Hymnal Madness 2025
It's Time.
Another year, another Lent. And that means that it’s time for…
LENTEN MADNESS 2025!!!!
If you’re also frustrated with the NCAA’s regressive anti-trans policies and compliance with Trump’s executive orders, but still want to enjoy the fun of a tournament, then I have good news for you. Because this year we’re doing the big one. The tournament I’ve been dreaming about for years.
This year we’re doing Hymnal Madness.
I have carefully selected 64 hymns from the ELW (Evangelical Lutheran Worship) and the ACS (All Creation Sings), the two modern hymnals used by the ELCA. And we’re going to see which hymn is the best. Is it “Mighty Fortress?” “Joy to the World?” “Go, Make Disciples?” Only you can discern!
And yes, I know that this gives a lot of preference for the Lutherans in my friend group. But they do make up about 80% of my active friends on social media, so deal with it.
The rules are simple. First, use the bracket at this link (or one of the attached documents) to fill out your predictions for the tournament. You can choose your favorites, or choose which you think will win a popular vote. You have one link to submit your predictions to me! I don’t have a prize planned. But I’ll think of something!
Here’s the link to the bracket! I think you should be able to fill it out online!
https://brackethq.com/b/se2ic/
Then, over the course of Lent, I will post a series of voting rounds where we will determine each match-up by whichever hymn wins the simple majority of the popular vote.
I considered all hymns in the ELW and the ACS to be eligible. To ensure that a wide variety of hymns were considered, I arranged hymns into four divisions:
Christmas Classics — Self-explanatory. Most people would rather sing Christmas songs on any given Sunday.
Old Favorites — These are the hymns that we sing because they’re classics. They don’t always have theological worth or musical merit. But they can bring tears to your eyes because you know them by heart and they’re sung in funerals, weddings, and commemoration services. And some of them are still pretty good!
Modern Melodies — These are distinctly new hymns that have emerged over the past century and seek to take hymn-writing in new directions. They range from more classic contemporary hymns to hymns influenced by rock, folk, and gospel.
Liturgical Laudables — These are the hymns that play a liturgical function. They serve as music for gathering/sending, Communion, acclamations, prayers, and contemplation. I also threw in some hymns from non-Christmas holidays.
After placing hymns in these four categories, I pared down to 16 entries and seeded them by category. I decided to go for a mixed tournament, so it wasn’t just all the Christmas songs facing off against each other. I tried to be as objective as possible, but I’m sure that I left your favorite hymn out. So please let me know what you wish you could vote for. I won’t change anything, but I will appreciate hearing it!
Voting will take place over a series of 5 rounds, corresponding with the weeks of Lent. You should be able to look up most of if you don't have a hymnal at home (seriously, get good). There are YouTube videos of people playing/singing most of these hymns, and some of them are really funny! Plus, you can always find the details of a hymn on hymnary.org. Or just ask me and I’ll help you find an example of an unknown hymn!
Now go fill out your brackets and enjoy reminiscing on these classic hymns. I hope you'll join me for Hymnal Madness 2025!!!!