Around the church we can hear things like “that song is not very Lutheran!” Or “why don’t we sing any good Lutheran hymns?” Or “Lutheran church music is _____ (fill in the blank: beautiful, boring, diverse, dying, etc.).” Any such things pre-suppose that there are Lutheran songs or that there is Lutheran church music. So then quickly we ask “what is Lutheran church music?”

Here are some thoughts about worship, especially music, in the season of Lent. To be more precise, here are some thoughts about worship, especially music, for the Sundays in the season of Lent. This clarification is necessary because all Sundays are celebrations of Jesus’ resurrection, including those that fall in the time between Ash Wednesday and the Three Days. Hence, we call them Sundays in Lent, not Sundays of Lent.