The season of Advent provides a great opportunity to stop and pause, to wait with joyful anticipation for Christmas. While the rest of the world may be singing Christmas carols and decorating trees, the church patiently waits for the coming of Christ. During this time, the altar guild and church office have a special opportunity to help reinforce the message of Advent through the paraments, bulletins, and other adornments that are used in the church sanctuary.

Introducing new music to your congregation is an important task that can require much patience and persistence. A little planning and coordination ahead of time can help eliminate some of the frustration that comes with it. Here are a few suggestions on how to roll out a new piece of music to your congregation.

This post is taken from The Hymns of Martin Luther, with historical summaries authored by Henry V. Gerike and edited by Peter C. Reske.

Music can be a powerful teaching tool, and Luther knew that well. By teaching his parishioners hymns about the Ten Commandments or the persons of the Trinity, he could reinforce Christianity’s essential teachings in a memorable and moving way. Learn about his six catechetical hymns below, and at the end of the post, you can download a set of devotions based on the hymns.

With Christmas less than three months away, many musicians have already started making selections and planning rehearsals. Our guest author and composer for this week, Benjamin Kolodziej, shares some of his favorite tips for preparing Advent and Christmas music.

I recently played at a church that had a very limited organ. I had always thought the regular organist did a fine job but could have been more creative. Then I discovered that the instrument did not offer much to encourage creativity. Each manual had about five basic stops, and I struggled to lead the congregation in a way that encouraged singing.

Here are some ideas for how church musicians, pastors, and teachers can help families use the hymnal at home. You also download a free family devotions guide with hymns and readings for each week during the school year.

This post is taken from Children Sing His Praise edited by Donald Rotermund.

Of all acts of corporate worship probably none is more inspiring than the singing of a well-trained, well-disciplined choir of children. To hear the pure voices of children produce freely floating tones in perfect unison or in harmony is one of the most uplifting of musical experiences. An even more spiritually profound impression is made if the song is an integral part of the theme of the day and if the singers actively participate in worship by listening, singing, and praying as full partners in the worshipping community.

We know many of you are getting started recruiting musicians and selecting music for this year. To help you with that, we’ve put together a list of pieces you may want to consider for Advent and Christmas. 

There are a lot of ideas about what makes music appropriate for church. This post is an excerpt from Ceremony and Celebration and provides a few principles as defined by Paul H. D. Lang. 

Talk to nearly anyone today who has any sort of opinion about church music and they’ll tell you that the organist is a dying breed. But instead of getting fatalistic, let’s encourage others in whatever sort of musical pursuit they enjoy—and then encourage them to learn the organ.