PASTOR'S PAGE

So, what's with those new songs we've been practicing every week before church starts? 

Maybe you've heard that we're preparing for a new service we're trying for our Advent midweek worship (December 3, 10 & 17). Maybe you've heard that the service is called "Prayer at the Close of the Day." You might have even heard the old Latin name for that service: Compline (Com-plin).

But you might not know where this service comes from, or why we're using it now.

When you hear the name Compline, think of your favorite bedtime prayer.  Is it "Now I lay me down to sleep"? Or "Jesus, Savior, wash away"? Maybe you love Luther's Evening Prayer.  Since about the sixth century, Compline has been the favorite bedtime prayer of the Christian church, gathered in worship.

Most WELS Lutherans are familiar with Matins and Vespers, or if they don't remember those Latin titles, they know them as "Morning Praise" and "Evening Prayer". In our own congregation, we use those services occasionally for special morning or evening services (Thanksgiving morning, Wednesday evenings in Lent, etc.). Those are only two out of five daily services that the Christian church has used in gathered worship.  Each day, Matins (Morning Praise) came first.  Vespers (Evening Prayer) was fourth.  The last service of the day, the fifth service, was called Compline.

Compline comes from the same root word as our English word "complete". The service was intended to complete the day. It was a time for Christians to gather for quiet reflection and prayer before bedtime. Thus the English title we've chosen for this service is "Prayer at the Close of the Day".

The main reason we're making use of this particular service in the weeks before Christmas is so that it can serve as a foil to the harried pace most of us keep in the month of December. After intense days that may include fighting for a parking place at the mall, navigating pre-Christmas traffic, combat shopping, cleaning house, planning a trip, putting up decorations, or just an old-fashioned stress headache, maybe it's not such a bad idea to come to church for a quiet, simple service like "Prayer at the Close of the Day".  We sinners always need the gospel.  There are times when that gospel is best trumpeted from the mountaintops, but that same gospel of Jesus Christ can also work as calmly as a gentle massage for stressed souls.

Join us for Wednesday Advent services and find out more firsthand. Supper will be served at 6 pm and each service will begin at 7 pm. The theme for this year's midweek Advent services is:

Questions of My Heart

1. Dec 3 - How Long O Lord?
2. Dec 10-How Can This Be?
3. Dec 17-Where Do I Find Him?

Pastor Jon Zabell