Who is Responsible for This?
Someone in Synod is to be commended for this remarkable blessing that I only recently discovered at LCMS Worship, a resource called: Kids in the Divine Service, truly a great example of Gottesdienst für Kinder:
“‘Kids in the Divine Service’ is a series of bulletin inserts featuring seasons of the church year — Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter and Pentecost. The series also features the liturgy, sanctuary and general information about the Divine Service.”
The inserts are free to download in either color or black and white. They are reminiscent of Fr. Eckardt’s book Why? that explains the meaning behind the parts of the Mass and customary things one sees at worship, presented in layman’s terms - only these bulletin inserts are specifically for children. Truth be told, they will benefit others as well, and they also provide helpful information and encouragement to parents to raise up their Lutheran kids to understand and love the rich evangelical heritage and biblical confession embedded in our Divine Service.
Of course, there will be someone who will comment that there is something or other that he doesn’t like and would do differently. So what? I could quibble a bit with some of the wording and artwork - but in truth, not much! Over all, I find this resource an extraordinary blessing to the church, and look forward to making use of these in my own parish. The point is that I didn’t make these inserts, and neither did our inevitable grumblers. Someone at Synod did, though, and that person has done a great service.
Well done!
Here is the link to the two dozen color inserts pertaining to the Liturgy itself, covering such topics as:
What does the word Amen mean?
What is a Canticle?
What is a Hymn?
What is the Agnus Dei?
What is “Making the Sign of the Cross”?
What is Matins?
What is the Benediction?
What is the Collect?
Why is Confession so Important?
What is the Liturgy?
And more.
There are also more liturgical inserts under the headings of The Sanctuary and General Information. There are also season specific inserts based on the Church Year.
And there is a handy button to download all of them in one fell swoop!
So whoever is responsible for this, thank you once again!