Sing to the Lord a New Song

May 2026

Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.

Psalm 98:1

Dear Friends & Members of Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church,

Sixty years ago, when I was growing up at St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Austin, Minnesota, children were far more likely to hear Latin spoken in the church than Norwegian. We were known as the Scandinavian Lutheran church in town, but that was primarily only for one week of the year when the congregation celebrated it’s Scandinavian Day. The women of the church were busy for weeks rolling out lefse and making meatballs. Paper plates were labeled with the Norwegian names for various cookies and breads, and then set out in a special room for the first-come/first-served bake sale. Within days, however, the Norwegian phrases disappeared, and we were back to Latin. In our Sunday bulletin, we read simply the Introit, the Gloria Patri and Gloria in Excelsis, the Verba, the Sanctus and the Agnus Dei. Even the Sundays of the church year were commonly referred to by their Latin names. Septuagesima and Quinquagesima. Of course, the Sunday School children were never taught Latin in formal classes, but like our Roman Catholic neighbors, we were expected to know the meaning of basic Latin words and phrases and to pronounce them properly.

My favorite church season was Easter with its playful Sunday titles of Quasi Modo, Misericordia, Jubilate, Cantate and Rogate. The dates often coincided with the last day of Sunday School, which also meant the end of the choir season. Traditionally, this meant the choir would sing its favorite anthems of the year in a single service called Cantate Sunday. The name Canata derived from the Introit Cantate Domino canticum novum for the day, Sing to the Lord a new song. The tradition of referring to the Sundays by their Latin names disappeared in the 1970’s when American Lutheran congregations adopted the Green Hymnal, but that didn’t quite eliminate the practice of saving the music of the year for the spring of the year.

This May, Lake of the Isles will resound with special music. Our morning worship services will feature our own church musicians performing their favorite solos, as well as guest musicians. You are also invited to hear the music of The Isles Ensemble on Sunday, May 3rd in an afternoon concert celebrating three centuries of female composers, as well a special concert of choral music and organ on Friday evening, May 8th at the Cathedral in St. Paul with our own organist Kristina Rizzotto. There will even be a performance of Norwegian music sung in Latin performed by our church choir together with the unveiling of a commissioned painting in the sanctuary on Mother’s Day.

There are many ways to Sing to the Lord a new song. Join us at Lake of the Isles and experience the marvelous things our God has done. Cantata Domino.

Peace, Pastor Arden D. Haug