Welcome!

I have been posting on Lutheran blogs for around 9 months now.  As I was commenting on LutheranTimeOut.org regarding the featured hymn, I finally resolved to start my own hymn blog. 

Potential topics include

• Appropriate use of a hymn: which season, where in the Divine Service, when it works for the lectionary
• Translation issues: when a hymn originates in Latin/German/Spanish/Greek etc., it is difficult to put those thoughts into English and have them match up with the intended tune.  Sometimes the theology of the translator gets inserted into the translation.  We will take up some of these issues.
• Hymns from outside the Lutheran tradition: would you use them in the Divine Service, would you include them in a hymnal or supplement, what would it take to make it Lutheran, etc.
• Feature posts from musicians, pastors, bloggers, authors, language experts and poets provided I can convince them to contribute!

Look for a series of posts in the near future honoring Reformation Day, October 31, entitled, "The Many Mighty Fortresses."   There is more than one translation out there, and, of course, the German text.  Not to mention two different meters. 

To whet your appetite, here is a setting from JS Bach's Cantata BWV 80, Ein Feste Burg.

Enjoy!