US Veterans Day: Lest We Forget

Luther's Birthday!

November 10 marks the anniversary of Luther's Birthday.  To celebrate, here is the Heinrich Schutz setting of the Kyrie from Luther's Deutsche Messe (German Mass).  You can find the English version in Lutheran Service Book, Hymn 942.

The text and tune date back to the 9th century, hence, it predates Luther by around 6 centuries.  Also, while this Kyrie is so intimately associated with Luther's German Mass, the majority of the text was originally sung in Latin.  The Latin, German, and English versions still contain one element of Greek, Kyrie eleison which means, "Lord, have mercy."

One of the simplest forms of the Kyrie is:

Kyrie eleison.  Christe eleison.  Kyrie eleison.

Lord, have mercy.  Christ, have mercy.  Lord, have mercy.

In this version, the core of the text has descriptions of the Godhead sandwiched between Kyrie and eleison.  Like the simple form, there are three petitions. The difference is in length and content.  The longer Kyrie devotes each petition to each of the three persons of the Trinity.

Kyrie! God Father in heaven above... Eleison! Eleison!

Kyrie! O Christ, our king... Eleison! Eleison!

Kyrie! O God the Holy Ghost... Eleison! Eleison!

My love for this Kyrie is balanced with the practical issue of singing it in church.  My last congregation knew it well, but the current one might not get past the first word!

For those of you with ambitions of introducing this but hesitancy because of your particular situation, here are some options:

• Have the choir sing Kyrie eleison in unison or in parts, and a solo pick up middle of each petition
• Introduce it at a special service, say, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday or Reformation Sunday
  
• Before rehearsing with the choir, play the LSB setting during the offering or the Communion distribution (provided there is a little extra time) several weeks in a row

Kyrie! O God the Holy Ghost,

Guard our faith, the gift we need the most,

And bless our life's last hour,

That we leave this sinful world with gladness.

Eleison! Eleison!

Historic Moment: Two Years Earlier: Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall

Historic Moment: Berlin Wall, Piano Scarf, LED Jacket, and David Hasselhoff

On the lighter side of this historic event, we would never know how popular David Hasselhoff was in Germany in 1989 if not for the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Historic Moment: Fall of the Berlin Wall: 20 Years Later

Just for Fun: I CALL SHOTGUN!

Over at Autoblog, I found this post regarding the official rules of Shotgun.  You can find the complete rules here.  There is always someone trying to cheat the rules of Shotgun, like calling Shotgun when they EXIT the car, or calling Shotgun when no one is around to hear it, or claiming Shotgun when they never called it and never really intended to call it.

There is even a handy pocket guide.  You need this to keep order in the chaotic world of Shotgun.

If the official rules can't settle your dispute, the official rules suggest Rock, Paper, Scissors as the final means for dispute resolution.

If one of your friends is a true gaper in the world of Shotgun, perhaps this will serve as a warning to him.

Table Talk Radio: Show 70

The last show in the latest internet gaming craze, "Catching Up With Table Talk Radio," is Show 70, featuring Pastor Wolfmueller's favorite games, "Iron Preacher" (insert sound effect here) and "Praise Song Cruncher." 

Show #70: Iron Preacher 

In this edition of Iron Preacher, the Iron Preacher and his challenger, Rev. Jared Melius of Mt. Zion Lutheran Church in Denver, will preach the parable of the Landowner. After that, Pastor Melius will stay on to crunch a praise song with Table Talk Radio.

The cool thing about the latest internet gaming craze, "Catching Up With Table Talk Radio," is that it plays right in your browser for free.  Nothing to download, nothing to buy!