Evan Scamman

Lections

For several months we have been hard at work assigning scripture references to every lection in our sources—32,780 (lections) at present count. Some readings include the whole Latin or German text, while others give only a few words. In many cases extra detective work is required to determine which reading is intended by a givenContinue reading “Lections”

Cartographic Advancements

We’ve added a new tool to the missal database: the ability to visually represent the data for a given occasion on a diocesan map of late-medieval Germany. To illustrate the usefulness of this feature, consider the following list of gospel texts for Friday of Sexagesima: The chart above is an amazing amount of data toContinue reading “Cartographic Advancements”

Gottesdienst Interview

Listen to our very own Father Stefan discuss Septuagesima (and the current status of The Lutheran Missal) on the latest episode of the Gottesdienst Podcast. This interview was a follow-up to his previous blog post titled, Septuagesimal Strife.

A Video Update

Here’s a three-minute video about The Lutheran Missal. Please don’t be overly critical of the Latin pronunciation. It’s Billy Joey’s first project with us, and he did his best.

Phase Four

Sorting the Catch 47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age.Continue reading “Phase Four”

Phase 3 Complete

After more than a year of solid work by a team of a dozen volunteers, the third and final phase of data entry for The Lutheran Missal is finished. Previously, we had cataloged the incipits for the Temporal and Sanctoral calendars (Phases 1 & 2). Now the remaining sections of our source missals—the Common, Votives,Continue reading “Phase 3 Complete”

Contract with Thomas Nelson

Today we signed a contract with Thomas Nelson securing the right to use the NKJV in The Lutheran Missal. The NKJV retains more of the poetic and lyrical nature of the timeless KJV text than other modern translations. Since much of the missal text will be pointed for chanting, the NKJV is likely a betterContinue reading “Contract with Thomas Nelson”

Phase 2 Complete

Today marks the completion of a major phase in our research for The Lutheran Missal. After eight months of fruitful labor, we have finished cataloging the incipits for all the sanctoral calendars (thirty-eight sources). This was a massive collaborative effort between many volunteers who worked tirelessly to enter over 78,000 records into our database. ItContinue reading “Phase 2 Complete”

Tradition: Accidental or Intentional?

Every church has it own unique traditions. For example, in one of the churches that I pastor, the Slovak families eat a special flat wafer called “holy bread” during the Christmas dinner. No one seems to know how this tradition got started. Some traditions arise purely by chance of the times. If you’ve visited AmishContinue reading “Tradition: Accidental or Intentional?”

Gottesdienst Podcast

If you are reading this in 2019, it’s likely that you just listened to my chat with Fr. Jason Braaten on the Gottesdienst Podcast. I was honored to be asked to talk about our work on The Lutheran Missal. You’re here because you’d like to know more about this project. Super! We hope you’ll readContinue reading “Gottesdienst Podcast”