your 2025 calendars now for August 4-8 and plan to register in the “Early, Early” category, which will offer substantial savings. Registration will open in September.

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Music that Makes Community

Music that Makes Community (MMC) practices communal song-sharing that inspires deep spiritual connection, brave shared leadership, and sparks the possibility of transformation in our world.

Late summer greetings to you dear ELCA siblings!

As you turn toward your Fall Programming, Music that Makes Community invites you to consider the following events and resources for continuing education, community building, professional development, and celebrating this practice of paperless communal song-sharing. Here are a few workshops in the South, Northeast, and Upper Midwest this fall. Join us in:

• Waco, Texas: Saturday, Sept. 28 for a One-Day Community Singing Workshop at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church. As part of the 3-day residency, join us for a Friday evening Community Sing and/or worship on Sunday morning. Click here for more details.
• New London, N.H.: Saturday, Oct. 5 for a One-Day Community Singing Workshop at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Click here for more details.
• Chippewa Falls, Wis.: Oct. 11-12 for a Friday night Community SING and Saturday morning, 1/2 Day Community Singing Workshop at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. Sponsored by the Lay School of Ministry, Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, ELCA and several local churches. Click here for more details.

Do you dream of different ways we can be church? Join MMC and others from many denominations at A New Day Draws Near: A Conference Reimagining Church and Community held in Minneapolis, Minn. from Monday evening, Sept. 16 to Wednesday evening, Sept. 18. Click here for more information.

The Sacred Lands Playlist Project is in the process of reviewing submissions. Thank you to all who submitted! Mark your calendars for 6-7:30 p.m. Central on Wednesday, Oct. 2, for a hybrid gathering in Minneapolis to learn songs on the playlist, meet their creators, hear the stories of how they came to be, so you can faithfully carry these important songs into your communities. This event will be recorded so you view it afterwards. Stay tuned to register for location details and a Zoom link.

Communities around the nation are gathering together to sing and build bridges of connection. Join one of these if they’re near you or start your own (we can help you with that; just reach out!):

• Albuquerque, New Mexico – 1st Tuesdays (except August: on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 6:30-8 p.m., the Albuquerque MMC group will be hosting a Community SING Fundraiser in Albuquerque, N.M. at the Norbertine Abbey Church. Join us for a potluck gathering beforehand or just to sing!  Click here for more details.)
• Brownsburg, Indiana – 1st Tuesdays
• Chicago, Illinois – 3rd Wednesdays
• Ellensburg, Washington – 2nd Thursdays
• Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota – varies; next is Wednesday, August 28, 2:30 p.m.

May communal song be a prayer that offers you and yours collective expression and support during the highs and lows of these days.

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Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival

Transforming and connecting lives through faith and music since 1981.

Did you miss LSM 2024? Don’t worry! You are invited to revisit over 30 concerts, recitals, and worship services from LSM 2024 on demand in LSM’s Livestream Archive. With so many great performances and inspiring services, you don’t want to miss out.

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Resources from the Center for Church Music

The Center for Church Music is a place where one can tap into an expansive library of resources and perspectives on the music and art of the church, with a focus on a Lutheran context.

“Profiles in American Lutheran Church Music” presents video interviews with prominent ELCA church musicians Martin Seltz (interviewed by Rev. Craig Mueller) and Paul D. Weber (interviewed by Barry Bobb) have recently been posted to the website of the Center for Church Music.

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Augsburg Fortress Events and Resources

Augsburg Fortress is an imprint of 1517 Media, the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Living the Promises of Baptism: 101 Ideas for Parents
Of all the gifts parents can pass on to their children, faith is the most precious. The heart of our role as Christian parents is sharing and living out that faith with the children God gives us. This small book is filled with concrete ideas for celebrating with your children the gifts of baptism in daily living. Meals, bedtime, play, seasons, milestones, transitions-all these occasions and more become opportunities for practicing faith.

 

Assembly Song Companion to All Creation Sings
Assembly Song Companion to All Creation Sings will be an essential reference resource for church musicians, pastors, and others who help plan assembly song. This accessible manual gives the context, origins, and character of the texts and tunes in All Creation Sings as well as practical guidance for musical leaders. It is especially useful when paired with the Hymnal Companion to ELW and the Musicians Guide to ELW.

 

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Created to Be

At the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering where the theme “Created to Be” inspired young people to be their brave, free, authentic, disruptive, and discipling selves, there was a place in the Interactive Learning space that invited them to be “Drawn In! Moving Out!” It was an absolute joy to once again bring the vision of a worship learning experience I brainstormed in 2016 to life for the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans. We staffed the booth with an incredible team from the ELCA Worship Staff, Lutheran Summer Music, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, and the ELCA Spiritual Renewal Team.  

Activities included the ever popular “Acolyte Olympiad” with new competitive categories for pastors and bishops. The “Vestment Photo Booth” was, once again, a youth favorite as we witnessed so many young people seeing themselves in church leadership no matter how many silly poses or creative vestment combination choices they made. In the “Music Corner,” (where we always clap on 2 and 4), youth could show off their musical skills or learn how to use a new percussion instrument. We even had a few spontaneous hymn sings! The ELCA Spiritual Renewal Team brought new ways to pray with fun things like Jenga, coloring, and labyrinths. Before youth left our area, we encouraged them to grab a button to write their own dismissal with the encouragement to take them home and use them in worship. Additionally, we had a baptismal remembrance table, information about Lutheran Summer Music, and even the tall twirly poles with ribbons to try out. 

Welcoming Youth Fully

Worship belongs to everyone; it is our collective work to glorify, praise, pray, and receive the love and grace of God. The goal of this space was to welcome youth in and give them permission to try everything. From wearing vestments to learning a new way to sing a familiar hymn, we welcomed exploration and encouraged youth to claim their place in worship both at the Youth Gathering and at home. Youth love to help and should be encouraged in their gifts to be fully part of worship wherever they find themselves.

I thank the team that came together to make it happen even when travel snags had us working late. The team included John Weit, Jennifer Baker-Trinity, AJ Olson, Omaldo Perez, Lawrence Clark, Becca Ehrlich and myself. I do hope we will get to it again! 

 With gratitude,
Annemarie Cook
Interim Pastor
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Marlton, NJ

Each month ELCA Worship highlights resources and events from other organizations and institutions. These Lutheran and ecumenical partner organizations work alongside the ELCA to support worship leaders, worship planners, musicians, and all who care about the worship of the church.

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Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival

Transforming and connecting lives through faith and music since 1981.

Lutheran Summer Music invites you to livestream over 30 inspiring concerts, recitals, and worship services throughout the entire month of July. Performances and services are shared by over 250 students, faculty, fellows, worship staff, and guest artists who come together to create a vibrant community of music-makers. Visit LSMacademy.org/2024 to explore the schedule and access the livestream and video archive. You won’t want to miss this!

Of special note, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM) will join this year’s LSM community and offer an intergenerational performance of J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion.

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Resources from the Center for Church Music

The Center for Church Music is a place where one can tap into an expansive library of resources and perspectives on the music and art of the church, with a focus on a Lutheran context.

“Profiles in American Lutheran Church Music” presents video interviews with prominent ELCA church musicians Martin Seltz (interviewed by Rev. Craig Mueller) and Paul D. Weber (interviewed by Barry Bobb) have recently been posted to the website of the Center for Church Music.

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Register for Augsburg Fortress Summer Music Clinics

Join clinicians David Cherwien and Mark Sedio for Augsburg Fortress’ free summer music clinics this summer in any of our five locations! Register here:

July 16-17 in St. Paul, Minn
July 19-20 in Columbia, S.C.
August 1-2 in Philadelphia, Pa.
August 5-6 in Columbus, Ohio
August 9-10 in Chicago, Ill.

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Augsburg Fortress Events and Resources

Augsburg Fortress is an imprint of 1517 Media, the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Love and Faithfulness: A Marriage Planning Handbook
Love and Faithfulness provides couples with brief explanations and the entire text of the Evangelical Lutheran Worship marriage service, as well as more recent supplemental resources. Twelve reflections encourage couples to plan the marriage service and prepare for married life together. Pastors will find this resource invaluable for working with those preparing for marriage. It encourages couples to have conversations about the marriage service, faith, and daily life within the context of worship and the church. A free, downloadable pastor’s guide is available.

 

Living the Promises of Baptism: 101 Ideas for Parents
Of all the gifts parents can pass on to their children, faith is the most precious. The heart of our role as Christian parents is sharing and living out that faith with the children God gives us. This small book is filled with concrete ideas for celebrating with your children the gifts of baptism in daily living. Meals, bedtime, play, seasons, milestones, transitions-all these occasions and more become opportunities for practicing faith.

 

Assembly Song Companion to All Creation Sings
Assembly Song Companion to All Creation Sings will be an essential reference resource for church musicians, pastors, and others who help plan assembly song. This accessible manual gives the context, origins, and character of the texts and tunes in All Creation Sings as well as practical guidance for musical leaders. It is especially useful when paired with the Hymnal Companion to ELW and the Musicians Guide to ELW.

 

Christ in Our Home
Christ in Our Home is a quarterly devotional resource that encourages readers to live out their faith daily. Each reflective reading is accompanied by a daily scripture reference and prayer for the day that follows the Revised Common Lectionary.

 

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Music that Makes Community

Music that Makes Community (MMC) practices communal song-sharing that inspires deep spiritual connection, brave shared leadership, and sparks the possibility of transformation in our world.

Here are some upcoming in-person gatherings!

• Saturday, July 13: Ana Hernandez, Monica Oneydika, Adam Michael Wood, and Executive Director Conie Borchardt will be leading a 1-Day Community Singing Workshop in Atlanta, Georgia right before The Hymn Society conference.
• Stay tuned for registration to open for a Friday night Community SING and Saturday morning workshop in Northwest Synod of Wisconsin on October 11-12.
• Many local practice groups and community sings are meeting monthly! Check out when Albuquerque, Chicago, Brownsburg (IN), Ellensburg (WA), Minneapolis-St. Paul, and more are meeting here!

Have you wondered about this gathering called Monday Morning Grounding?  Please read more about this virtual point of connection and reflection for clergy and musicians on our blog here.  The summer session starts June 10 and concludes July 22.  Join us! Register here for the Zoom link.

Please visit our website to discover the song resources on the A-Z list, do a deep dive into the blog post archive, check out what it takes to host a workshop, make a contribution to support this non-profit organization, or subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

May song accompany your gratitude and lament, your grief and your praise.

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Association of Lutheran Church Musicians

ALCM nurtures and equips musicians to serve and lead the church’s song.

Ponder Anew: Serving and Leading the Church’s Song
July 22 – 25
Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind.

Cannot be in Valparaiso for the conference? Registration for Live Streamed participation is available!

 

As you make plans for worship in the autumn months, consider the following ways to explore All Creation Sings.

Time after Pentecost-Autumn

Sing “God’s Work, Our Hands” (ACS 1000) on September 8 in worship or at other congregational service events. Set to the tune EARTH AND ALL STARS, singers will readily learn this new text by Wayne Wold. Learn more about the hymn at https://elca.org/dayofservice.

Explore the many creation-care activities in Kids Celebrate Creation. This is especially fitting if your congregation is focusing on care for the earth leading up to the commemoration of St. Francis on October 4.

Read or re-visit the 2020 Augsburg Fortress blog post, “The Animals Will Teach” for more creation-themed song ideas in ACS.

Reformation

Sing one of two short songs based on Psalm 46 as a psalm refrain on Reformation Sunday: “Though the Earth Shall Change” (ACS 1035) or “Be Still and Know” (1083). The verses of the psalm can be sung on a tone or spoken by all or a leader(s) while the whole assembly sings the song as a refrain.

Introduce two new songs with reformation themes, “By Grace We Have Been Saved” (ACS 1006) and “Born, Reborn.” (ACS 956). The introductory videos will assist you with learning and teaching in your context.

Teach your choir a setting of “God Alone Be Praised.” (ACS 1023).  Commissioned for the 30^th anniversary of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians and the 500^th anniversary of the reformation, this anthem setting includes a part for the assembly and violin. You can listen to it as well.

All Saints

Learn the hymn “Death Be Never Last.” This video provides an introduction. If you’d prefer to have a choir sing it first, consider this anthem arrangement. Find additional anthem suggestions for several hymns in All Creation Sings in this curated PDF.

Remember a loved one by purchasing copies of the pew edition in their memory. What a gift it is for people of all ages to open a hymnal, read the name of a fellow child of God, and be connected to the community of saints through song.

Familiarize yourself with several prayers in ACS that address loss and times of transition (see pages 52–55 in the pew edition). As we remember those who have died or those near death, these prayers can give us words when we are struggling to name what is on our hearts.