Did you notice a lot more singing than usual during the Easter Sunday service at Hazel Dell?

The liturgy that the Messiah worship team is using throughout the Easter season is a setting called "Now the Feast" by contemporary composer Marty Haugen. In addition to short liturgical music, it contains two of Haugen's standalone hymns, As the Grains of Wheat and Now the Feast and Celebration, from which the liturgy gets its name.

Liturgy, the form and structure of the worship service, comes from the ancient Catholic mass. The mass "ordinary" was traditionally made up of five musical parts that formed the backbone of the service: the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Angus Dei. Nowadays, you may recognize those parts of the Lutheran service as the Confession and Forgiveness, an optional Canticle, the Apostles' Creed, the Holy Holy, and the Lamb of God that we sing during communion.

In the 4th century, St, Augustine told us that singing is praying twice. The Catholic church has used music as the foundation of the worship experience ever since, which provides a deeper connection to the text and to a person's worshiping community.

Modern liturgies can be as simple or complex as any hymn. Many resemble chanted plainsong, similar to the Gregorian chants of the late Middle Ages, while some are flowery or bombastic.

If you attend the Messiah North service up in Ridgefield, you won't hear the full liturgy, but you will sing a liturgically-appropriate Gospel Acclamation. This is a short verse of praise that we sing as we stand up for the reading of the gospel, and it helps prepare our hearts and minds to receive God's holy word.

We hope you enjoy the additional song!

Maria Kramer

Director of Worship and Music