Concordia Students serve Puerto Rican congregations through music

Shortly after graduation, from May 13 to May 20, a group of Concordia University, Nebraska students led by Debbie Brutlag and Caley Gerth, former music teacher at St. John Lutheran in Seward and current Director of Traditional Worship at Holy Cross in Indianapolis, Ind., took a trip to Puerto Rico with the goal of teaching congregations how to use the Lutheran hymnal. They worked with the congregations and with individual people during their time in Puerto Rico.

The students’ main goal was to teach the three Lutheran congregations they were visiting, Princípe de Paz in Mayagüez, Fuente de Vida in Ponce, and Cordero de Dios in San Juan, how to use the hymnal. Most people in Puerto Rico are not familiar with traditional worship, and a lot of the worship they do have has been corrupted by bad theology. The goal of the missionary work in Puerto Rico is to introduce proper theology through hymnody, since music is so integral to the culture of Puerto Rico.

The team of students led several activities during the week they were there. They led educational sessions where they taught congregations how to read music and understand hymnal structure. This helped them to show how much meaning hymnody can add to a worship service. A lot of the people they ministered to were not familiar with reading stanzas, and so that was another thing that they taught in these sessions. The students also led hymn sings, which allowed the congregations to become more familiar with their hymnal. They used a mix of Spanish and English during these hymn sings and used the four-part harmony printed in the Lutheran Service Book.

Outside of working with congregations, the group also sang hymns in both Spanish and English in the city centers of the three cities they worked in. They also went to a mall and sang outside in a courtyard until they were asked to leave by security but were able to hand out all 100 flyers they had brought to advertise their hymn sing that night.

Leader Debbie Brutlag mentioned plans to take another group of students back to Puerto Rico in May of 2027 because of the positive feedback that the team received. She said, “All of our team members and the missionaries in the field agreed that our trip was super valuable and we should do it again.”

Music education student Rebecca Tredray stated that this trip made her a better music educator because she was thrown into a classroom setting. She also stated that she plans to use her Himnario Luterano, gifted to her and the other students by one of the pastors, to teach her future students about different worship traditions and how even the Lutheran church looks different across cultures.

Tredray stated, “Everywhere on earth, people are constantly making music. In Puerto Rico, you can hear song after song of all types and genres on every street corner, radiating from every bar and restaurant. But the rich tradition and music of the church is almost silent. Our trip to Puerto Rico helped encourage the small flame of hymnody that is present in the faithful congregations of San Juan, Ponce and Mayagüez. We equipped congregants with not only the skills and knowledge of musicians, but also the confidence to go and praise God in new and exciting ways.”

Serving abroad equips you with global life skills that no book or classroom can match. An international mission trip can help you serve people around the world using your own unique skills and passions. Learn more about serving abroad with Concordia University, Nebraska here.