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The career of F. Samuel Janzow (1913-2001) was marked by roles as pastor, professor, and scholar. In all of these he served with great humility, from shepherding a small congregation in London during the blitz, to teaching countless college students, to his many editorial contributions to Lutheran Worship (1982). An ordained Lutheran pastor with a Ph.D in literary studies, he left the Church an amazing legacy.

August Crull (1845-1923) edited and compiled the first edition of the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (1889), thus playing a critical role in shaping the hymnic tradition of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod as it transitioned from German to English. This study tells the story of Crull's pioneering labor in the formation of this seminal hymnal and documents the twenty-year journey to its final edition in 1912, which became the first, official English-language hymnal of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod.

Henry L. Lettermann (1932-96) served as professor of English at Concordia Teachers College, River Forest, Illinois, from 1959 to 1988 where his talent for poetry became readily apparent. From 1979 to 1987 he served as a member and secretary of the Hymn Text and Music Committee which produced Lutheran Worship in 1982. His original texts, translations, and observations about the process of preparing this new hymnal provide fascinating insights.

Paul Manz enjoyed a long career, serving as organist, composer, teacher, and recitalist. Known for his improvisations, Manz cultivated and vigorously promoted the idea of the hymn festival a program of singing, readings, and organ music, often assisted by choirs and instrumentalists. Hymn festivals continue to be popular throughout the United States largely due to his vision and energetic leadership. He was twice named one of the Ten Most Influential Lutherans and received many honorary doctorates and awards.

The career of Luther D. Reed (1873-1972) was marked by roles as pastor, professor, and seminary president. In the midst of the frontier tradition, he, with the assistance of many others, helped Lutherans in America recover their liturgical inheritance. He was a founder of the Lutheran Liturgical Association in 1898 and is best known for his monumental The Lutheran Liturgy: A Study of the Common Service of the Lutheran Church in America (1947).