The Joy of the Law

My 6-year-old has been learning the Ten Commandments. We had hoped to finish them before Christmas but fell short. Yesterday we finally got to the Tenth. When Evan realized I was getting ready to write it on the facsimile "tablets" I made to hang on the wall of his bedroom, he was overcome with joy and excitement and ran up to his bedroom and immediately began reading loudly through the first nine (which he does, by the way, have memorized, something I didn't do until I was an adult). After I wrote the tenth one down and we said it together, he turned to me and, beaming, said, "It's really long, isn't it?"

Evan gets it. God's Law is not a burden to those whom Christ has redeemed, but a joy and a delight. Evan is a baptized child of God and as such he desires and clings to that Law.

In fact, he is enjoying the Commandments so much that last night he started making up some of his own. We got all the way to thirty last night before I put an end to it: "Evan, Mommy's tired and wants to go to bed. We can do some more commandments tomorrow." He calls them his "House" Commandments and sings them, not speaks them, using tunes from his dad's catechism songs.

Here's a sampling:

You should not leave the television on when you are done watching it.

You should not open the shower door and talk to your mother or father or sister or brother when they are taking a shower.

You should not slam doors or knock things over.

Little children should not look at scary pictures or watch scary movies.

You should not beat up your dog.

Children should not take walks by themselves.

You should not start a fire.

Don't punch someone in the nose.

There were many more, but that's all I can remember now. It's not a bad list, is it?

Singing the Catechism

Last year my husband wrapped up a composing project in which he set Luther's Small Catechism to music (I think most of my readers know this, but perhaps a few do not). The songs--66 of them--were first included piecemeal in Concordia Publishing House's Growing in Christ Sunday School curriculum, but now they have been compiled available independently in CD and songbook formats. It is my understanding that both have been selling well. (We wouldn't know firsthand as my husband was paid for his work on a stipend basis so receives no royalties from sales.)

But the fact that something is purchased does not mean that it is used. (Just ask any homeschooling mom.) So my husband loves hearing from real life people that they are utilizing the fruits of his labor and that these songs are actually doing what they were written to do: helping children learn the catechism.

Over the last few years he has heard from a number of people who have told him just that. These stories are worth more to him than you can possibly know. I heard a few more of them at the Concordia Catechetical Academy Symposium this week. What a joy it was for me to hear how parents and their children have been blessed by my husband's work, especially after having had a front row seat to see the many hours of inspiration, craft, and sweat that went into it. He has given much to his parish and to the church at large over the years, but I am beginning to think that this may be his most lasting contribution.

Here's a recent blog post from a Lutheran pastor (of one of our sister synods) on how he has used this resource both in his parish and his home.

Finally, Our Own

Earlier this summer Concordia Publishing House released the Sing the Faith Songbook and CD, which contains Martin Luther's entire Small Catechism set to music. As probably most of my readers know, our family has awaited the publication of this historic resource with special anticipation, not only as a Lutheran family who will make practical use of it but also as the composer's family who were privileged to witness the creative act in progress. When I finally laid eyes on these items at the national LCMS worship conference this summer, it was a moment to remember. But it was not until yesterday that I was able to claim ownership of my own copies of the songbook and CD.





At the conference this summer, quantities were limited and the publisher wanted to make as many as possible available to paying customers. So we were told that our promised complimentary copies would be in the mail. The one copy my husband did receive was for the purpose of being able to play the songs for workshop presentations, and when he visited his mother several weeks after the conference he gave that one to her. And although I personally bought several copies of the CD and songbook, they were for friends who later reimbursed me. Knowing we would eventually receive free copies, I just could not bring myself to pay for one, especially since my husband has already made all the money from this project that he will ever make (he receives no royalties). So I waited, and waited, while meanwhile the Lutheran church and school where my husband is Cantor ordered and received copies for all the school classrooms as well as for the church's self-serve bookstore.

Then I got an idea! I would go to that bookstore, take a copy and leave an "IOU" promising to replace it when our own copy came. But there was just one problem: the bookstore was already sold out.

At long last, though, my wait is over. Yesterday a box arrived with FOUR copies each of the CD and songbook. Thank you, CPH! The songbook has taken up residence on our piano and the CD on our stereo system. The other three copies of each will be stored away for our children until that day--far in the future, of course!--when they no longer live with us and desire this resource for their own home.

Sing the Faith

If you've been reading this blog for any period of time, you have heard about this new CPH resource--the Small Catechism set to music--on more than one occasion. Your are also aware that I am perhaps a somewhat biased source of information on this topic, since someone near and dear to me is the composer. For a more objective appraisal (and an excellent one) from a guest writer, check out this post on the new Liturgy Solutions blog. And thank you, Pastor Seifferlein, for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Institute Photo Diary

As probably most of my readers know, our family recently attended the third triennial LCMS Institute on Liturgy, Preaching and Church Music. As a workshop presenter, plenary speaker, conference musician and vendor, my husband wore multiple hats, but the rest of the family contributed as well, from singing in a choir (my two oldest children) to playing piano for worship (myself) to serving as a model for a workshop (my youngest). Below are a few of the photos I managed to take during the conference that were decent enough to post; it seems more of my pics than usual were blurred (and several of the ones seen below are slightly so). Hmmm, guess I need to cut down on the coffee drinking.

Here's the totally awesome Kantor Jan Muth of Memorial Lutheran (Houston) preparing her young models for a workshop on teaching music to children. The little king in the middle is mine--in his hand is a baton, um, I mean scepter. You can see how much he is enjoying the role--believe me, getting that crown off his head wasn't easy.


Here's the real deal, with workshop attendees watching. Yay--another chance to wear that crown!

Phil practicing organ in the balcony of St. John's-Seward. I think this was at about 10:00 at night. We also had one 7:00 a.m. rehearsal. Ouch! It was tricky getting all those musicians adequate rehearsal time.

Some very cute members of the Select Children's Choir in the Concordia bookstore (I'm particularly fond of the young lady in the middle):

Composer Phil Magness and Deaconess Pam Nielsen giving one of two presentations on the Sing the Faith catechism songs:



The Sing the Faith songbook itself on sale at the CPH booth!


Evan (the regal one) manning the table for Liturgy Solutions and Brothers of John the Steadfast:

And finally . . . Loopers! From left to right are Cheryl, Evan, Bethany L., Andrea W., Felice, and Holly G. (I also got to see Charity, but neglected to get a photo.) By the way, can you tell that Bethany and Holly are sisters?

What a wonderful week it was. There are so many stories I could share, and in time I hope to post a few of them, but for now I hope you have enjoyed this pictorial retrospective on a week I will long remember!

Golden Moments

You know what I'm talking about, don't you? They're those moments that are so precious you wish they could somehow be burned into your memory and then called to mind anytime you feel like it by simply pushing your brain's "play" button. James Taylor sang about them in his song by the same title:

"Now if all my golden moments could be rolled into one,
They would shine just like the sun for a summer day . . ."

Well, I had one of those moments today. And it wasn't even really mine. But I'll embrace it just the same. My husband (the Lutheran cantor) was having an end-of-the-year party for his children's choirs at church. As the party was winding down and children were enjoying free time in the gym, a group of about five pre-teen girls came gleefully running up to sing to my husband:

"He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. Titus 3:5-8."

Now, to see a group of little girls joyfully singing not the latest Britney Spears or Hannah Montana hit but rather the Third Part of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism from Martin Luther's Small Catechism is in itself worth noting, but when the music to which they are singing that catechism passage was composed by the very cantor standing before them (who happens to be my husband) . . . well, as my friend Rebellious Pastor's Wife says in describing one of her own golden moments, "There really are no words."

What's even better is that these girls had earlier sung the entire Sacrament of Holy Baptism with the rest of our Lutheran day school at morning chapel, and better still is the knowledge that these songs, originally written and released piecemeal in CPH's Growing in Christ Sunday School curriculum, are only a few months away from being made available on one compilation CD (as well as in a companion songbook) so that anyone who wants to can easily acquire and make use of this treasure. (If you've never heard them before, several audio samples of the catechism songs are available at the link above. The CD and songbook should be available from CPH this summer.)

To my husband: thank you. And I'm saying that from my heart as a Lutheran mother, not as your wife. Although I've had the privilege over the last three years of hearing these songs as they moved from conception to work-in-progress to completion, I still can't wait to get my very own catechism song CD. Which reminds me: since I am the composer's wife, do I get a complimentary copy?

Disappointing Decision

One of the best elements of Concordia Publishing House's new Growing in Christ Sunday School Curriculum is the catechism memory songs included on the student CD. These songs provide musical settings of Luther's Small Catechism with the goal of assisting memorization of the six chief parts and their meanings. The songs are excellent: child-friendly yet musically fresh and interesting enough to appeal to all ages. We have used them in our home devotions and as someone who never had to memorize the Small Catechism--I was confirmed in the Roman Catholic church and became Lutheran after marrying one--I have found them personally helpful in my own learning. I sincerely hope that every Sunday School teacher in synod is utilizing them in the classroom.

Full disclosure: my husband is to date the sole composer for this project and is slated to see it through to completion some time next year. So that this not appear to be a commercial plug, I want to state for the record that his compensation is on a stipend, not a royalty basis. Upon completion and approval of a song, he is paid for his work and it becomes the sole property of CPH, with no further remuneration based on sales.

When he was first brought on to do this project, it was my husband's understanding that the songs would be an element of both the lower and upper grade Sunday School curriculums. Since we have a daughter in fifth grade, we were therefore surprised that she was not provided her own recording of the catechism songs for home listening. We wondered if perhaps her Sunday School teacher was not distributing the CD's. Upon further investigation, however, we were dismayed to find out that although the catechism songs are included on all the teacher CD's, CPH ultimately decided not to include a CD in the student packet for the upper grades, apparently as a cost-cutting measure. So some of the children who could most benefit--those approaching Confirmation study--are not receiving the tool they need to do so.

Luckily, our family has unusual access to the songs: the composer lives with us! And I also understand that CPH ultimately plans to release the entire song cycle as a separate package. In the meantime, if you would like a copy of the catechism songs but your church is not using the Growing in Christ curriculum or your child is not in the right grade to have received his own CD, you can obtain a CD by ordering either the "Lower Grades Student Stuff" package or the "Teacher Tools" kit (the teacher CD includes not only the songs but also files that allow printing of musical scores for the songs). Here's a link:

Growing in Christ