Liturgical Calendar Resources

In my last post, I discussed the selection of hymns according to the liturgical calendar. After writing this post, my priest found a couple of helpful reference books for me: A Liturgical Index to The Hymnal 1982, and A Scriptural Index to The Hymnal 1982, both by Marion J. Hatchett. These provide some assistance in the selection of hymns, but they are designed to follow the new 3-year lectionary, rather than the traditional 1-year that my church follows. The Scriptural Index will probably prove more helpful for me, since I can look up the passages we are reading for each Sunday and see a listing of appropriate hymns. The Liturgical Index will be helpful during seasons such as Advent and Lent, since the hymns selected would be more suited to the time of year than the specific scripture passage; but during seasons such as Trinity, which we are in now, the passages may be completely different.

If your church follows the 3-year lectionary (and uses this hymnal!), then by all means check out this resource! I intend to make use of these books as much as possible, and in the meantime, I will continue to keep track of the hymns I use throughout the year and compile my own resource, as I discuss in the post referenced above.

Help for the Liturgical Calendar

In the past year I have begun attending a church that follows the liturgical calendar. If you are in a church that follows such a calendar (most commonly Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran, Catholic, or Orthodox), you will be familiar with my context. I have previously written on the selection of hymns according to topic and to their placement in the service in this post. Most of those principles still apply in my new church (beginning with a hymn of praise, introducing new hymns one at a time alongside old favorites, etc.), but there are now additional considerations for selecting hymns appropriate for the theme of the worship service each Sunday.