In literature and drama, there’s almost always a backstory—a relevant history that shapes the characters to the point where the audience encounters them. There’s a landscape that makes sense of the characters, an underlying chronology that prepares or illuminates what’s happening in the story.

When I’m preparing liturgy, I always like to look at the full reading, not just the snippets we’re given. For instance, the first reading, from Acts of the Apostles, is in chapter 10, verses 25 and 26. Then it skips to verses 34 and 35; and then there’s another skip to verses 44-48. Unless you look at the whole of chapter 10, how are you supposed to know who Cornelius was, or how and why Peter wound up at a Gentile’s house? Good Jews weren’t even supposed to share a meal with Gentiles, and suddenly they’re supposed to baptize them in Jesus’ name?

It’s often a good idea to give assembly members some backstory on the hymns and songs we expect them to sing. Most folks, for instance, know the backstory of “Amazing Grace”—that it was written by a slave ship captain who had a conversion experience, became a clergyman and worked to end slavery. Some might know that the tune ODE TO JOY is from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, but do they know where the hymn text on that tune came from?

Sometimes a brief verbal introduction or a note in the bulletin can give the assembly a little more information on what they’re singing—and why.