As you are planning for Lent, the Three Days, and Easter, All Creation Sings provides several resources for your assembly’s worship.

Lent

Explore the collection of “short songs” in All Creation Sings. These could be incorporated into a weekly Service of Word and Prayer (ACS pp. 42-45) for a Lenten midweek service or during communion, gathering, or other times in Sunday worship. This blog post provides video links and tips for using these songs in ACS. 

Enrich your use of Setting 12 in All Creation Sings with the Ensemble Setting arranged by Anne Krentz Organ. You don’t need a full orchestra; even a single instrumentalist or a few handbells would be a lovely addition. Read this blog post for one congregation’s experience using this setting.  Watch the composer share more about Setting 12. 

Pray using several of the new prayers in All Creation Sings. Several collects, laments, and thanksgivings are offered. This video gives a very brief introduction to this content.  

Holy Week and The Three Days 

Teach a “paperless” setting for the procession with palms. Both “Pave the Way with Branches” (ACS 928) and “Blessed is the One” (ACS 929) could be taught and sung by rote, with harmonies being added as it becomes more familiar. Children could lead these as well. 

Sing from All Creation Sings as part of your Easter Vigil service. This blog post provides several ideas. If you are considering “Earth Is Full of Wit and Wisdom” as an assembly response to the creation story, this video offers a brief introduction. Do you have a children’s or unison choir? See this setting in ChildrenSing Creation.  

Consult the Indexes to Evangelical Lutheran Worship and All Creation Sings to see several suggestions from ACS for this week and throughout the year. 

Easter 

Teach a new Easter hymn such as “Woman, Weeping in the Garden.”  This video provides background on the text and a singing of the tune. There is a short description of this and every hymn/song in All Creation Sings through Sundays and Seasons. This Augsburg Fortress blog post describes the value of these brief descriptions. 

Introduce your congregation to other new Easter hymns through choral settings. “Touch That Soothes and Heals” by Thomas Keesecker offers a more meditative expression of Easter and is especially suitable for Easter 2. With its beautiful piano accompaniment and setting for SAB choir, a choir could introduce the assembly to this new hymn. Take a listen. Curious about what other ACS hymns and songs have anthem arrangements? This listing would be a great help to church musicians.  

Discover All Creation Sings outside of worship with an intergenerational event using Gather Together: 8 Intergenerational Events to Explore All Creation Sings. Perhaps you have a session close to Earth Day and use the Creation Care event or Climate Justice event. You could have a “kick off” session in Easter and plan other sessions throughout the year.

This month we celebrate the third anniversary of All Creation Sings, the worship and song supplement to Evangelical Lutheran Worship. As you look ahead to the incarnation cycle of the church year (Advent, Christmas, Time after Epiphany), consider these resources to support your new or continued exploration of All Creation Sings.

Advent

Looking for a simple framework for your Advent midweek service? The basic outline of Service of Word and Prayer (ACS pp. 42-45) can be contextualized to fit your needs. This video gives help for using the service. If you are a Sundays and Seasons subscriber, visit the SSCOM library (Sundays and Seasons Resources/Seasonal Rites/Seasonal Rites for Advent) for Advent midweek services based on the ACS Service of Word and Prayer, including “Holy Darkness: A service of Word and Prayer for Advent” and “Pause, Prepare, Ponder: An Advent Midweek Series.”

Listen to “Filled with Hope and Gratitude,” a new setting of the Magnificat by Paul Damico-Carper.

Christmas

Teach a new Christmas hymn such as “Night Long Awaited/Noche Anunciada.” In addition to this blog post, there is a short description of this and every hymn/song in All Creation Sings through Sundays and Seasons. This Augsburg Fortress blog post describes the value of these brief descriptions.

Introduce your congregation to other new Christmas hymns through choral settings. “We Are Waiting” by John Helgen would be a great way to have the assembly learn this new hymn. Curious about what other ACS hymns and songs have anthem arrangements? This listing is a great help to church musicians.

Time after Epiphany

Incorporate “Lamenting Racism” into worship as the church recognizes Christ’s transforming presence for all peoples and nations (ACS p. 62-63).  This video gives context around the use of the rite.

Explore a new setting of the liturgy as you plan for the Sundays after Epiphany. A webinar from Augsburg Fortress is a good place to start learning about Settings 11 and 12. If you desire a briefer video snapshot of the liturgy settings, see these 5-minute videos. Audio recordings of Setting 11 and Setting 12 are also available to support your introduction process.

Several more teaching resources for many times and seasons are available at www.augsburgfortress.org/allcreationsings

After perhaps a year or more of not gathering on-site for Ash Wednesday services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, worshiping communities across a large swath of the US are dealing with or expecting severe weather that would prevent gathering on-site. This solemn observance is a treasured one in the liturgical year, a day to be gathered with one another and to have the ashen cross marked on our forehead, reminding us of the dust from which we came and to where we will return. 

Conversations on social media have begun, as fellow worship planners ask one another what they are doing when assembling for worship on-site will not be possible. Below are some ideas to consider.  

Incorporating elements of Ash Wednesday Worship into the First Sunday in Lent Ash Wednesday begins the forty-day journey to Easter, but elements of this service could begin the Sunday worship service on the first Sunday in Lent. Consider beginning the service for Lent 1 with Psalm 51 or another penitential psalm and the Invitation to Lent (Evangelical Lutheran Worship p. 252; Leaders Desk Edition, p. 617). Instead of what you had planned as an order for confession for that day, consider using the extended confession (pp. 252-253) followed by the Imposition of Ashes. 

Following the Imposition of Ashes, the service would continue with the prayer of the day for Lent 1 and then move into the Word portion of the service. It may be desired to use the Lent 1 scripture readings or a combination of Ash Wednesday or Lent 1 depending upon your context. 

Online worship options
Perhaps the best option for your assembly is to provide an online option, just as you may have done during the past few years. 

Although not essential, you may wish to find ashes, soil, or water to mark the sign of the cross on your own forehead, either during an online service, an individual meditation time or family worship at home, or at another point during the day. All three signify death and new life — the ashes from the palm branches of last year; common soil since human beings in Genesis 2 are earth creatures made of dust; and, water which in baptism joins us to the death of Christ.   

You may have access to ashes from a local congregation or by burning palms from a previous Palm Sunday service. Soil can simply be dug from the earth near where you live.  Water can be any water, perhaps from the tap in your home. 

Transferring to another time
Some assemblies might consider offering an on-site worship option at another time prior to Lent 1 if weather conditions have improved.  

Others might look to moving the observance a week later. If doing so, note that the language for the Invitation to Lent (ELW LE p. 617) would need very slight adjustment to acknowledge we have already begun the Lenten season.  

As you begin these days of Lent in many and various ways, blessings as you remember and are remembered by the God who is gracious and merciful, and abounding in steadfast love.

In the fall of 2021, the ELCA Worship Blog began a weekly series entitled, “Prompts for Prayers of Intercession.” Each post included a listing of prayer prompts based on current news and events, as well as a listing of upcoming commemorations and observations and additional prayer and hymn suggestions from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW)/All Creation Sings (ACS) and ELCA resources. 

The goal of the project was to give church leaders a resource for crafting, updating, and contextualizing the weekly prayers of intercession for their worshiping communities. The prompts were intended to be a simple way to remain mindful of world events, in order to add relevant information to the “especially…” and the “Here other intercessions may be offered” invitations in the prayers of intercession published in Sundays and Seasons. 

As we continue to evaluate and evolve this weekly resource, know that we grateful for your ongoing feedback. We are especially grateful for all who responded to our survey this past November. We have learned that many of you are using the prompts to update and supplement the prayers of intercession in worship. Many of you, however, are using the prompts for a wider variety of purposes, whether praying through the list as part of your personal prayer practice, incorporating requests into prayer times at Bible studies or church meetings, or as a resource for prayer teams in your congregation. 

Beginning this Lent, the blog series will be retitled, “For What Shall We Pray?” This new title honors a more expansive understanding of the purpose of this resource. It is not merely a worship planning tool; it is a weekly invitation for individuals, groups, and congregations to remain mindful of the needs of our world, and to lift one another up in prayer. 

Photo credit: Sundays and Seasons

Each week we will offer a list of prayer prompts, a listing of upcoming observances – inside the church and beyond – and additional prayer resources from denominational worship materials. “For What Shall We Pray?” will be posted by Wednesday on the ELCA Worship Blog (blogs.elca.org/worship) and linked on the ELCA Worship Facebook page.  

 We encourage you to find creative ways to use “For What Shall We Pray?” for yourself and for your communities of faith. You might: 

• “Pray the news” as part of your personal prayer practice 
• Incorporate the week’s requests in your opening or closing prayers at church council or committee meetings, or during Bible and small group studies 
• Use the post as a teaching resource or tool for reflection for confirmation class or adult forum 
• Choose items from the post as journaling prompts or focus items for meditation 
• Commit to an act of service, advocacy, or financial support based on the week’s needs 
• Celebrate a new-to-you observance with family or friends 
• Double-check the blog before leading worship (if you are a pastor or assisting minister) for last-minute additions to your congregation’s prayers 

Whether you have been using this resource or are new to it, we hope that you will find it helpful in your spiritual disciplines and your community’s worship life, as together we faithfully ponder the question, “for what shall we pray?” 

Hepatha Lutheran Church Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Pastor Melissa Bills
Melissa Bills currently serves as the Director of College Ministries and College Pastor at Luther College (Decorah, Iowa). She is a native of the Chicago suburbs, a graduate of St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minnesota) and Princeton Theological Seminary (Princeton, New Jersey), and has served congregations in the Metropolitan Chicago and Northeastern Iowa Synods.

For information on how you can assist the relief effort for the latest earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, connect to the work of Lutheran Disaster Response.

Prayers of Intercession 

These petitions may be added to the assembly’s prayers of intercession. 

God, our refuge, come to the aid of all in need following the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Give strength to those who search and wait, heal the injured, and soothe with your tender care all who cry out in grief. Merciful God,
receive our prayer. 

For those who have suffered loss of home and loved ones in Syria and Turkey; for medical personnel tending all who are wounded; for rescue workers risking safety to help others; for children left without parents and parents mourning the death of children, for all attending to basic survival, especially the work of Lutheran Disaster Response. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer. 

Prayers 

Praying for those suffering 

Loving God,
in the communion of Christ, we are joined with the trials and sufferings of all.  
Be with those who endure the effects of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
Protect those in the path of danger.
Open the pathway of evacuations.
Help loved ones find one another in the chaos.
Provide assistance to those who need help.
Ease the fears of all and make your presence known in the stillness of your peace;
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. 

National distress 

Eternal God,
amid all the turmoil and changes of the world 
your love is steadfast and your strength never fails.
In this time of danger and trouble, be to us a sure guardian.
Guide the leaders of the nations with your wisdom,
comfort those in distress,
and grant courage and hope to face the future;
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
(Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, page 76) 

Time of community mourning 

Our help comes from you, O Lord, you who made heaven and earth. In the midst of grief, you are our comfort. In the face of uncertainty, you are our rock. In the wake of tragedy, you are our hope. So even as we weep, we praise you, and place our trust in you. We pray in the name of the one who suffered and died and was raised for us, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
(from Service after a Violent Event, All Creation Sings, page 66) 

God our creator,
through whose providing care we enjoy all goodness and life,
turn our eyes to your mercy in this time of confusion and loss.
Comfort those who mourn the loss of loved ones because of the earthquake;
shine your light on those whose only companion is darkness;
and teach us all so to number our days that we may apply our hearts to your wisdom; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
(Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, page 77) 

O God, 
who in Jesus stills the storm and soothes the troubled heart,
bring hope and courage to all who are affected by this earthquake as we wait in uncertainty.
Bring assurance that you will be with us in whatever lies ahead.
Give us courage to endure all that we now face,
for you are our refuge and strength.
You are God, and we need you.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
(Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship Pastoral Care, page 174) 

Prayer after disaster  

Especially for those in areas that were not directly impacted by the earthquake. 

Gracious God,
your word of peace stills the storms that rage in our world.
Bring hope to places that know devastation in the calm after the earthquake.
Bring comfort to those who grieve the loss of loved ones and property.
Let your love be known through those who work to bring order in the chaos.
Help us to shoulder the burden of suffering
and make us bearers of the hope that can be found in you
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. 

Especially for those who were directly impacted by the earthquake. 

Merciful God,
Hear our cry for mercy in the wake of the earthquake.
Reveal your presence in the midst of our suffering.
Help us to trust in your promises of hope and life
so that desperation and grief will not overtake us.
Come quickly to our aid that we may know peace and joy again.
Strengthen us in this time of trial 
with the assurance of hope we know in the death and resurrection 
of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Today’s post is written by Julie Grindle, Assistant to the Bishop for Candidacy and Mobility in the Upstate New York Synod of the ELCA. A past president of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM), Julie also served on the Hymnody Working Group for All Creation Sings.

This post was previously published in February 2021. It has been updated by the author to reflect our context in March 2022.

New Fire. Easter Proclamation. Ancient stories. Baptismal waters. Bread and wine. This is the night. As you plan worship for the Vigil of Easter, All Creation Sings offers many and various ways for us to sing the centrality of our faith.

We are now two years into the pandemic, and it seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. Many churches are lifting mask restrictions and singing fully as an assembly, while others are only just now coming back together in person, with masks and no singing, except perhaps by a select few musical leaders. Despite these challenges this remains fertile ground for exploring the new resources in All Creation Sings.

The resource is still new to many, and because the assembly is only now coming back together regularly, I strongly suggest that instead of choosing a lot of new material for this year’s Vigil, you select one or two of the new songs and hymns highlighted, and spend some time introducing it/them to the assembly, in whatever form it/they will be used at your Vigil. Perhaps short videos at the beginning or end of Sunday worship can begin acquainting worshippers with the new material. You could discuss the text in depth in a forum then listen to the melody played by an instrument or sung by a soloist, or possibly use the hymn during the upcoming Easter season, preparing the congregation now for next year’s Vigil, while taking advantage of the richness of the texts and themes this year. With those caveats in place, and the health of your congregation as your priority, I join you in looking forward to the time when we join all creation in singing together again, both now as the assembled people of God, and when we are gathered with all the saints at the great feast of the Lamb.

Once the new fire is lit and the Easter Proclamation has been sung, we gather to proclaim the ancient stories. Many hymns and songs in All Creation Sings align with the suggested sung responses found in Sundays and Seasons. The Creation story (Gen. 1:1-2:4a) has at least three possibilities, all in differing styles. The first, “Earth is full of wit and wisdom” (#1064), explores God’s love of the creatures created under God’s discerning eye, including the roly-poly, the penguin and the platypus. “Before the waters nourished earth” (#1049) explores God’s love and lament for creation, and God’s intention to bring restoration to it. Finally, with “In sacred manner” (#1071) we are reminded that we are to love God’s creation as God loves it and treat it accordingly.

The other readings have excellent offerings to choose from for musical responses. Just a few possibilities are:

Reading 4 (Exod. 14:10-31; 15:20-21): “Who is like our God /Quién como Jehová” (#1098)

Reading 5 (Isa. 55:1-11): “Surely God is my salvation” (#926)

Reading 6 (Proverbs 8:1-8, 19-21; 9:4b-6): “Come and seek the ways of wisdom” (#971)

Reading 9 (Zeph. 3:14-20): “The earth adorned in verdant robe” (#1068)

For the Procession to the Font, there are many possibilities depending on how much liturgical movement there is and what style of music you would like. If you are celebrating baptisms, “Take me to the water,” an African American spiritual (#957) and “God of promise, let these signs of grace”, a new composition from Paul Damico-Carper (#959), are excellent possibilities. If there are Affirmations of Baptism or a Thanksgiving at the Font, “Come to the water of life” (#955) has a beautiful text reminding us that the font is where we should look to find justice, mercy, and love.

When it is time for the Setting of the Table, there are texts that are perfect for an evening liturgy, especially the Vigil, because they reflect the joyousness of God’s salvific yet unseen work in darkness. Hymns that reflect this include “Womb of life and source of being” (#948) and “In a deep unbounded darkness” (#1093). A hymn that helps us move liturgically from baptism to Paschal eucharist is “To Christ belong, in Christ behold” (#958). Susan Briehl’s text reminds us that “the buried grain springs forth again with fruit one hundred-fold.” And in the second stanza we sing of this night when, “the binding shroud is here released, the veil of sin and grief, and in their place a wreath of grace and robes of joy and peace.”

During communion I encourage you to use other new hymns that combine the elements of story, water and meal that make this liturgy so unique and central to the liturgical life of the church. “Woman, weeping in the garden” (#935) is a lovely response to John’s Easter gospel. “Lift up your heads” (#1032), while originally written for Easter 2, works beautifully on this night – “O taste and see what once was lost rising in this feast of love.” Finally, “Joyful is the dark” (#1096) is a tremendous text that recounts God’s redeeming work over many different nights. The last stanza sings: “Joyful is the dark, depth of love divine, roaring, looming thundercloud of glory, holy, haunting beauty, living, loving God. Hallelujah! Sing and tell the story!”

Finally, as we are joyfully sent we may sing “Day of delight and beauty unbounded” (#933): ”Sing now of fasting turned into feasting; sing the Lord’s favor lasting forever; sing, all things living, alleluia!”

To learn more about All Creation Sings, visit www.augsburgfortress.org/AllCreationSings.