The Michigan District has its own Hymnal Project! You can find it at thehymnalproject.com.

Liturgies

There is a section of new liturgies.

So far, there are three: Fear Not! A Liturgy for Anxious Times (written by Heather Choate Davis and Blake Flattley), a Healing Service Liturgy (written by Chris Bodley, Peter Prochnow, and Benje Daneman), and a Freedom Service Liturgy (written by Chris Bodley, Peter Prochnow, and Benje Daneman). The latter is uploading soon. The first of the three is the most fleshed out. You can see it for yourself, as you can link to the Leader’s Guidebook, and the Liturgy itself. Per the rubrics, this liturgy can be lay-led, and includes hymns, scripture readings, a Psalm, and confession and absolution. In place of a sermon, a poem by Teilhard de Chardin is supplied. The service includes periods of silence with the instruction: “allow the Spirit to work through them.” The explanation continues:

This form of contemplative prayer is rooted in the biblical promise that the Word of God is living and active, and thru His Word God speaks to us, each in our own way. As we read the Gospel verse aloud, you’re invited to listen for a word or phrase or image that tugs at your heart. Then, after the reading, we’ll have a time of silence for you to ponder that word or phrase: to ask yourself what you know about it. What meanings or memories or associations it has for you. What other ideas or images come to mind as you consider it.

Hymns

The Project also includes some new styles of hymnody - in many cases with audio.

There are organ settings, but also EDM (I had to look that up: Electronic Dance Music), Gospel (which doesn’t mean what you’re probably thinking of), R&B, Latin (which also doesn’t mean what you’re probably thinking of), smooth jazz, Lofi (I had to look that up: low-fidelity: “a style of music that intentionally incorporates imperfections in the recording, such as background noise, misplayed notes, or low hum,” and “embraces imperfections, such as background noise, static, or the hum of background conversations”), and even New Orleans Jazz played by a band from the Midwest (sorry to say, like unto the Shibboleth, the lady’s accent is a glaring giveaway…).

As far as I can tell, with those embedded in the new liturgies excepted, there aren’t any new hymns in the project, simply LSB hymns performed in different styles. But almost all of my favorite hymns are missing. Here is an alphabetical list of the hymns they presently include, with links. In my opinion, if the goal is to attract more women to church based on performance style, this project is a clear winner! Nearly every recording features a lady singer performing in a soft, emotive style that appeals to the feminine. But I know that some men really do like that style (not that there’s anything wrong with that…).

Podcasts

And here is a little insight into the project in the form of podcasts by Pastor Tim Seeber, addressing the topics of: Hymnals and Liturgy; Colors, Candles, and Crosses; Benediction, Creed, Holy Communion, Sharing of Peace/Offering; Worship Assistants; and Worship Postures.

Videos

Former President David Meier of the Michigan District made a series of 38 videos with samples of the various hymns from April to June 2020. Here is the link.

I believe this project is a valuable tool as a window into the way the leaders of one of our districts currently views Lutheran worship - in both style and substance - and where things may be going for future hymnal projects.

I’m grateful for their transparency.