Lutheran Hymnal With Supplement - Precursor

Precursor

Prior to 1966, Australia was home to two completely separate Lutheran synods - the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia (E.L.C.A.), and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia (U.E.L.C.A.), both based in South Australia, which both used liturgical material inherited from their ancestors in Europe, mainly in the German language, together with some material from the Missouri Synod in the United States of America. In order to standardise the music and liturgies found across their Congregations, the E.L.C.A. decided, in circa 1920, to produce a completely home-grown hymnal. According to the Preface to the 'Hymnal with Supplement', this work, the 'Australian Lutheran Hymn Book' was first published as a word-edition in 1922, with the accompanying tune edition following in 1925. It contained, in addition to over 600 hymns, two settings of Divine Service (one, translated from German sources, known as the 'Common Service', and the other from the United States, known as 'Another Order of Service'), Collects and Propers, Orders for Matins and Vespers, and various other liturgical material, together with several chants. Though some hymns were of English origin, the overwhelming majority of the hymns in this book were translated from German, reflecting the heritage of the Lutheran Church. None of the hymns were of Australian origin. Dissatisfaction first arose with the Australian Lutheran Hymn Book in the late 1940s, when, again according to the Preface of the Hymnal with Supplement, the U.E.L.C.A. decided to publish a supplement and a new tune edition to the Australian Lutheran Hymn Book. Both of the Lutheran Churches in Australia subsequently resolved, not to revise the existing hymnal, but to produce a completely new one.