The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has committees and task forces preparing new worship materials and possibly a new hymnal. Gracia Grindal, who worked on the most recent Lutheran hymnal, the “Lutheran Book of Worship,” has written an open letter to the ELCA and the worship resources task force commenting on the current process and contents.
This open letter has been circulated on some Internet email lists and is posted on Grindal’s site at: http://www.luthersem.edu/ggrindal/OpenLtr_GG_Dec2003.pdf. Reactions and responses to the ELCA material, some of it available online and some through Augsburg Fortress Publishing, will be accepted by the church’s task force until December 31, 2004.
She is a poet, hymn writer, author and professor of rhetoric at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. Grindal serves on the WordAlone Network board of directors.