In John 17, Jesus prays for believers to be one. Synod is a word that means, “walking together.” As part of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), Trinity walks together with congregations across the country as we follow Jesus. Beginning the weekend of May 11, we will begin using the wording of the Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed from the Lutheran Service Book (LSB) in all our worship services.
Trinity has for many years in its history used the wording of the Apostles’ and Nicene creeds found in Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW). The LCMS has updated and produced new hymnals throughout its history to serve its member congregations. The Lutheran Service Book (LSB) is the current official hymnal of the LCMS and reflects the most current liturgical resources of our synod. By aligning our spoken creeds with those used in the LSB, we are joining our voices with congregations across the synod who use this shared text week after week. Using the wording found in LSB will also help us be more welcoming to visitors and prospective members coming from an LCMS background. This helps strengthen our unity not only as a local congregation but also as part of the wider church body of the synod.
The wording of the Apostles’ Creed in LSB is also used in the most current edition of Luther’s Small Catechism which Trinity uses to disciple our students in confirmation and those joining our congregation as new members.
To be clear, this change does not mean a change in the meaning of the creeds. Speaking the creeds during our worship services reminds us and affirms our common faith in Jesus and connects us to the historic Christian faith handed down throughout the generations. As a synod and a congregation our goal is to be a community following Jesus together. Using unified wording for the creeds is a small way we do that in our church and our discipleship ministries.
