Traditions and Mission: Discerning What Is Good
Drawing on his experience as a leading musician serving in many contexts and capacities in the LCMS for over 30 years, Magness offers 1) a survey of how the “worship wars” impacted liturgical and musical practice in the Missouri Synod and 2) an overview of current trends. Key to his observations are how different attitudes and approaches to tradition have both served and impeded the church’s worship, proclamation of the gospel, and calling all to faith. As congregations in the WELS move forward with a new hymnal, it is hoped that his perspectives may be useful to pastors, musicians, and lay leaders as they make worship decisions for their communities.
Bio | Phillip Magness
Phillip serves a dual call as cantor at Village Lutheran Church in Ladue, Mo., and LCMS missionary to francophone Africa. He also serves as the interim associate of Music Arts at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He previously held cantorates at congregations in Texas, Illinois, and Oklahoma. He chaired the introduction committee for the Lutheran Service Book, has served on district and synodical boards, and has led music for daily worship at three LCMS national conventions. He is a published composer, arranger, and author. His book, Church Music: For the Care of Souls, is published by Lexham Press. Eight of his pianistic hymn settings are in Christian Worship: Accompaniment for Hymns and music for seven psalms in Christian Worship: Psalter.
Pastor Caauwe serves St. John’s in Wood Lake, Minn., which has conducted a summer music program for the congregation and community for over ten years and held an annual hymn festival for five years. He serves as circuit pastor and vice president for the Hausvater Project.
Michaela is a 2022 graduate of Martin Luther College, receiving degrees in elementary education and parish music. Prior to graduation, she served twice as the summer music teacher at St. John’s in Wood Lake. In 2024, she will return as a guest organist for their annual hymn festival. After graduation, she served one-year assignments to teach 4th grade and 4th-8th music at St. John’s, Milwaukee, Wis., and to teach 2nd-4th grade and K-4th music at Our Savior, Brookings, S.D. She is an enthusiastic church organist and is passionate about sharing God’s gift of music with children.
Pastor Casmer has served for 15 years at Christ the Lord in Brookfield, Wis. He has presented on “working with a parish music director” at previous WELS worship conferences, has served on the manuals committee for the WELS Hymnal Project, and as a circuit pastor in the Southeastern Wisconsin District. He is currently pursuing a doctor of ministry degree in homiletics through Concordia Seminary (St. Louis).
Tim is in his 14th year as the media services coordinator at Wisconsin Lutheran College. During his time there he has coordinated AV technology for a variety of events in many different venues. As a member at Christ the Lord in Brookfield, Wis., Tim served on the AV/Tech Committee during the building of their new worship sanctuary.
Pastor Van Sice graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2017 and was assigned to start a new church in Huntersville, N.C. In Sept. 2018, after a year of community exploration and preparatory work, Huntersville Lutheran Church began public worship with a core group of ten people. As of Dec. 2023, the church has grown to nearly 100 souls with an average worship attendance of over 60 people. Pastor Van Sice also serves as the North Atlantic District Worship Coordinator.
Pastor Wilke graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2019 and was assigned to start a new mission in Brandon, S.D. In Sept. 2020, they launched worship with 30 members. By the end of 2023, the average attendance of Sure Foundation was 70 people.
Harvey is an attorney who spent 40-plus years handling intellectual property (IP) matters (copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade secrets, etc.). For a large law firm (Vinson & Elkins) he primarily handled IP litigation and other IP matters. For the last 20 years, he worked on IP matters (capturing, protecting, and exploiting IP) for several large corporations including General Electric and most recently Woodward, Inc., a publicly-traded aerospace company, from which he retired last year. He is a frequent presenter on copyright and other legal matters. Harvey has served on the WELS Commission on Worship and is a member of Abiding Love in Loveland, Colo.
Kristine has served as copyrights and permissions coordinator at Northwestern Publishing House (NPH) since 2008. In this role she encounters a variety of intellectual property issues and has played a key role in securing copyright permissions for NPH music resources, from Christian Worship: Supplement (2008) to the Christian Worship (2021) suite of resources. She is the NPH representative to OneLicense and strives to be a helpful resource for church copyright licensing for service folder reprints and livestreams. Having begun her career at NPH as a copy editor more than 20 years ago, she is also the lead copy editor.
Prior to joining Pilgrim in January 2023, Pastor Winkelman previously served congregations in Waupaca, Wis; La Porte, Ind.; and Fort Atkinson, Wis. With parish experience ranging from large churches with schools to mission congregations, he has presided over and prepared corporate worship to meet a variety of needs and to use a broad range of talents and abilities for the weekly divine service of Christ’s people.
Since 2014, David has served Pilgrim Lutheran Church and School, Menomonee Falls, Wis., as grades 7-8 teacher and worship coordinator. These duties include worship planning, serving as head organist, directing the adult choir, and including a wide variety of instrumentalists. He holds a Master of Church Music degree from Concordia University Wisconsin. He also serves as the district worship coordinator for the Southeastern Wisconsin District, was a curriculum writer for the synod’s hymnology curriculum, is a member of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM), and is an associate organist and member of the Fine Arts Committee at St. Marcus, Milwaukee.
Pastor Gawrisch has served at New Life in Shoreview, Minn., for the past nine years. He is the Minnesota District Worship Coordinator and has also been involved with the Schools of Worship Enrichment and the rites committee for the WELS Hymnal Project.
Mike has been the choral director at St. Croix Lutheran Academy in West St. Paul, Minn., since 2017. Before that he enjoyed 14 years as a teacher and music director at Peace in Hartford, Wis. He has served on district worship committees in the Southeastern Wisconsin and Minnesota Districts, the hymnology curriculum committee, and the WELS Hymnal Project. He holds a Master of Church Music degree from Concordia University Wisconsin.