The Hymn of the Month is “I Know My Faith Is Founded” (LSB 587). The German text was written by Erdmann Neumeister, who was a pastor, organist, and schoolmaster in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In 1941, the hymn was translated into English by The Lutheran Hymnal.
Have you ever wanted to know more about the history of the hymns in Lutheran Service Book? Do you ever wonder what the lives of those who wrote our hymns were like? Good news—we have a book for that. Everyone at Concordia Publishing House is incredibly excited to announce the launch of Lutheran Service Book: Companion to the Hymns. This comprehensive hymn companion is rich with compelling facts—many newly discovered through extensive research of original sources in libraries all over the world. We’ve picked our top five for you to check out today.
The music of the month is Lord of Our Life, a sturdy partita by Kenneth T. Kosche, which uses the mighty tune ISTE CONFESSOR. The first four movements include “Theme,” “Trio,” “Bicinium,” and “Chorale,” and are interpretations of the first line of each stanza. The partita closes with a bright “Finale.”
Today, we are celebrating an extraordinary event at Concordia Publishing House. Dr. Carl F. Schalk, renowned composer, music educator, distinguished professor, and beloved mentor turns ninety years young.
This post is an excerpt adapted from Praise & Honor by Timothy J. Shoup.
Commissioned for the 150th anniversary of Concordia Publishing House on September 11, 2019, pastor and hymnwriter Stephen P. Starke, and Kevin J. Hildebrand, kantor at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, have produced For Faith, We Praise You, Lord, a sturdy hymn written to the tune VERITY.
The five-stanza hymn is scored for SATB choir, congregation, organ, and trumpet. The hymn charts the Christian life lived in faith, from birth in Holy Baptism, to the altar at the Lord’s Supper, and into the harvest field as workers in God’s earthly kingdom. The post below showcases each stanza of this hymn along with explanations and reflections on the lyrics.
Originality. A quick Google search of the word provides such synonyms as inventiveness, creativity, novelty, newness, individuality, and even the phrase break with tradition. Originality is a quality highly desired in today’s world. Just look at the trendy Instagram posts of fashion and modern art.
I was recently gifted a book of the poetry of George Herbert. Herbert was a seventeenth-century aristocrat-turned-deacon in the Church of England whose English-language poems were published posthumously. Herbert’s almost exclusively Christian poetry is a beautiful expression of faith. Herbert captures the wonder of God’s love for us, the enormity of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and the joy of our salvation again and again. In his work, in fact, his poems remind me of our hymnal and the poetic expressions of faith captured therein. Reading his poetry inspired me to think of hymns as poems as well.
