“…we do not abolish the Mass but religiously retain and defend it. Among us the Mass is celebrated every Lord’s day and on other festivals, when the sacrament is made available to those who wish to partake of it, after they have been examined and absolved. We also keep traditional liturgical forms, such as the order of readings, prayers, vestments, and other similar things.”
(Apology of the Augsburg Confession)
The Johannes Bugenhagen Liturgical Institute is not a part of the structure of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, but it exists within the ELS as an organization that seeks to encourage excellence in worship by providing to the pastors and congregations of the synod theological, historical, and musical resources that promote the best elements of the orthodox heritage of liturgy and hymnody that has come down to us, through the Lutheran tradition in general and through the tradition of the old Norwegian Synod in particular. We greatly value the work of the ELS Committee on Worship and do not see ourselves as being in competition with that committee. We seek instead to support its work, and to supplement the good resources that it makes available with additional helpful resources. At a time when many American Lutherans are discarding the liturgy and hymns of the church, we will especially endeavor to promote and facilitate a deeper appreciation, and a fuller use, of our synod’s primary worship resource, the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary.