Welcome!

Martin Luther portrait Welcome to Worship Planning in the Lutheran Church. In this course we will explore and practice methods for planning worship services and the background knowledge needed to make the decisions. You will have the opportunity to experience worship in various settings and denominations.

Your first stop should be the Syllabus (accessed from the button in the navigation pane to the left). Please spend some time reviewing it, paying special attention to the Getting Started section. Among other things, the Syllabus will explain what will be expected of you during this course and lists the required textbooks. Some of your coursework will be in a small group. An explanation of how this will work is found in the Syllabus.

Once you are familiar with the information provided in the Syllabus, go to the Discussion Board and introduce yourself to your classmates in the Module 1 forum. Give us your name and the city and state where you live. Tell us a bit about your background and your interests. What is your first memory of church? What involvement do you have in planning for worship in your congregation? What led you to enroll in this course? What do you expect to get out of the course?

Many have complained that online learning is too solitary. You will have many chances to interact with classmates and your home congregation staff and members. Note that weekly participation in at least two worship services is a requirement of this course. The Syllabus explains how this can be accomplished. You’re not expected to be in two places at once!

I look forward to working with you in this course!

Ann Stephens

Note: This course was designed to be used in the version of Blackboard available in 2003. The interactivity that would normally be available in that environment (discussion, groups, chat, etc.) is not available here. The course is based on the hymnal available at the time, the Lutheran Book of Woship. Though I've tried to keep all of the outside links updated, you may find some are broken.