Lutheran Service Book (2006)

Lutheran Service Book (2006)
Name	Lutheran Service Book
Caption	Cover of the 2006 hymnal
Publisher	Concordia Publishing House
Pub date	2006
Pages	xxx
Isbn	xxx

Lutheran Service Book (2006) is a hymnal and liturgical resource published for use by congregations of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The volume consolidates hymnody, liturgies, prayers, and service music intended for public worship in parishes affiliated with denominations and institutions across North America and internationally, and reflects liturgical scholarship, hymnological traditions, and denominational polity. Its compilation involved committees and individuals linked to seminary faculties, publishing houses, and synodical conventions.

History and development

The project that produced the hymnal drew on antecedents including Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon, and the hymnals used by Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and other Lutheran bodies. Committees incorporated liturgical studies influenced by scholars from Concordia Seminary, Valparaiso University, and Wartburg Theological Seminary. Planning sessions and approvals occurred at conventions of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and involved publishers such as Concordia Publishing House and consultation with editors connected to Oxford University Press and hymnologists associated with Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. The development process referenced historic sources like the Augsburg Confession, Formula of Concord, and worship practices shaped by the Book of Concord and ecumenical liturgical movements linked to commissions such as the Consultation on Common Texts.

Structure and contents

The book is organized into sections that mirror traditional Lutheran worship: rites for Divine Service, orders for Matins and Vespers, the Church Year, Psalms, hymn texts, and service music. Its layout follows precedents set by earlier collections like The Lutheran Hymnal and the Service Book and Hymnal while integrating musical forms used in congregations associated with Concordia Publishing House and curricular programs at seminaries such as Concordia Theological Seminary. It contains liturgical settings, canticles, propers, and resources for sacramental rites used in parishes influenced by synodical guidance from bodies such as the Commission on Worship and academic input from faculties at Princeton Theological Seminary and Yale Divinity School when ecumenical scholarship was consulted. Appendices include indexes, hymn meters, and indexes valuable to directors of music in parishes served by clergy trained at institutions like Luther Seminary and California Lutheran University.

Liturgical and musical sources

Musical settings and hymn texts draw on sources ranging from plainchant repertory preserved in collections connected to Gregorian chant and the Sarum Rite to chorale traditions established by Johann Sebastian Bach, Heinrich Schütz, and Felix Mendelssohn. The hymnal cites translations and poetic work influenced by Catherine Winkworth, Martin Madan, and modern translators associated with Oxford University Press and ELS Publications. Arrangements reflect congregational practice informed by directors linked to conservatories and schools such as Juilliard School and Royal College of Music, and scholarship from hymnologists whose work appears in journals connected to Oxford Academic and societies like the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. Sources also include North American hymnwriters and composers affiliated with Concordia Publishing House, seminary composers, and pastoral musicians influenced by the liturgical renewal movements of the 20th century shaped by committees related to the National Lutheran Music Commission.

Editions and revisions

Since its initial publication, editions and companion resources have been issued for use in parishes, seminaries, and campus ministries. Supplementary materials, service music booklets, and musical accompaniments have been produced by publishers and vendors including Concordia Publishing House and independent liturgical presses. Revision processes have mirrored earlier hymnal revisions such as those that produced The Lutheran Hymnal (1941), with oversight from synodical conventions and advisory boards composed of faculty from Concordia Seminary (St. Louis), Trinity Lutheran Seminary, and other ecclesiastical institutions. Editions aimed at choral directors, cantors, and organists reference organ literature from composers represented by Brewer and editorial practices informed by standards used at St. Thomas Church, Leipzig.

Reception and use in congregations

Reception among congregations, clergy, and musicians has varied, with many parishes adopting it as the primary worship resource while others maintained earlier hymnals or ecumenical supplements. Use is often guided by pastoral leadership trained at seminaries such as Concordia Seminary and educational programs at universities like University of Minnesota and Indiana University that prepare church musicians. Commentators in denominational magazines and reviews in outlets associated with Concordia Publishing House and the Lutheran Witness discussed its theological fidelity, hymn selection, and musical accessibility, echoing debates similar to those surrounding earlier worship books like Service Book and Hymnal (1958). Congregational choirs, school chapels, campus ministries, and synodical gatherings have used it for rites and festivals connected to the Church Year and synodical observances.

Notable hymns and settings

The collection includes traditional chorales, classical hymn paraphrases, and contemporary compositions. Notable hymn texts and tunes trace lineage to authors and composers such as Martin Luther, Paul Gerhardt, Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, Johann Crüger, J. S. Bach, Felix Mendelssohn, Catherine Winkworth, Johann Heermann, and modern hymnwriters whose work appears in denominational hymnody. Settings for the Ordinary of the Mass and canticles are represented by arrangements used by choirs trained in programs at institutions like Concordia Seminary and conservatories linked to Eastman School of Music.

Copyrights and licensing

Copyright and licensing for the hymnal are administered by publishing entities including Concordia Publishing House and involve permissions for text and music held by publishers such as Oxford University Press, Hymnary.org contributors, and estates of composers and translators like Catherine Winkworth and modern rights-holders. Usage in congregational worship, recordings, and broadcasts is governed by licenses commonly issued by agencies and organizations that manage performance rights and reproduction, paralleling administrative practices involving entities such as Christian Copyright Licensing International and publishers who coordinate permissions for liturgical resources.

Category:Lutheran hymnals Category:2006 books