Why Public Domain?

Public domain liturgy project? Sounds interesting. But why do it? Is it good for the church?

If we use public domain materials in the place of copyright materials aren’t we taking money away from publishers, authors, and composers who would otherwise benefit? Shouldn’t we be using - and paying for - modern worship materials for the sake of encouraging the creation of more such materials, as well as for the sake of using materials which are not archaic? My honest answer to these questions is “yes”, or at least it would have been 17 months ago.

On August 17, 2017 I directed a recording session to record a 10-minute liturgical devotion based on Vespers, to be released as a podcast. I and a few musical friends, one of them an organist and one an ordained LCMS minister, assembled in the balcony of our church and made the recording. In planning the devotion, I paid no attention to whether the materials were under copyright. I simply used what I thought best. I intended to obtain appropriate licensing for any copyright materials before publishing the podcast.

I am accustomed to obtaining permission to reprint copyright materials. I assumed it would be just as easy to get permission to podcast or stream them. How naive I was! I will not burden you with the excruciating details. I will simply say that I found out the hard way that copyright law and practice have not caught up with digital technology. There is no well-regulated system, no blanket license, no easy and practical way at all.

To legally stream or podcast a typical worship service requires obtaining permission individually from a number of different copyright holders, each with different procedures and policies. A large, affluent congregation might have the resources to pay someone for the many hours it would take to do this. But what about small congregations, individuals, or my own little organization? It has become clear to me that the only way forward, at least for the time being, is to go back - back 95 years or more, to materials which are now public domain.

So the Lutheran Public Domain Liturgy Project was born out of necessity. Since I knew I would be researching and editing public domain materials for my own purposes, I thought I should make them available online. In this way, others may be able to use them as well. For what purposes, I don’t know. It seems ironic to me that the freedom and versatility of digital communication have caused me to blow the dust off our synod’s pre-1924 worship resources. The original editors of these resources could not have dreamed they would be used in this way, but the Lord knew. Likewise, I cannot imagine what uses my work will find, but the Lord knows. If, after all, we believe what He says when He tells us that He works all things together for the good of those who put their trust in Him, then we must trust that He will use this project for good, even though it was born from an unfortunate necessity.

It is with trust in God’s wisdom and guidance that I dedicate the Lutheran Public Domain Liturgy Project to His glory, in the name of Christ Jesus.

John Jordan

January 12, 2019

Why Sing in Church?

If you say “I don’t need to sing in church. I can worship God in my thoughts.” my response is this: “Don’t be so selfish.” The people around you can’t hear your thoughts! Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Col. 3:16, NASB) Your singing is primarily for your Christian brothers and sisters, not for yourself. Their singing is for you! This is important to understand. Our society is conditioned to think automatically about personal benefit. Singing in church is not about you! When you sing and otherwise participate in worship, you are “teaching and admonishing” your fellow Christians, giving them comfort in trouble, and guidance and strengthening in the Faith. When you sing and otherwise participate in worship, you are fighting Satan with the same weapon Jesus used against him: God’s Word. When you sing and otherwise participate in worship, you are, through the Word, actually wielding the boundless power of the Holy Spirit, who is Almighty God, to the benefit of Christians, and to the destruction of Satan and his kingdom! Hyperbole? No! Quite the opposite. I don’t believe it is possible to describe in human language the glory and power of a group of Christians who are singing God’s Word. I think we will be amazed when we join the Church Triumphant to learn what power we wielded while yet on earth. And yet, while on earth, we are sometimes allowed glimpses of this power and glory. The solidarity and joy experienced by a group of singing Christians is such a glimpse. Nothing can touch them. Satan flees before the power of God’s Word in their voices. The time is growing short. The days are increasingly evil. The powers of darkness are amassed against us. But you have God’s Word. You have the Holy Spirit. And you have your voice. Now go and do battle!

The Song of Anna

This poem imagines a prophecy spoken by the prophetess Anna

(Luke 2:36-38)

Upon seeing the Christ child presented at the temple.

Because of my joy I cannot keep silent;

I must shout the Word of the Lord within His courts.

Because of my joy I cannot sleep;

I must pray and sing psalms all the night.

My joy is for the Word of the Lord within me;

I must declare it to all people.

Indeed the Word of the Lord must be proclaimed;

It will not permit itself to be hidden.

Were I to be silent the very stones of the temple would cry out

And the trees would take up my song.

And this is the Word of the Lord: that His Christ has come,

Even the Promised One, the salvation of Israel.

As He spoke by the mouth of His servant Micah,

That He should bring me out to the light, and I should see His righteousness.

As he spoke by the mouth of His servant Isaiah,

That I should not fear, for He has redeemed me.

As He spoke by the mouth of His servant David,

That He should make His enemies a footstool for His feet.

As he spoke by the mouths of His prophets since the foundation of the world,

That He should redeem His people from all their sins.

And this child presented with two turtledoves, according to the law,

Is destined for the fulfillment of all righteousness.

To be the perfect, unblemished lamb

Sacrificed for the sins of the world.

To end sacrifice for all time

By the perfect atonement of His blood.

To remove the sting of death

And to break the power of the law.

To free us from sin’s bondage

And to grant us everlasting life.