One staple of worship every Sunday is the Hymn of the Day. Whether printed in your bulletin or posted on the hymn outline board at the front of the church, the Hymn of the Day connects to the theme of the worship service. These hymns become a staple of the service as they’re repeated every one or three years, depending on your preferred lectionary. They help your congregation members familiarize themselves with the hymnal and connect similar themes across church seasons.
History of the Hymn of the Day
“One outcome of the flowering of hymn writing early in the Reformation was the formation of a schedule of hymns that were appointed for each Sunday and festival in the Church Year. While this practice existed prior to the Reformation in Latin hymnody that was sung by the choir, the Hymn of the Day (de tempore) became the means of promoting the regular singing of the finest hymns, both translations of the ancient examples and newly written hymns by Luther and others. . . . The regular use of this cycle of appointed hymns elevated the chief hymn to the status of one of the propers alongside the readings, Introit, Collect of the Day, and so on.” (Companion to the Services, 542)
With the importance of the Hymn of the Day, it’s also increasingly important to have musical accompaniments for them. Proclaim! Preludes and Harmonizations for the Hymn of the Day series collects Hymn of the Day service music in one book for each Church Season and lectionary. That’s a substantial amount of music to help make your and your organist’s service planning that much easier.
Advent Selections
The Second Sunday in Advent for Year C, 2024, is “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry,” also known as PUER NOBIS. The Proclaim! series for Advent has a beautiful prelude to the hymn prepared for you already. Give worshipers time to find the hymn in their hymnals with this option, or help those unfamiliar with the tune hear the melody in preparation to sing along.
Feasts and Festivals During the Year
Finding preludes for lesser-known celebrations in the Church Year can pose a challenge. These can come from any portion of the Church Year, making it difficult to dig through multiple organ collections just for a single hymn. The Proclaim! series has Volume 1 for Feasts and Festivals already released, with more coming soon to give you options for other occasions.
Time of the Church
A large portion of the Church Year is not spent celebrating the holiday seasons. Many Sundays are spent in the time after Pentecost, covering large portions of the hymnal that aren’t categorized into specific seasons. Recently released in the Proclaim! series are volumes that cover portions of the Time of the Church for both the one-year and three-year lectionaries. Keep these volumes close at hand to make finding a prelude and harmonization easy each Sunday.
As we all traverse through the Church Year and follow the different seasons, keep organ preludes and harmonizations close at hand for the Hymn of the Day. Celebrate this historic portion of the Divine Service as a congregation with a little help from the Proclaim! series.
Quotation in blog taken from Lutheran Service Book: Companion to the Services © 2022. Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.
See the entire Proclaim! Preludes and Harmonizations for the Hymn of the Day series by clicking the button below.
