Creating Missional Worship explores how contemporary context and Anglican liturgical tradition can be fused together to create engaging and transformative worship. It addresses a key issue that has arisen in the wake of Fresh Expressions: to what extent should worship be shaped by the culture of the day, and how far can it stray from core patterns of worship and still be recognisably Anglican? Tim Lomax offers imaginative ideas and resources for finding freedom within a framework. Using the basic patterns of Common Worship, he outlines a contextual approach to creating worship that is incarnational, sacramental, Trinitarian and revelatory in today's language and cultural forms. He offers many examples and illustrations of how liturgy and contemporary culture can meet in fresh and challenging ways.

The two key questions often levelled at fresh expressions are 'What is Church?' and 'How on earth can a fresh expression be evaluated?' In "Out of Nothing", Andrew Dunlop offers an account of his journey in starting a fresh expression, and along the way proposes an alternative theological foundation for evaluation - the Cross-Shaped approach. Dunlop proposes a theological foundation which goes to the heart of God's action in the world. Both accessible and critically engaged, the book will provide an important resource for both pioneers and for those studying pioneer ministry.

Barbara Brown Taylor is one of America's most renowned and beloved spiritual writers and author of the acclaimed An Altar in the World. Here she reflects on keeping faith and the relentless demands that characterise life for so many today. In this moving and memorable book she writes of her life and work as a priest and the burden of being one of the most celebrated preachers in America. She recalls with grace and wit what led her to priestly ministry, the privilege of exploring the mysteries of God with others, her growing fame, the crisis it provoked and the unexpected blessings that followed. Having been part of a team in a large urban church for ten years, she sought a parish of her own and it was love at first sight when she was invited to view a small rural parish in Georgia. Little did she imagine that here Jesus's words about losing one's life in order to find it would have such impact. She tells of the rapid growth of the church, the crowds who travelled miles to hear her preach, the tensions that arose - and the call to lay it all aside in order to rediscover the authentic heart of her faith.

All Things Anglican offers a lively and accessible introduction to Anglicanism for anyone wanting to know what makes it distinctive. Whether you are training for Anglican orders, are curious about another denomination or would like to join an Anglican Church, this guide will introduce you to the basics of Anglican identity and the ways of the Church of England. Sections include: - Why do they do things differently down the road? The breadth of Anglican church traditions; - Holy, Holy, Holy - understanding Anglican liturgy; - Reformed and Catholic? - a potted history; - We Believe - a guide to the Creeds; - An Anglican A-Z - a glossary of essential terms.

Dust That Dreams of Glory collects together never-before-published seasonal material for Lent and Holy Week by the much-loved Anglican priest and writer Michael Mayne. Michael Mayne was one of Anglicanism's most compelling and attractive voices, a gifted preacher and writer whose works have remained popular. This collection offers material from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, including a sequence of seven meditations on the words of Christ from the cross. These unpublished writings are offered as both a preaching and devotional resource at a time of the year when many seek fresh ways of opening up familiar texts.

Worldwide debates over issues of sexuality and gender have come to a head in recent years in mainline and evangelical churches, with the Anglican Communion-a worldwide network of churches that trace their practice to Canterbury and claim some 85 million members-among the most publicly visible sites of contestation. This thorough and compelling analysis of the conflicts within the Communion argues that they are symptoms of long-simmering issues that must be addressed when Anglican bishops and archbishops meet at the 2020 Lambeth Conference. To many, the disagreements over such issues as LGBTQ clergy, same-sex marriage, and women's ordination suggest an insurmountable crisis facing Anglicans, one that may ultimately end the Communion. Christopher Craig Brittain and Andrew McKinnon argue otherwise. Drawing on extensive empirical research and interviews with influential Anglican leaders, they show how these struggles stem from a complex interplay of factors, notably the forces and effects of globalization, new communications technology, and previous decisions made by the Communion. In clarifying both the theological arguments and social forces at play as the bishops and primates of the Anglican Communion prepare to set the Church's course for the next decade, Brittain and McKinnon combine sociological and theological methodologies to provide both a nuanced portrait of Anglicanism in a transnational age and a primer on the issues with which the Lambeth Conference will wrestle. Insightful, informative, and thought-provoking, The Anglican Communion at a Crossroads is an invaluable resource for understanding the debates taking place in this worldwide community. Those interested in Anglicanism, sexuality and the Christian tradition, the sociology of religion, and the evolving relationship between World Christianity and churches in the Global North will find it indispensable.

Worship is a dynamic, living encounter that should never be static. In the Church of England, although Common Worship provides texts for every season and occasion, the church constantly needs to refresh its worship, just as it reshapes its presence in local communities. In this comprehensive volume, a wide range of experienced liturgists, musicians and pastoral practitioners consider the principles that will determine the character and quality, as well as the content, of our worship in the future. It explores how new forms can meet new needs while remaining faithful to the church's essential understanding of worship. Over twenty chapters consider how emerging forms of worship can be: - Relational, accessible and inclusive - Rooted in Scripture, the Creeds, and Spirit-filled - Sacramental, symbolic and multi-sensory - Transformative, pastoral and prophetic The contributors are all members of the Group for the Renewal of Worship, a broadly evangelical group within the Church of England and including senior clergy, musicians, theological college tutors in liturgy and former members of the Liturgical Commission.

Grasping the Heel of Heaven honours the immense legacy to the church of Michael Perham. A skilled and imaginative liturgist, a passionate advocate of women's ministry, an inspirational dean and bishop, a wise and patient administrator, he was above all a faithful priest who loved the Church as the body of Christ. In all his ministry he sought to nourish that body by encouraging its worship and prayer and shaping its governance in the light of gospel ideals. In this volume, friends and colleagues bring their own expertise to reflect on some of the topics and themes that were most important to him, including: * Being transported and transformed by liturgy * The making of Common Worship * The full inclusion of the ministry of women * How structures and decision-making express an understanding of God * Unity despite differences in and through God * The gospel as good news for all Together, the contributors reflect the numerous ways that Michael Perham saw heaven touching earth and earth glimpsing heaven.

How language works in the worship of the church has been vigorously debated during the period of liturgical revision in the twentieth century coming at the end of what is known as the Liturgical Movement. Focussing upon the Church of England and the Anglican tradition, this book traces the history of `liturgical language' as it begins in the Early Church, but with particular emphasis upon the English Reformation liturgies, their background in the Medieval Church and literature and their long and varied life in the Church of England after 1662. Inter-disciplinary in scope, yet rooted in a literary approach, the volume provides a rigorous study of the effect of liturgy upon the theological and devotional life of the Church.