This July, the Lutheran Ladies are celebrating Hymnapalooza in the Lounge with a blowout #hymnnerd giveaway and four fun hymn-related episodes.

In this second installment, Rachel takes the lead, with a Rachel’s Trivia (non)Challenge highlighting “11 things you may not have known were in Lutheran Service Book.”

From operatic superstars to A-list poets, from “dudes with Greek and Latin names writing really old hymns” to “people alive today whom you may actually know in real life,” Rachel’s list highlights a few of the most interesting and the even downright unexpected sources for the 635 hymns in the LCMS’s signature service book.

“Lutheran hymnwriters, like Lutherans in general,” says Rachel, “look a lot of different ways. They come from all over history and all around the world. Many of them may not even consciously identify as ‘Lutheran,’ despite having written texts that jive perfectly with Lutheran doctrine or tunes that jive perfectly with those Lutheran hymn texts. Some of those hymnwriters liked to set make-up on fire.

Yet thanks to the careful theological work and frankly enormous imaginations of the people who put our hymnal together, we have a beautiful, varied, sometimes surprising, and altogether remarkable collection of hymns.”

Look for more Hymnapalooza content in future episodes, and click here to enter our fabulous #hymnnerd giveaway now!

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge). Follow us on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge, and also follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), Erin (@erinaltered), and Bri (@grrrzevske).