Christmas lights. Photo: Tamara Gore/Unsplash
LWF member churches, country programs to share Advent hymns for the fourth time
(LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches expectantly await the coming of Christ this Advent in music and worship with a 27-day-video calendar of hymns. In this fourth year of the Advent Hymns: A Singing Communion, hymns from LWF Member Churches and LWF Country Programs will be shared with the communion.
This is a hopeful expression of Advent and a resource to be used widely. The hymns will be shared on LWF social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram and among churches worldwide. They will offer daily insights into how Lutheran churches celebrate Advent through music.
“This Advent finds us in our second year of a pandemic which has been difficult for everybody,” said Rev. Arni Danielsson, LWF Head of Communication. “Into that context Christ comes and we will prepare for this together, through prayerful songs and music. It is so precious to have this insight into the member churches and our country programs.”
Special care has been taken by participants to maintain physical distancing, respecting the regulations concerning Coronavirus (COVID-19) in each country. Some hymns were recorded in previous years to comply with precautions.
Diverse contributions, widely shared
Participating member churches from the previous three years say the hymns are a way to connect the worldwide communion.
Last year the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) contributed a children’s choir (2020 Advent video from ELCA) and commented on the importance of sharing hymns from around the communion.
"We are so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this series! We are really enjoying having a glimpse of what Lutheran music and worship is like in other places – something that is especially important for children to see,” said Andrea Baxter, Director of Worship Renewal at Trinity Lutheran Church an ELCA congregation.
Videos were also used in regional Christmas services by member churches.
“We included the hymn from the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya (2020 Advent video from LWF World Service Kenya-Dijibouti-Somalia) as part of our service on 27 December. Good wishes to all of you at LWF, and thanks for this beautiful project for Advent,” wrote Rev. Andy Willis, Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Geneva.
The churches offering hymns this year include the Lutheran Church in Singapore, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Romania, the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi, the Lutheran Church in Guyana, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. LWF World Service in Burundi and Angola will also share hymns.
The first hymn will be shared on 28 November which is the First Sunday of Advent and the last one on 24 December, Christmas Eve.
23 December 2020
Basel Christian Church of Malaysia
“Sodop Tolidang” (“Oh holy night”)
