A few remarks on the "Pew Edition"

"Pew Edition" is sort of a misnomer. What about chairs? Is there a "Chair Edition" for those parishes that prefer that seating format?

Well, no matter. Evangelical Lutheran Worshiplog (ELW) suspects that we might take some heat for looking only at the Pew Edition. But here's what we're up to:

• Most people will be using the pew edition, so we are too.
• Usability and readability of the pew edition are important. The pew edition should be clear and easy to use. But this is of lesser import than the book's liturgical and musical.
• Service music and hymn melodies should be able to stand by themselves. The harmonies provided by other editions are unnecessary.

Jumping ahead a little to the Introduction on page 8:

The pew edition stands alongside a leaders edition and a musical accompaniment editions in print, all of which are needed in order for this worship book to be used to its fullest.

And while we might not necessarily disagree with this, we are not really using the book here at ELW. We are just examining it.

We believe that to be understood to its fullest, one need only look to the pew edition of any hymnal.

So, whether it will be used in the pew or the chair, this is the edition we're talking about at ELW.