Exercising a Heritage Handoff: 100 Years of Worship in the ELS

When scores of Norwegians left their homeland for America in the nineteenth century, they brought their cherished hymnbooks with them. But as the years passed, these Norwegian-Americans began to recognize the need for English-language worship materials to serve their children and others in the community.
The Norwegian Synod published its first English hymnbook in 1879, consisting of 130 hymns. A larger production followed in 1898, but neither of these books gained widespread use. In 1908, the Norwegian Synod contacted representatives of the United Church about working together on a new hymnbook. This was surprising since the United Church contained many members who had left the Norwegian Synod in the 1880s over the doctrine of election. The Hauge Synod, of pietistic origin, was also invited to join the hymnbook effort.
The work of the hymnbook committee was finished in 1912, and The Lutheran Hymnary was published in 1913. In the preface, the committee included its hope that this hymnbook “may prove no small factor in the efforts made to unify the various Norwegian Lutheran Church bodies of our land.” This goal was realized when the three synods formed the Norwegian Lutheran Church in America in 1917.
There was a lot to like about The Lutheran Hymnary. For the first time, the Bugenhagen order of service enjoyed wide circulation in English. (Johannes Bugenhagen was Luther’s pastor, who helped bring the Reformation to Scandinavian lands.) Many Norwegian/Danish hymn translations were also included in the book.
But there were weaknesses, too. A good number of Scandinavian and German Lutheran hymns were not included in the book, either because they had not been translated or because hymns of Reformed origin were preferred. Specific hymns on election were also omitted, evidence of the doctrinal compromise which would lead to the merger.
Some pastors and congregations of the Norwegian Synod refused to join the merger. They met in 1918 to reorganize the Norwegian Synod (later called the ELS). But what should be done about a hymnbook? The one in use among them was The Lutheran Hymnary—“the merger book.”
The reorganized synod expressed its desire for another book to the Synodical Conference, and plans began to develop in 1927. The Rev. Christian Anderson and the Rev. Norman A. Madson were elected to the Synodical Conference Hymn Book Committee, with Prof. Walter Buszin serving on a subcommittee. The Rev. Adolph M. Harstad was later elected to serve on a subcommittee on liturgics.
The committee completed its work and offered The Lutheran Hymnal for publication in 1941. This book contained many good hymns, including classic Lutheran hymns that had not been included in earlier books. But synod president Henry Ingebritson commented, “We miss many of our favorite hymns in the new book.” The Bugenhagen order of service was also missing.
The synod resolved “to endorse the proposal of the Hymn Book Com. to try to get 40 additional hymns and the Norwegian Synod’s liturgy printed as a supplement to the new Lutheran Hymnal of the Synodical Conference.” Nothing more is recorded about a supplement in the 1940s, likely due to the pressing concerns of a World War and to growing tensions over unionism in the Synodical Conference.
In 1959, the General Pastoral Conference of the ELS sent a memorial to the convention “to investigate the need for and possibility of producing a hymnbook suitable for our use.” Instead of a new hymnbook, two supplements were proposed, one with hymn selections from The Lutheran Hymnary and the other with selections from The Lutheran Hymnal. Lacking widespread support, these plans were dropped.
The ELS was invited to participate in the hymnbook efforts that led to the publication of The Lutheran Book of Worship in 1978 and the Missouri Synod’s Lutheran Worship in 1982, but in neither case were suggestions from the ELS seriously considered. This caused the ELS convention in 1980 to urge the Committee on Worship to look into the feasibility of “a reprint-revision of a hymn book attempting to combine the best qualities of the Lutheran hymnal and the Lutheran Hymnary.” Once again, a supplement and not a full hymnbook was suggested.
Shortly after this, the Wisconsin Synod began work on its own hymnbook and invited input from the ELS. While members of the Committee on Worship took part in those meetings, they also prepared an “ELS Hymnal Supplement” in 1989. Based on this resource, the synod in 1991 directed the Committee on Worship “to examine the possibility of assembling and publishing a hymnal that reflects the liturgical and hymnic heritage of the ELS.” The three-member committee made up of Prof. Dennis Marzolf, the Rev. Harry Bartels, and Prof. Mark DeGarmeaux began work on this project.
Five years later in 1996, the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary was ready for publication. It combined the best of the 1913 and 1941 books, a long-expressed desire of the synod. The Bugenhagen order (Rite 1) was once again in print, along with about half of the hymn texts from The Lutheran Hymnary. About two-thirds of the hymn texts from The Lutheran Hymnal were retained in the new book. Other new translations and compositions produced since the early part of the 20th century were also included.
The Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary has preserved the unique Scandinavian worship tradition of the ELS while also providing a rich selection of hymns from other cultures stretching from the early church to today. Now the great hymns of Kingo, Brorson, Grundtvig, and Landstad are as easily accessed as the timeless hymns of Ambrose, Luther, Gerhardt, and Watts. We are grateful for these matchless treasures which faithfully proclaim “Christ yesterday, today, the same” (ELH 211, v. 6).
Copies of the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary can be ordered from the Bethany Bookstore (800-944-1722). Cost is $15 per copy or $12 for multiple copies. The book was recently reprinted with even sturdier materials than before.
A list of Scandinavian hymns for each month has also been prepared for the ELS anniversary year. This list, along with other worship materials, can be accessed at:
els.org/resources/worship
Rev. Peter Faugstad
Chairman
Committee on Worship