Released 1993 | ||
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Commissioned by Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Publisher Northwestern Publishing House | ||
Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal (CW) is the newest official hymnal of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). It was prepared by the WELS Commission on Worship and published by Northwestern Publishing House, the official publisher of the WELS. CW was intended to succeed The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH) as the common hymnal of the WELS. In 2008, the Christian Worship Supplement was released, containing several new orders of service, psalms, and hymns.
Contents
Editions
In addition to the pew edition, several other editions of CW are available:
HymnSoft®
In addition to the accompaniment editions of the hymnal, NPH offers an edition of Christian Worship known as HymnSoft. This computer program is structured in order to allow churches without pianists and organists to easily play hymns, psalms, and liturgy using a computer. Playback is in MIDI and can use the computer's own on-board midi synthesizer with internal or external speakers, or can be connected to a MIDI capable keyboard, piano, or organ. External MIDI files can be added using the Player Module, which can execute scripts for an entire service. The Planning Christian Worship materials also has its own module for Hymnsoft.
Hymnsoft version 3.1 is the current version of the software. It includes new recordings of all music, hymns, and psalms in the Christian Worship hymnal, Christian Worship Supplement, and Christian Worship Occasional Services. The scripting method has been greatly improved and midi out functionality has been retained. Planning Christian Worship materials have been moved to their own product and are available as downloadable files.
Future Replacement
The WELS in convention has authorized the formation of a committee to plan a new hymnal, to be released in 2024. The new hymnal is currently under development and has a blog at http://welshymnal.com/ that contains information and news on the project status.