Congregational music can be an act of praise, a vehicle for theology, an action of embodied community, as well as a means to a divine encounter. This multidisciplinary anthology approaches congregational music as media in the widest sense - as a multivalent communication action with technological, commercial, political, ideological and theological implications, where processes of mediated communication produce shared worlds and beliefs. Bringing together a range of voices, promoting dialogue across a range of disciplines, each author approaches the topic of congregational music from his or her own perspective, facilitating cross-disciplinary connections while also showcasing a diversity of outlooks on the roles that music and media play in Christian experience. The authors break important new ground in understanding the ways that music, media and religious belief and praxis become 'lived theology' in our media age, revealing the rich and diverse ways that people are living, experiencing and negotiating faith and community through music.

Lectionary texts for reading the daily office using the Revised Standard Version translation of the Bible.

Describes the responsibilities and duties of the server at the Holy Eucharist and other services, as governed by the rubrics of "The Book of Common Prayer" and by tradition. Includes a glossary.

Lectionary texts for reading the daily office using the Revised Standard Version translation of the Bible.

Playing one

of these favorite songs on the electric piano is

easy. Simply push the key that matches the color

and number of the note above each word. The

twelve familiar songs will provide hours of fun for

children as they play and sing along. Delightful

illustrations accompany the music. Not recommended

for children under 3 years of age.

Advent is celebrated when the year is becoming darker and colder, moving into the death and dormancy of winter. Before we can greet the coming of the light, we need to engage with some themes that are challenging and occasionally fearful. Like the Magi who travelled a long distance to search out and adore the infant Jesus, and who took some wrong turns on the way, we too have a journey to undertake before we find that we have 'Walked haphazard by starlight straight Into the kingdom of heaven.' U. A. Fanthorpe, BC:AD Haphazard by Starlight is a companion volume to Janet Morley's bestselling Lent book, The Heart's Time (SPCK, 2011), which delighted readers with its thoughtfully chosen selection of poems and its biblically sensitive commentaries. Here, the reader is given an opportunity to engage in a pilgrimage of the heart, through Advent and Christmas to the feast of the Epiphany. Each day - from 1 December to 6 January - offers a poem (sometimes explicitly Christian, often not) and an accessible commentary that is both critically informed and devotional in intent. The poets represented include Rowan Williams, Elizabeth Jennings, Edwin Muir, Philip Larkin, Jane Kenyon, Gillian Clarke, George Herbert, T. S. Eliot, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson, Waldo Williams, P. J. Kavanagh, Ruth Fainlight, William Blake and many more.

First major study in English of the Japanese 'hidden' Christians - the Kakure Kirishitan, who chose to remain separate from the Catholic Church when religious toleration was granted in 1873 - and the development of the faith and rituals from the 16th century to the present day.

Say Good-bye to Stress and Burnout, and Hello to Peace and Purpose What comes to mind when you think about prayer? Does it feel like something for holy people but not for you? Or like a mystical experience you could never hope to achieve in real life? Or maybe just a boring duty with little payoff. In this book, author and pastor Chad Veach demystifies the concept of prayer by explaining in practical terms what prayer looks like in our day-to-day lives. It turns out, it's not hard! This passionate, personal approach to prayer removes the pressure to "pray right" and replaces it with the calm assurance that God wants to hear from us and respond to us in love. Along with building a case for the importance of prayer, Chad uses stories and compelling insights from the Bible to give practical advice for how to make your prayers more effective. He highlights where we can and should pray and offers tangible strategies to implement a praying lifestyle within the busyness of modern life. Prayer works! Here's how to connect with God just like He's always wanted.

Christians who want to see Matthew's Gospel in a fresh and exciting way. Are you looking for a study to help you understand and use Matthew's Gospel? Will help individuals and groups to understand and use Matthew's Gospel in a small study or devotional setting. Journeying with Matthew' is a book to accompany the readings in year A of the Common Worship Lectionary. It aims to help individuals and groups to understand and use Matthew's Gospel.James Woodward is a Canon of Windsor, and the general editor of the book. He has written extensively in the area of pastoral and practical theology. His recent publications include Valuing Age (SPCK 2008).

There remains a constant need for new perspectives on the liturgical church seasons in order to keep them spiritually fresh and to bring them to life in new ways. This book enables Christian readers to experience a new depth in their faith journey as they celebrate the season of Advent. This is a short book of spiritual meditations for the Advent season on the four "Middle Eastern" songs sung around the birth of Jesus: canticles that play an important role in the liturgical worship of the church over the centuries. These canticles include: the Song of Mary (Magnificat), Song of Zechariah (Benedictus), Song of the Angels (Gloria), and Song of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis). The devotions emphasize the Middle Eastern cultural elements of these songs.

Known author and sure-footed Bible teacher

The Spanish Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage rooted in the Medieval period and increasingly active today, has attracted a growing amount of both scholarly and popular attention. With its multiple points of departure in Spain and other European countries, its simultaneously secular and religious nature, and its international and transhistorical population of pilgrims, this particular pilgrimage naturally invites a wide range of intellectual inquiry and scholarly perspectives. This volume fills a gap in current pilgrimage studies, focusing on contemporary representations of the Camino de Santiago. Complementing existing studies of the Camino's medieval origins, it situates the Camino as a modern experience and engages interdisciplinary perspectives to present a theoretical framework for exploring the most central issues that concern scholars of pilgrimage studies today. Contributors explore the contemporary meaning of the Camino through an interdisciplinary lens that reflects the increasing permeability between academic disciplines and fields, bringing together a wide range of theoretical and critical perspectives (cultural studies, literary studies, globalization studies, memory studies, ethnic studies, postcolonial studies, cultural geographies, photography, and material culture). Chapters touch on a variety of genres (blogs, film, graphic novels, historical novels, objects, and travel guides), and transnational perspectives (Australia, the Arab world, England, Spain, and the United States).

How could the Apostle Paul maintain in his first letter to the Christians in Corinth that all their ancestors were baptized into Moses at the Red Sea / exodus event (10:2), and how could he tolerate some of them having themselves baptized again on behalf of the dead (15:29)? Answers to these puzzling questions can be found in early Jewish sources now located both in Greek and Hebrew, all here translated.

The process of living is a journey, and this book is a vehicle that evokes the inner life. Boldly step into the life of the Spirit through this journal workbook.

The Western image of Tibet as a sacred land is in many ways a mythical construction. But the Tibetans themselves have traditionally mapped out their land in terms of areas of sacred space, and pilgrimage, ensuring a high degree of mobility within all classes of Tibetan society. Pilgrims travelled to local, regional, and national centres throughout recorded Tibetan history. In recent years, pilgrimage has resumed in areas where it had been forbidden by the Chinese authorities, and has now become one of the most prominent religious expressions of Tibetan national identity. In this major new work, leading scholars of Asian pilgrimage traditions discuss historical and contemporary aspects of pilgrimage within the Tibetan cultural world. Myths and legends, material conditions, textual sources, a modern pilgrim's impressions, political and economic influences, biographies and contemporary developments - all these and many other issues are examined here. The result is an informative and often entertaining work which contributes greatly to our knowledge of the history and culture of Tibet as well as the wider issues of religious power and practice.

Vestments -- the robes, stoles or other items worn by clergy, or cloths used at the altar -- not only add beauty to a worship service, but are visual clues to the liturgical season and to the tone of a particular service. The most beautiful and meaningful vestments are often those made for a particular priest, serving in a specific sanctuary. But many shy away from trying to sew vestments, which seem too complicated and difficult to make.

In Vestments for All Seasons, Barbara Baumgarten demystifies the making of vestments -- from designing and fitting patterns, to fabric and color selection, to putting on the finishing touches. She provides patterns and directions for producing special vestments for Advent and Lent, Easter, and Pentecost, and general instructions for designing and making vestments completely from scratch. A history of the development of vestments from Roman times to the present is included, as well as a full glossary describing the various vestments worn by clergy, bishops, deacons, and choir.

Strengthen your faith, receive your miracle!

Miracle testimonies are more than just accounts of past events; they are invitations to a fresh experience of God's supernatural power!

Respected pastor and healing minister, Randy Clark presents a unique compilation of amazing miracle testimonies to help strengthen your faith for whatever healing breakthrough you need!

Every miracle account in Stories of Divine Healing offers a new gateway for your own healing. As you read, you will encounter Jesus' compassionate heart and matchless power over every sickness and disease.

- Be inspired by over 100 faith-stirring miracle testimonies, documented, categorized and indexed for easy access

- Receive supernatural encouragement by reading real-life testimonies of healing from blindness, deafness, diabetes, heart problems, chronic pain, Parkinson's disease, tumors, cancer, andmuch more!

- Strengthen your faith to receive your personal breakthrough by practicing Randy Clark's simple teaching on activating miracle testimonies

- Experience the Holy Spirit's healing presence that hovers over miracle testimonies

Strengthen your faith, and lay claim to your own healing miracle today

From birthday cakes and anniversary dinners to summer vacations at the beach, each family has its own ways of marking the days and seasons of its life. For the Christian family especially Episcopalians it s no different. With an array of colors and an assortment of rich traditions, Episcopalians move through the Church year, marking the days and seasons that tell the story of Christ in our lives in history and today.

This book written for newcomers to the Episcopal Church as well as lifelong members takes readers by the hand and leads them through the Church year, from the first Sunday of Advent through the last Sunday of Pentecost, answering questions like Why do we use purple in Lent? and What does Maundy Thursday mean? In an easy-to-read conversational style, Welcome to the Church Year introduces readers to the traditions of the Church seasons and explains why we do what we do. But it does more than offer interesting trivia about church vestments and pageantry. Its insights can help readers participate in the liturgies of the Church year in a deeper, more meaningful way."

This uniquely comprehensive reference work provides a global account of the history, expansion, diversity, and contemporary issues facing the Anglican Communion, the worldwide body that includes all followers of the Anglican faith. * An insightful and wide-ranging treatment of this dynamic global faith, offering unrivalled coverage of its historical development, and the religious and ethical questions affecting the church today * Explores every aspect of this vibrant religious community from analyzing its instruments of Unity, to its central role in interfaith communication * Spans the Anglican Communion s long history through to 21st century debates within the church on such issues as sexual-orientation of clergy, and the pastoral role of women * Features a substantial articles on the Church s 44 provinces, including a brief history of each * Brings together a distinguished and international team of contributors, including some of the world s leading Anglican commentators

Exploring how the Bible may be appropriately used in practical and public theology, this book looks at types of modern practical theology with specific emphasis on the use of the Bible. Bennett juxtaposes the diversity of modern practical theology with the work of leading nineteenth-century public 'theologian', John Ruskin, and then assesses the contribution of this analysis to some modern issues of public importance in which the Bible is used. The final chapter offers a framework for a biblically informed critical practical theology which draws on the writer's experience and invites the readers to engage their own.

This volume provides a theoretically- and empirically-grounded study of the significance of landscape, its intersection with cultural heritage, and associated implications for tourism, in Christian pilgrimage. It provides an international and interdenominational perspective on these issues, drawing on a wide range of examples and using three detailed case studies: Meteora, Greece; Subiaco, Italy; and the Isle of Man, British Isles. These case studies have been chosen for their international and denominational diversity, as well as rich landscape and heritage contexts. They include Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Ecumenical/ Protestant denominations, incorporating different Christian theologies, practices and perspectives on the nature and purpose of pilgrimage. None have received significant attention within pilgrimage literature and thus provide a wealth of new comparative data to evaluate in relation to existing studies of Christian pilgrimage. They draw on rich participant experiential accounts and interviews with clergy, laity and local stakeholders.

The volume provides analysis of this original data which is inflected by careful attention to theoretical and conceptual engagement with literature on mobilities, sacred place and practice, place-temporalities, aesthetics, embodiment and performance, "communitas," emotion and affect, theology and spiritualities, multi-faith and post-secular society, cultural heritage, consumption and commodification, and the pilgrim-tourist continuum.

In discussions of worship, the term 'participation' covers a lot of ground. It refers not only to concrete acts in gathered liturgy, but also to some of the loftiest claims of Christian theology. In this book, Alan Rathe probes the ways in which North American evangelicals have in recent years regarded the landscape of participation. Rathe presents a broad review of evangelical worship literature through a lens borrowed from medieval theology. This brings into surprising focus not only evangelical understandings but also evangelical identities and the historical traditions they reflect, and offers fresh perspectives on such current theological concerns as God's triunity, missio Dei, and the practical theology of participation. Offering a fresh contribution to a young but important discipline, the liturgically-informed study of evangelical worship practice, this book reconnects the evangelical tradition to the 'Great Tradition' and in the process re-appropriates classic concepts that are full of promise for contemporary ecumenical dialogue.