Lutheran Worship

Imagine a welcoming narthex that opens onto the room of assembly where there is a great baptismal pool, full of clear and flowing water and situated just at the place where the narthex opens onto a nave. The assembly room itself is furnished with a central reading desk, a gracious and significant table, visible chairs for a few leaders, and worthy chairs for all the people who gather. Here are visible invitations to baptism, the Word, the meal, and the leadership, as well as a good space for the participating community.

As people arrive, doorkeepers hand out the liturgy books. Candles flicker at each of the central places, marking especially the reading desk and the table. A great white linen cloth covers the table, and both reading desk and table may also be marked with cloth in the color of the season or the day. Near the entrance, at a place that can be seen, stands a table holding the loaf of bread that someone has brought, and a glass flagon of amber or white wine. Music, light though intense, fills the room—a solo flute, a small ensemble, an organ—but, in any case, music which points to the hymns that soon will be sung. All these things—the water in the pool, the open but centered space, candles and cloth and colors, doorkeepers, the waiting bread and wine, music—are meant to welcome the arriving persons into the mystery which will be celebrated here: Christ present in the assembled community, in baptism remembered, in Word read and preached, in the Holy Supper celebrated. Such is the setting of Lutheran worship. Lutheran worship follows this pattern: four acts of Entrance, Word, Table, and Dismissal. The service often begins with a penitential act, the Brief Order for Confession and Forgiveness (see below). The Lutheran Book of Worship contains three settings for worship and a choral service of Holy Communion. The service below is Setting One. (Variable prayers offered in Setting One are not included.) The Basic Pattern Brief Order for Confession and Forgiveness/Entrance. If the assembly is small enough and if not too many of its members have difficulty in standing or walking, all those who arrive gather in a growing circle around the pool. They wait there, greeting each other and quietly talking. If this will not work, they take their places in the assembly room now, but they prepare to stand and face the pool. As the music draws to a close, a small procession joins those who stand at the font: a cross-bearer, a person carrying the assembly's large Bible, two candlebearers with lit torches, the choir, at least one lay assisting minister and a presiding minister who is the congregation's pastor. Each of these persons is clothed in an alb, the white garment of baptism. They wear this robe because it is the garment that belongs to all who have "put on Christ," and these leaders are fulfilling tasks for the sake of an assembly of those who are so "clothed." The presiding minister also wears a stole and an amply cut, gracious, but very simple chasuble in the color of the season or the day, marking him or her as both the community's leader and primary representative of the tradition and of the other churches to which this community is linked. Then, as a proclamation of the new baptism from which this community lives—as a return to the word of grace that lives in baptism and as a way to go "through the water" into this meeting again—a simple order for confession and forgiveness is enacted by the pool. (Stand) 1. The minister leads the congregation in the invocation. The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their baptism. Presiding Minister: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Congregation: Amen. Presiding Minister: almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Congregation: Amen. Presiding Minister: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (Kneel/Stand) 2. Silence for reflection and self-examination. Presiding Minister: Most merciful God, Congregation: we confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen. 3. The minister stands and addresses the congregation. Presiding Minister: Almighty God, in his mercy, has given his Son to die for us and, for his sake, forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Holy Communion Setting One 1. The Brief Order for Confession and Forgiveness may be used before this service. 2. The minister may announce the day and its significance before the Entrance Hymn, before the lessons, or at another appropriate time. 3. When there is no Communion, the service is concluded after the Creed as indicated. (Stand) 4. The ENTRANCE HYMN or Psalm is sung. The musicians then introduce the Entrance hymn. The entire community—or the small procession, representing the community—enters the assembly room, singing this hymn. The principal assisting minister and the presiding minister take their places at the chairs of leadership. The choir has a place from which they can be heard, a place that also makes clear that they are part of the assembly. If they have just come from the font, the other members of the assembly find their places as well. With everyone still standing, the presider makes an open gesture of welcome and speaks the apostolic greeting (2 Cor. 13:13), a greeting meant to proclaim the triune life of God in which this assembly gathers. The congregation's response intends to make sure that the presider is also included in this proclamation. 5. The minister greets the congregation. Presiding Minister: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Congregation: And also with you. 6. The KYRIE may follow: Now the principal assisting minister intones the bids of the Kyrie, the whole assembly responding as if, on the way to the heart of the meeting, we mean to remember where we are and how great is our need of God. The same assisting minister continues by intoning the ancient Gloria in Excelsis, that poetic trope on the song of the angels at the Incarnation, as if the word we are about to hear is the very presence of that Incarnate One. The whole congregation takes up the song, making the angels' chorus audible in this world. These chants and all the subsequent classical liturgical texts are sung according to one of the three musical settings of the liturgy provided in the book or according to one of the many alternate settings in circulation. Finally, the presider, still standing at the chair, raises his or her hands in the old posture of prayer which will be used throughout this service and speaks the prayer of the day that sums up all this gathering, singing, and moving—all this activity of entrance. Assisting Minister: In peace, let us pray to the Lord. Congregation: Lord, have mercy. Assisting Minister: For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord. Congregation: Lord, have mercy. Assisting Minister: For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord. Congregation: Lord, have mercy. Assisting Minister: For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord. Congregation: Lord, have mercy. Assisting Minister: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord. Congregation: Amen. 7. The HYMN OF PRAISE or another appropriate hymn may be sung. Assisting Minister: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Congregation:

Lord God, heavenly king, almighty God and Father:

We worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God: You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us. You are seated at the right hand of the Father; receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, You alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen. or

Song: "This is the feast of victory for our God"

8. The PRAYER OF THE DAY is said; the salutation may precede it. Presiding Minister: The Lord be with you. Congregation: And also with you. Presiding Minister: Let us pray.… Congregation: Amen. (Sit) 9. The FIRST LESSON is announced and read. Assisting Minister: The First Lesson is from the _______________ chapter of _______________. Word. Then we all sit down and proceed with the heart of the meeting. A lector rises from the congregation and comes to the reading desk, where the great Bible has been placed. The first lesson, a reading from the Hebrew Scriptures appointed in the lectionary, is read. 10. After the lesson the reader may say: "Here ends the reading." 11. The appointed PSALM is sung or said. A voice from the choir then begins the psalm and soon the entire assembly joins in antiphonal song with the choir, singing through this response to the first reading. 12. The SECOND LESSON is announced and read. The lector then reads the second lesson, a reading from the Epistles of the New Testament. Assisting Minister: The Second Lesson is from the _______________ chapter of _______________. 13. After the lesson the reader may say: "Here ends the reading." 14. The appointed VERSE is sung by the choir, or the congregation may sing the appropriate Verse below: Everybody then stands to welcome the Gospel reading as a sign of the presence of the risen Christ amidst all these biblical words. While the choir sings an "Alleluia" verse, verbally expressing that welcome, the Bible is carried into the midst of the assembly, flanked by candlebearers. The presider comes to the book to do the reading. The congregation sings acclamations to the risen one before and after the reading itself. (Stand) Congregation: Alleluia. Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia. Alleluia. (LENT) Congregation: Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. 15. The GOSPEL is announced. Presiding Minister: The Holy Gospel according to St. _______________, the _______________ chapter. Congregation: Glory to you, O Lord. 16. After the reading the minister may say: "The Gospel of the Lord." Congregation: Praise to you, O Christ. 17. The Hymn of the Day may be sung before the Sermon. (Sit) 18. The SERMON. Silence for reflection may follow. Then the presider returns to the reading desk where he or she preaches, opening the texts which have just been read so that they clearly speak to us today the law of God and the gospel of God's mercy in Christ. (Stand) 19. The HYMN OF THE DAY is sung. Four actions follow and receive this central reading and preaching of Scripture. First, there is a long and deep silence. Second, the hymn of the day is sung: a great, classic hymn which brings to expression, in words that the congregation takes up, any of the themes of the readings. This hymn is frequently sung in alternation with the choir or between two parts of the congregation. 20. The CREED may be said. The Nicene Creed is said on all festivals and on Sundays in the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. The Apostles' Creed is said at other times. The Creed is omitted here if the service of Holy Baptism or another rite with a creed is used. Third, one of the classic creeds is confessed. NICENE CREED 21. When there is no Communion, the service continues on page 171. 22. THE PRAYERS are said. And finally, the assisting minister, standing before his or her chair, speaks out the bids of the prayers. These prayers are always for others, for the deep needs of world and church, as well as for the sick and dying of the parish. It is as if the grace of God, which has been proclaimed to us in the Word, is sought also for the needs of the world beyond this present circle. Assisting Minister: Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, and for all people according to their needs. Prayers are included for the whole church, the nations, those in need, the parish, special concerns. The congregation may be invited to offer petitions and thanksgivings. Prayers of confession may be included if the Brief Order for Confession and Forgiveness has not been used earlier. The minister gives thanks for the faithful departed, especially for those who recently have died. After each portion of the prayers: Assisting Minister: Lord, in your mercy, Congregation: hear our prayer. The prayers conclude: Presiding Minister: Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy; through your Son Jesus Christ or Lord. Congregation: Amen. 23. The PEACE is shared at this time or after the Lord's Prayer, prior to the distribution. Table. As a "seal" on these prayers (cf. Mark 11:24–25) and as a preparation to gather the gifts we have brought (Matt. 5:23–24), the congregation shares a sign of peace with each other—a handshake, an embrace, a gesture, but always the words of greeting. This shared sign thus becomes the bridge to the second central action of this meeting, the Lord's Supper. Presiding Minister: The peace of the Lord be with you always. Congregation: And also with you. The ministers and congregation may greet one another in the name of the Lord. Peace be with you. Peace be with you. (Sit) 24. The OFFERING is received as the Lord's Table is prepared. A collection is received, intended both for the poor and for the support of the church's mission. While these gifts are being gathered, the assisting minister spreads another linen cloth on the table and sets a large chalice on that cloth. Then, as the collection is brought forward, together with the bread and wine, which had been set out at the entrance and which also are gifts drawn from our common life, the assembly stands and the choir interprets this action with an offertory verse, praising God as the giver of all things and proclaiming that all we can finally give is our utter need of God. The assisting minister sums up this entire action—collection, table-setting, and song—with a simple prayer. 25. The appointed OFFERTORY may be sung by the choir as the gifts are presented, or the congregation may sing one of the following offertories or an appropriate hymn or psalm. (Stand) Congregation: What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call on the name of the Lord. I will take the cup of salvation and will call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem. 26. After the gifts have been presented, one of these prayers is said. Assisting Minister: Let us pray. Assisting Minister: Merciful Father, Congregation: we offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us—our selves, our time, and our possessions, signs of your gracious love. Receive them for the sake of him who offered himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. or Assisting Minister: Blessed are you, Congregation: O Lord our God, Maker of all things. Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts. With them we offer ourselves to your service and dedicate our lives to the care and redemption of all that you have made, for the sake of him who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 27. The ministers make ready the bread and wine. 28. The GREAT THANKSGIVING is begun by the minister standing at the altar. If the Gospel reading and the sermon together constituted the first center of the service, we are now at the second: thanksgiving and eating and drinking. The presider joins the assisting minister at the table. The chalice is poured from the flagon and the loaf is uncovered. The dialogue is chanted, drawing all the assembly into the thanksgiving which follows. The proper beginning of the prayer (the proper or proclamatory preface) is sung, and the great prayer is spoken. Presiding Minister: The Lord be with you. Congregation: And also with you. Presiding Minister: Lift up your hearts. Congregation: We lift them to the Lord. Presiding Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. Congregation: It is right to give him thanks and praise. 29. The preface appropriate to the day or season is sung or said.The flow of the prayer is joined by the congregation as it speaks acclamations and sings yet another angelic song (a pastiche of Isa. 6 and Ps. 118), the mystery present in this meal being at the very heart of the angelic worship. Presiding Minister: It is indeed right and salutary … we praise your name and join their unending hymn: Congregation: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of pow'r and might: Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. 30. The minister continues [one of two eucharistic prayers may be said], using one of the sections below: 31. The minister may say: But our prayers are never enough to proclaim the greatness of the promise of God, so we sum up this thanksgiving with a simple recitation of the Lord's Prayer, trusting that this meal of Christ's body and blood, given to us on, in, and under the food we set out, will be "our daily bread," a sufficient foretaste of the feast to come. Presiding Minister: Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father: Endless is your mercy and eternal your reign. You have filled all creation with light and life; heaven and earth are full of your glory. Through Abraham you promised to bless all nations. You rescued Israel, your chosen people. Through the prophets you renewed your promise; and, at this end of all the ages, you sent your Son, who in words and deeds proclaimed your kingdom and was obedient to your will, even to giving his life. In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me. Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me. For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup we proclaim the Lord's death, until he comes. Congregation: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Presiding Minister: Therefore, gracious Father, with this bread and cup we remember the life our Lord offered for us. And, believing the witness of his resurrection, we await his coming in power to share with us the great and promised feast. Congregation: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Presiding Minister: Send now, we pray, your Holy Spirit, the spirit of our Lord and of his resurrection, that we who receive the Lord's body and blood may live to the praise of your glory and receive our inheritance with all your saints in light. Congregation: Amen. Come, Holy Spirit. Presiding Minister: Join our prayers with those of your servants of every time and every place, and unite them with the ceaseless petitions of our great high priest until he comes as victorious Lord of all. Congregation: Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory is yours, almighty Father, now and forever. Amen. Congregation: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen. (Sit) 32. The COMMUNION follows. The bread may be broken for distribution. As the loaf is peacefully broken into smaller pieces, sufficient to feed the congregation, and as the wine is poured out into another chalice or two, if the size of the community warrants, the Agnus Dei is sung. Then people begin to come forward in turn, to stand near the table, receive the bread from the presider and the chalice from an assisting minister, and return to their places. All baptized Christians are welcome. During the Communion, a solo instrument may play, the choir may sing, silence may reign, hymns may be sung, or the assembly may take up a repeated ostinato refrain, any of these choices being intended to interpret the encounter with God's grace. 33. The Presiding Minister and the Assisting Ministers receive the bread and wine and then give them to those who come to receive. As the ministers give the bread and wine, they say these words to each communicant: The body of Christ, given for you. The blood of Christ, shed for you. 34. The communicant may say: "Amen." 35. Hymns and other music may be used during the ministration of Communion. (Stand) 38. After all have returned to their places, the minister may say these or similar words. Presiding Minister: The body and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in his grace. Congregation: Amen. 39. The POST-COMMUNION canticle or an appropriate hymn is sung as the table is cleared. Dismissal. When the meal is finished, the service comes quickly to an end. The congregation stands to sing the Nunc dimittis (Luke 2:20–32), as if each one who has communed were old Simeon, bodily receiving Christ and so seeing the very salvation of God present in the world. Congregation: Lord, now you let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled. My own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people: A light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. 40. One of these prayers is said (there are three options): Assisting Minister: Let us pray. The assisting minister prays, simply thanking God for the gifts of this meal. Assisting Minister: We give you thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us through the healing power of this gift of life; and we pray that in your mercy you would strengthen us, through this gift, in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one another; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Congregation: Amen. 41. Silence for reflection. 42. The minister blesses the congregation. Both Word and Table are summed up in the words of the Aaronic benediction (Num. 6:24–26), which the presider dares to "put on" the people. And the assisting minister dismisses the people. There is no "recessional," though the musicians may play strong and celebrative music as the worshipers make their way into the world of mission. Imagine it is Sunday and this congregation comes away, having seen, at the pool and in the word and at the table, an entirely new and gracious way to understand the world. Presiding Minister: Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now … and forever. or Presiding Minister: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. Congregation: Amen. 43. The minister may dismiss the congregation. Assistant Minister: Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Congregation: Thanks be to God. (Lutheran Book of Worship [Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg Publishing House, 1978], 56-74)