Someone looking in on the church from the outside must be puzzled, even perplexed, hearing Lutherans discussing liturgical questions. A world where men and women, even children, ponder over making the sign of the cross, the use of incense, ambos and acolytes may seem irrelevant to "real life" at the beginning of the third millennium. Of course, this is not so, once one realizes that all liturgical matters are part of the color and texture of a most marvelous tapestry, a richer and greater whole. This is the Divine Liturgy, that hymn of endless prayer, praise and adoration rising daily from the members of a global community, the people who are united with the Man who is God and the God who became Man, Jesus Christ the Lord.

The worship life of the Lutheran Church is not a secret matter. It is a public activity that involves millions of people daily, and, in particular, on every Sunday, in almost every nation of the world. But what does it mean to be liturgical? And more importantly, how does the liturgical tradition of the one holy catholic and apostolic church impact what we do each and every Sunday?

Over the past years a growing number of members of the congregation have asked me to write or explain certain liturgical practices of our congregation and practices of the church as a whole. To that end I have decided to place The Liturgical Question Box in the narthex for the next year. I invite all members of the congregation to write down their liturgical question. Any question is a fair question and will receive an answer. Please take this opportunity to ask the questions you have always wanted answered about the liturgical worship life of the Church. Questions might reflect such things as: history, tradition, gestures, hymns, musical settings, vestments, furnishings, architecture, etc. My hope is that this will be a learning experience for us all.