Center for Church Music

We are indeed in a strange place these days. And yet, through the Spirit’s guidance, church musicians and pastors are finding new and imaginative ways to lead God’s people in worship. And the coronavirus pandemic and resultant shelter-in-place orders have brought an unexpected crown of blessings.

Perhaps you have noticed these as well—

• Large blocks of uninterrupted time to work on bigger projects, many of which we would never find space to tackle in the normal course of things.
• A deepening of personal worship. My wife and I have found, to our surprise and delight, a fuller experience of worship. Without the distractions of rehearsals, planning and other details, we have stumbled into a true Sabbath, including time to enjoy more fully Sing for Joy (St. Olaf), WorshipAnew and other similar online musical and worship offerings.
• There’s been a lot of time to catch up on reading—both professional and for pleasure. It seems like the world too is discovering all over again the joy of the printed word. Let’s hope so!
• There has been time to think about the future. As many have noted, this pandemic is not simply a pause in our lives; there is going to be a reset in many aspects of life when this is all over and that may mean new ways of thinking and doing the Church’s ministry.

Our prayer is that you will continue to find the Center, its expansive website and publications, fruitful for your personal and staff visioning and deliberation.

And so the yearning strong, with which the soul will long, shall far outpass the power of human telling; no soul can guess his grace till it become the place wherein the Holy Spirit makes his dwelling.

Barry Bobb
Director

Resource Room

• Books, magazines, recordings, the Schalk American Lutheran Hymnal Collection (541 volumes) and the ever-expanding archives of the original manuscripts of great American Lutheran composers & hymn writers.
• Liturgical Choir Music Library

Digital Initiative

• All of the volumes in the hymnal collection can be perused online at www.hymnary.org or from this website. See "Hymnal Collection Index."
• Many of the original manuscripts are accessible online at the Center’s website (including Manz, Schalk, Hillert, Pelz, Thoms, Busarow, Bouman and others...) See "Composer Manuscript Indices".

Website

• Devotions, interviews, profiles, essays, forums, ideas, an arts registry

Print publications

• Books and monographs in the Shaping American Lutheran Church Music series available through Amazon and Fortress Press

Encouragement of the next generation

• Hillert Award in Student Composition---open to any undergrad or graduate student at a Lutheran university or seminary in the United States
• Schalk Scholars
  • Creates awareness and access to current research in the areas of music and the arts
  • Provides stipends for research as well as publication and venues for presentations for these emerging scholars
  • Arts Registry
  • Contact information and samples from composers, visual artists, writers, designers, media artists.