Will there be a print edition of the hymnal?
I have a question regarding the article which spent a large portion discussing the option of a digital hymnal and a subscription service. Is this digital hymnal supposed to be a supplementary source for a hard-copy hymnal, or are you entertaining the thought that this would be the hymnal? While some might favor the idea of saving costs, space, and trees, there seems to be a shift into doing all things digital and electronic. If so, will you be producing a Kindle hymnal for people to use in their homes for personal devotion? Personally, I am more sympathetic to the Luddites and favor the hard-copy hymnal both for use in the church and in the home. My fear (irrational, I hope) is that digital hymnals will be a church-only hymnal and that devotional usage would disappear. I suspect that devotional usage is weak the way it is already. God bless your efforts.
Pastor Schroeder was the first to bring up a question that several other commenters raised: will the new hymnal be available as a printed book?
At first I was surprised by the question. “Of course there will be a printed hymnal,” I thought. “Why wouldn’t there be a printed hymnal?” I know I’ve been working with that assumption all along, but I’ve never communicated that assumption. Because I took my own assumption for granted I did not even think to mention the print edition of the hymnal in my most recent post, Survey Insights for the Technology Committee. I think this led some to believe that we are working toward an all-digital hymnal—one without any printed edition. For giving that impression I apologize. We have every intention of producing a printed hymnal that can fill the pew racks of our churches, rest on the music stands of our pianos, and live in the desks of our students. I cannot foresee any circumstance in this generation of Lutheran hymnal that would not include a printed book.
The more complex question is how this generation of Lutheran hymnal will capitalize on both the print and digital technologies of its time. The matter of devotional use is also of particular interest to me. I plan to write more about both of these topics in the future.
Published on Mar 26, 2014
About Caleb Bassett
Rev. Caleb Bassett is the Technology Committee Chairman for the WELS Hymnal Project. Bassett serves at Redeemer in Fallbrook, CA. Bassett has presented at the WELS National Worship Conference and served as an essayist for the Institute for Worship and Outreach. Bassett and his wife, Audra, live with their four children in the avocado country of Southern California.
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