Edition 1
Doxology The word doxology literally means “Words of praise.” In Christian worship, doxology is words of praise addressed to the triune God. Some hymns have their last stanza end with a doxology (e.g. LSB 569, 571, 578, 703). This is indicated by a 🔺 in your hymnals. Just as one stands when a dignitary enters the room, so too do we stand out of respect for our Triune God. The presentation software doesn’t automatically enter these 🔺 symbols, Pastor Eichers will try to add them manually, but if he indicates to stand during the last stanza, you can probably guess the last stanza is a doxology (and can double check it by looking up the hymn in the hymnal!).
Edition 2
Antiphon. “Greek for “responsive”; refers to a Scripture verse sung before and after a psalm or canticle (song); sometimes used as congregational responses during a longer psalm sung by the choir; may provide the central theme of the psalm.” Timothy Maschke, Gathered Guests, (CPH 2003), 486. You may have noticed that the responsive psalm readings now include the term “antiphon” in the title. This antiphon is the verse that the pastor says before and after the psalm. Beyond just repeating itself, the antiphon highlights the central theme of the responsive reading. This is often taken from elsewhere in the psalm, but can sometimes be other Bible verses or historical phrases used throughout the history of the church..
Edition 3
Propers and Ordinaries Propers are the parts of the service, such as Scripture readings, the Introit, the collect of the day, and hymns that change from Sunday to Sunday. Ordinaries are “ordinary,” that is, they stay the same from service to service. For example, the Kyrie, the Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei occur every communion Sunday. The propers follow a three-year cycle. Thus, when the responsive Psalm reading in your Green Sheet has the title Proper 11C, it is saying that the responsive psalm corresponds to the 11th set of readings in the third year (year C) of the three-year cycle.
Edition 4
Lectionary The word lectionary comes from the latin word lectio which means “reading” (think lecture, dialect, or lectern). A lectionary is a predetermined set of scripture readings. The lectionary allows for a variety of readings that protects the congregation from a pastor simply selecting his favorite books of the Bible to preach from, and it allows uniformity in readings across different churches. This practice comes from the ancient times where Jews would gather to read from the Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy), the Prophets (Isaiah–Malachi), and the Writings (everything else). Historically, the Church has followed a one-year cycle of readings, and this even stretches back to the time of Martin Luther. The current lectionary, the three-year lectionary, was developed in the 60s, and it repeats once every three years. This lectionary follows Matthew, Mark, and Luke in years A, B, and C, respectively with John interspersed. Many churches in the LCMS and many churches in La Crosse, even non-Lutheran ones, follow the three-year lectionary.
Edition 5
Collect A collect is a prayer that has a particular structure. It has five parts: “address to God, basis for the prayer, a petition, a desired benefit or result, and a trinitarian conclusion.” (LSB glossary, pg xxiv). The most common collect is the collect of the day. This prayer “collects” the themes of the particular Sunday, as well as the thoughts and prayers of all the faithful gathered there at the worship service. In the service, the pastor prays the collect on behalf of the entire congregation as a spokesperson, but Christians are encouraged to pray the collect throughout the week. Take The Green Sheet home with you, pray the collect of the day in your home devotions, and watch with faith as the Lord answers the prayer throughout the week!