The place was St John’s in Burlington, Wis. The event was a new hymnal introduction workshop. Standing to make a comment was Pastor Victor Prange, former Commission on Worship chairman and thus also a leader of the Christian Worship 1993 hymnal project. Of all the things he might have mentioned, Pastor Prange expressed appreciation for one small but significant adjustment to the flow of The Service—standing for the Gospel Acclamation. He noted how fitting it is to stand before, not after, the acclamation (previously called The Verse of the Day).

“Please stand to acclaim the Gospel” is an announcement some presiding ministers may choose to make at this point in The Service. Announced or not, a line from a well-known hymn helps us more fully to understand or picture the essence of this kind of acclamation. “When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation . . .” (“How Great Thou Art,” CW 612:4). Whether one equates that shout of acclamation with the voice of the archangel (1 Thessalonians 4:16) or attributes it to believers setting their eyes on their Savior at his final return, the meaning is the same. As it was on Palm Sunday when crowds acclaimed the Son of David with the cry, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” so will it be on earth’s final day, when Christ’s holy people will recognize, acknowledge, applaud, and acclaim the King who comes to receive them into already-prepared mansions of glory.

And so it is as well each Lord’s Day, when we welcome the one who comes to us via the reading of the Gospel. We rise to greet him; we sing to acclaim him; we prepare to listen to his words of grace and peace.

The reformatting of the Gospel Acclamation in Christian Worship 2021 was very intentional. The structure of Alleluia refrain / chanted Verse of the Day / concluding Alleluia refrain originated from two sources: 1) other Christian denominations that had used this acclamation format for a few decades; and 2) the psalmody format of Christian Worship 1993. While the print edition of the pew hymnal includes five seasonal verses to be chanted between the refrains, pastors, worship leaders, choir directors, and congregations are encouraged to make use of the proper Verse of the Day which is included in Christian Worship: Service Builder for every Sunday and occasion, and which is supported with roughly 600 accompaniment pages in Christian Worship: Accompaniment for Services, Christian Worship: Accompaniment for Services—Service Builder Edition, and The Service: Setting Five—Keyboard Accompaniment Edition (downloadable from Musician’s Resource).

Great musical variety comes with the new acclamations. Each of Settings One through Five has its own distinctive gospel acclamation setting, matching or closely related to the melody of the other canticles in the setting. Additionally, Sets 1-3 provide roughly twenty more musical settings of the Acclamation, some highly festive and very fitting for high festival days (such as “Irish Alleluia,” a refrain that was also incorporated into Psalm 118B in Christian Worship: Psalter).

When looking at the many options for making use of the Gospel Acclamation and especially at the breadth of musical variety, bear in mind the worshiping assembly’s familiarity with these settings. As with the various settings of The Service, the various settings of the Gospel Acclamation are best introduced gradually. While some congregations may be able to handle them well enough or may have already learned a good number of them, for many congregations a different acclamation setting every week is not advisable. Advice that’s given for learning or selecting Settings One through Five of The Service is good advice for the acclamations as well: consider using one setting of The Service several weeks in a row. In that service, use the same setting of the gospel acclamation as well. The settings of the acclamations are well written and simple enough that they will become sufficiently familiar in two to three weeks. Continuing to use the same acclamation setting for five to six weeks in a row will be beneficial for worshipers.

The versatility of the new Gospel Acclamation format mirrors that of responsorial psalmody. There are many ways that the acclamation may be sung: the congregation can sing the entire acclamation start to finish; the congregation can sing the alleluia refrains and the presiding minister can speak the proper Verse of the Day; the congregation can sing the alleluia refrains and a presiding minister or cantor or choir can sing the proper Verse of the Day. When selecting the acclamation in Christian Worship: Service Builder, three options are available: 1) Text – the presiding minister speaking the entire acclamation is a perfectly viable option if musicians are not available; 2) Text/Melody – the refrain music is printed, the proper Verse of the Day is presented as text only (the most natural option if the presiding minister or cantor sings the proper verse); and 3) Melody – both the refrain music and the chant tone for the proper verse are printed (the most natural option when the congregation will sing both the refrain and the proper verse).

Similar comments are in order with regard to vocalists and instrumentalists. With the recognition that the organist or pianist need not be the only accompanist, Christian Worship: Gospel Acclamations for Cantors, Choirs, and Instrumentalists was published. This spiral bound volume does have in mind copyright compliance, so that pages from the two Accompaniment for Services books are not unlawfully reproduced.* More than that, though, this volume was produced to foster exactly what its title communicates. The reformatted Gospel Acclamation is an element of The Service that can easily include cantors, choirs, and instrumentalists. The spiral bound book includes all of the acclamation settings for The Service, Settings One to Three and Sets 1-3. (* Setting Four acclamations are printed in Christian Worship: Accompaniment for Services—Service Builder Edition and can be used as copy masters. Setting Five acclamations are included in the downloadable Keyboard Accompaniment Edition, found on Musician’s Resource, and can also be used as copy masters.) Original key guitar chords and, where fitting, more accessible capo chords are included in all of the acclamation settings. A C-instrument (such as flute) doubling the melody or ad-lib hand percussion would be fitting additions for many of the acclamations.

Have you learned to navigate through the new Christian Worship resources so as to be able to find the specific gospel acclamation that will work well in your local setting? When you as a pastor or worship planner select the acclamation, think about making sure that your keyboardists, choir director, or instrumentalists are also able to locate and rehearse the correct setting. When introducing for the first time one of the many different musical settings of the acclamation, consider taking steps to introduce it to the congregation with a brief pre-service rehearsal or through introduction by a presiding minister, cantor, or choir. Careful, gradual introduction of resources will always help bring about the best results.

There is a large quantity of Gospel Acclamation material in the new Christian Worship resources. As with the number of settings of The Service, the plenitude of acclamation settings is provided with a view toward potentially resourcing congregations for two or more decades. It may be necessary to take time to familiarize yourself with this material so that all who are involved can learn to navigate what is available. You are welcome to contact [email protected] for further information or consultation regarding Christian Worship’s new and expansive set of Gospel Acclamations.

This article in Devote Yourself was contributed by the team that previously created and distributed Worship the Lord. View past worship-related articles at worship.welsrc.net/downloads-worship/worship-the-lord.