The Lutheran Hymnal
Commissioned byEvangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America
Approved forMember churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America: Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Released1941
PublisherConcordia Publishing House
Pages858
No. of Hymns668
PsalmsYes
Service musicYes
← Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book Christian Worship (WELS)
Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary (ELS)
Worship Supplement (LCMS) →

Worship Supplement
Commissioned byLutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Commission on Worship
Approved forLutheran Church–Missouri Synod
Released1969
PublisherConcordia Publishing House
Pages253
No. of Hymns92
Service musicYes
← The Lutheran Hymnal 'Lutheran Worship (LCMS) →

The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH) is one of the official hymnals of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Published in 1941 by Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis, Missouri, it was the denomination's second official English-language hymnal, succeeding the 1912 Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book. The 1969 Worship Supplement contains additional hymns and service music.

History

Development of TLH began as a revision of the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book that was authorized in 1929. The next year, the work continued through the collaborative effort of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America and in 1941, TLH was published as the common hymnal for conference's member churches: the LCMS, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS).[1] It contains 668 chorales, hymns, carols, and chants, plus the liturgy for the Common Service, Matins, Vespers, and propers, collects, prayers, suffrages, canticles, psalms, and miscellaneous tables.

The first attempt to replace TLH began in 1965, when the LCMS began work on the Lutheran Book of Worship and invited other Lutheran denominations in North America to participate in its creation. As a result of disagreements and compromises with the other churches involved in LBW's production, the objections were raised within the LCMS to some of its content, and Lutheran Book of Worship was published in 1978 without the endorsement of the very church body that had initiated its production. An LCMS revision of LBW was quickly published in 1982 under the title Lutheran Worship. Lutheran Worship (LW) was intended to replace TLH as the official hymnal of the LCMS; however, many congregations were unsatisfied with the final product, leading them to continue using TLH. According to a 1999 survey by the LCMS Commission on Worship, approximately 36% of the synod's congregations were still using TLH as their main hymnal, and even more were continuing to use it in combination with LW and/or other hymnals and hymnal supplements. An even newer hymnal, Lutheran Service Book (LSB) was published in 2006 that restored many of the features of TLH in the hope that more widespread use could be achieved.

In the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, TLH was effectively replaced by Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal in 1993, and few congregations continue to use it on a regular basis. The Evangelical Lutheran Synod published a new hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, in 1996.

The initial editions of TLH were bound in blue, and the hymnal has been simultaneously available in both red and blue cover versions for much of its history. The red cover version is now more common. The widespread use of Lutheran Service Book has begun the process of resolving the LCMS' hymnal controversy, as initial reviews have been generally quite favorable. Concordia Publishing House has announced that all TLH-related supplemental materials, including specialized accompaniment editions and the agenda, will go out of print when current supplies are depleted, but it plans to continue to produce the pew edition for the foreseeable future. TLH remains an officially sanctioned hymnal of the synod.

W.G. Polack, the editor of The Lutheran Hymnal, is standing in the back row, the fourth from the left.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Schalk, Carl (1995). God's Song in a New Land: Lutheran Hymnals in America. Concordia Publishing House. ISBN 978-0570048305.
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