Spring Lake Evangelical Lutheran Church
Liturgies, Hymnals, and Music...
For a different critique of this hymnal, read Pastor Norman P. Olsen's article.
We join together at Spring Lake Evangelical Lutheran Church to faithfully worship God. We do this in two Sunday services, each in a different style. The earlier of the two services is done in a contemporary, "praise" setting in which we have guitars, keyboard, and drums along with a group of singers leading the service. The later of the two services is done in the more traditional Lutheran style wherein we combine some Lutheran liturgy with some of the more traditional hymns featuring our organ. 
As there is no "wrong" way to worship the Lord God as long as it is sincere, we feel that offering these choices of worship styles stands the best chance at reaching out to the most people.
One of our former pastors said, "The hymnal is a congregational decision and something that might be looked at in the future, likewise with all worship resources we could use. I like the ELW and feel that a lot of the criticism from Olsen is not that important when it comes down to actual implementation. The critiques sometimes seem frivolous, others are good. But all can easily be avoided anywhere along the line, even WITH the ELW. There is no reason one cannot change some words here and there, pick and choose what one wishes to use or to avoid, no matter what worship resource one chooses to use. 
And the cost for using ELW resources is a lot cheaper than you mention if we were to go with the online resource version of ELW, about $500. With the ELW, there is more than one way to skin a cat! Some ways avoid most of the criticisms that Olsen offers. One of the beauty’s of the new ELW is that one can pick and choose only those texts and resources one wants to use, unlike the LBW system. With the entire ELW online one can cut and paste, rearrange and edit, substitute anything anywhere one wishes to do so. That you cannot do with the LBW. So any WordAlone congregation can easily adapt any part of the ELW to their own point of view. Problem is that most ELCA churches are not used to this degree of flexibility and adaptability. Furthermore, any congregation that uses the ELW as a liturgical worship book will discover quickly that the layout is extremely cumbersome and difficult to navigate! Even the ELCA leaders who led the training sessions on the ELW suggest that the book NOT be used as a worship book in the pew, but only as a resource. They suggest that all congregations use worship folders printed with only the parts of the liturgy that will be used that morning (copied and pasted from the online resource). The book in the pew should only be used for hymns, according to their recommendation. But why not print the words of the hymns in the folder also and c
ompletely avoid the use of the book entirely? Anyway, I personally like many portions of the ELW, having gone through it many times. And of course there are parts of it that I really don’t like as well. And as you said, we don’t even use all the resources we already have in the LBW!"
At Spring Lake Lutheran, we use the Lutheran Book of Worship and the Celebration Hymnal in our services along with selected contemporary songs that augment the early service. Perhaps we can, at some time in the future, sign up for an online license and bolster our library of songs with which to "send up a joyous noise unto the Lord..."
New Hymnals
The ELCA "Renewal" Hymnal
In the years since the publication of Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW) in 1978, the pace of change both within the church and beyond has quickened. 
The past three decades have seen not only a growing ecumenical consensus but also a deepened focus on the church's mission to the world. The church has embraced broadened understandings of culture, increasing musical diversity, changes in the usage of language, a renewed understanding of the central pattern of Christian worship, and an explosion of electronic media and technologies. These shifts have had a profound effect on the weekly assembly gathered around word and sacrament. The present situation calls for a renewal of worship and of common resources for worship, a renewal grounded in the treasures of the church's history while remaining open to the possibilities of the future.
The new hymnal is ready for distribution. You may review its contents and other information here.
The Reclaim-Lutheran-Worship Hymnal
Reclaim-Lutheran-Worship is an organization (non-profit) that is an outgrowth of the WordAlone Network. 
When the ELCA embarked a few years ago on a project to create a "new" hymnal and along with it an included revisionist liturgy, the WordAlone Network membership decided to keep a sharp eye on the progess of this project. As the project evolved, it became clear that many aspects of the "revised" liturgy were not in keeping with the way WordAlone members viewed Lutheran liturgy.
In response to this perceived "attack" on things that the WordAlone membership deemed "Lutheran", it was decided that a "response" hymnal should be created. The "response" hymnal would contain updated but relevant and true to Lutheranism liturgies, prayers, and hymns.
To further this work, an new organization was formed and incorporated. That new organization is Reclaim
An introductory version of this work is now available. You can purchase a copy of this introductory version and peruse it yourself. There are many Lutherans both in and out of WordAlone that do not approve of the ELCA's "Renewal" liturgies both in part and en toto. It is good to know that there are alternatives available to those churches wanting fresh liturgies and orders of service but also want to remain true to their Lutheran heritage.