Advent is a period of grateful anticipation and an invitation for Christians everywhere to spend time contemplating the profound gift of the Incarnation. It offers us the opportunity to develop our spiritual lives and to listen to our deepest longings. Advent should not, as Anna Burke explains in the introduction to Candles in the Night, be spent impatiently 'counting down the days on the calendar', but embraced for what it is: a unique period in the Church year to prepare for the arrival of Christ. The reflections in this book - which explore themes such as 'waiting', 'giving', 'announcing' and 'transforming' - are offered as a resource to be used during Advent, be it for personal use, prayer groups or otherwise. Each advent word invites us to behold the presence of God-with-us and to breathe in the holy breath. We will not 'skip' Advent. We will wait and watch as the rising sun comes to visit us.

Psalm Prayers is a devotional companion to the Psalms and a practical resource for creating prayers for public worship. It is particularly helpful for those who lead services of Evensong from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, where the reading of the psalms and extemporary prayer are integral parts of the service. Stephen Cherry introduces each of the 150 Psalms and lays out its central theme before offering a prayer in response. Crafted with care in a traditional style that complements the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, these prayers are nevertheless fresh and immediate, vividly reflecting the concerns and pressures of today's world. These prayers have been developed and used over many years' experience in parish and cathedral ministry, and latterly in King's College, Cambridge, and are suitable for both choral evensong in cathedrals and college chapels or simple, spoken services in local churches.

A complete prayer book in the Slavonic language printed with the Cyrillic (old orthography) alphabet. Includes morning and evening prayers, the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, various Akathists and Canons annd much more besides.

Written by liturgists - pastoral and academic - who make up the Liturgical Formation Sub-Committee of the Department for Christian Life and Worship of the Roman Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, this studyguide offers an introduction to Catholic Liturgy. Covering the history, content and debates around the use of liturgy in the Catholic church, each chapter includes points for reflection, end of chapter questions, and an indication of further reading. A book-wide glossary is also provided.

Michael Perham was an influential liturgist and priest who shaped the worship of the Church of England as we know it today. This collection brings together the very best of his unpublished writings to offer inspiring reflections on the seasons of the Christian year. From Advent to Christ the King, Michael Perham shares his passion for the worship and its ability to draw us into God's presence. He explores how celebrating the life, death and resurrection of Jesus opens us to growth and to change. This collection includes the last address Michael Perham gave on Ash Wednesday shortly before his death. Rachel Treweek, the succeeding Bishop of Gloucester, provides an introduction.

The Lithic Garden offers innovative perspectives on the role of ornament in medieval church design. Focusing on the foliate friezes articulating iconic French monuments such as Amiens Cathedral, it demonstrates that church builders strategically used organic motifs to integrate the interior and exterior of their structures, thus reinforcing the connections and distinctions between the entirety of the sacred edifice and the profane world beyond its boundaries. With this exquisitely illustrated monograph, Mailan S. Doquang argues that, contrary to widespread belief, monumental flora was not just an extravagant embellishment or secondary byproduct, but a semantically-charged, critical design component that inflected the stratified spaces of churches in myriad ways. By situating the proliferation of foliate friezes within the context of the Crusades, The Lithic Garden provides insights into the networks of exchange between France, Byzantium, and the Levant, contributing to the "global turn" in art and architectural History.

This practical companion to creating pastoral liturgies arises from the vibrant ministry of St Martin-in-the-Fields and is designed to aid local ministry teams in devising forms of worship outside and beyond the scope of authorised church liturgy, yet in sympathy with its purposes and structures. It includes outline liturgies for: * regular pastoral services, such as an informal Eucharist, worship for small groups or for a church away-day, a dementia-friendly service, a healing service, interfaith ceremonies. * acute pastoral needs, such as services for communities affected by local tragedy, those experiencing loss through violence. * outreach services in the open air or welcoming people into sacred space. * special services though the year for Homelessness Sunday, Prisoners Week, Holy Week, Harvest, Remembrance, a community carol service and more. Each section is introduced with a reflection on theory and practice, and each item has a commentary on theological, liturgical and pastoral choices made with the aim of enabling practitioners to adapt and create liturgies for their own contexts.

This unique volume collects together baptismal liturgies in use across five continents to reveal the breadth of theological understanding and diversity of practice in Anglicanism today. Liturgies from the Anglican Churches in over forty countries are translated and presented systematically to facilitate study and comparison. Christian initiation is more than just a rite. Its language and symbolism express varying theological understandings of what it means to belong to the family of God, and also of the sacraments. These are not settled questions, and this volume makes a significant contribution to the continuing debates around these questions within Anglicanism and the wider Church.

Pam Rhodes is best known as the familiar face of the BBC's Songs of Praise, and here she brings together her personal selection of carols, poems, Bible readings and other inspirational passages from a wide range of sources. As well as the usual old favourites - from Hark the Herald Angels Sing to the stories of the shepherds and the wise men visiting the baby Jesus - there are plenty of lighter moments, with excerpts from Gervase Phinn's memoirs and funny poems by modern writers. Alongside the items themselves Pam shares some of her own Christmas reminiscences and explores the resonance of the Christmas story for all our lives in her trademark inviting and heartwarming style. There is something here for everyone, from those wanting to enjoy dipping in for a taste of Christmas to those needing a sourcebook to inspire selections for Christmas services. Enjoy!

Using narrative, testimonies from leaders and members, and photographs, this book tells the story and explains the remarkable influence of the Vineyard Church of Anaheim on both the early years of the Vineyard movement and the emergence of contemporary worship in the broader church. Not only does this volume present an in-depth look at the congregation's pastor, John Wimber, and the church's first several years, it also tells an inspiring story of revival and renewal for people hungering for deeper knowledge of God. With interviews, sermon excerpts, sidebars, timelines, and a glossary of terms to enhance the text, Worshiping with the Anaheim Vineyard addresses core issues about knowing God intimately for all Christians.

Material Eucharist interprets the Eucharist through its material elements of bread and wine. Drawing upon a rich variety of biblical, patristic, medieval, and modern texts and traditions, David Grumett brings together theological reflection and liturgical action and shows their mutual dependence. For both theologians and liturgists, a central concern is the matter out of which the created order has been made, from which issues of community and social justice are inseparable. The ingredients of bread and wine anticipate, in their harvesting and manufacture, the formal church liturgy, which is extended back into the world by the transformative priestly action of laypeople. Indeed, the transforming presence of Christ in the Eucharist as flesh and substance is theologically grounded in his transformative presence in the wider created order, as expressed in eucharistic giving and exchange between churches and their wider communities. Rooting the Eucharist in materiality suggests its primary context to be the death and resurrection of Christ in the power of the Spirit, in which its recipients may share. The many aspects of theology and liturgy with which the book deals have large implications for how the Eucharist is understood in a range of academic disciplines, and for how it is celebrated in churches today.

Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC) was the first document promulgated by the Second Vatican Council. The impact of this document was broad and ecumenical - the liturgical reforms approved by the Council reverberated throughout Christendom, impacting the order and experience of worship in Reformed and Orthodox Churches. This study examines Orthodox liturgical reform after Vatican II through the lens of Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical dialogue. The study presents the history of liturgical reform through four models: the liturgical reforms of Alexander Schmemann; the alternative liturgical center in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR); the symposia on liturgical rebirth authorized by the Church of Greece; and the renewed liturgy of New Skete Monastery. Following a discussion of the main features of liturgical reform, catechesis, ars celebrandi, and the role of the clergy, Denysenko concludes with suggestions for implementing liturgical reform in the challenges of postmodernity and in fidelity to the contributions of Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical dialogue.

Helps readers appreciate how liturgical texts are written and heard: why some texts work in worship and others don't

This report is the result of a study and consultation of the House of Bishops, asking how firmly grounded is the Church of England's inherited tradition that the person who presides at the Eucharist must be an ordained priest. It discusses the ministry of the whole people of God, the distinctive ministry of the ordained, the place of the Eucharist in the life of the Church, and the role of the person who presides at it.

This invaluable guide helps all who plan worship to appreciate the rich possibilities and spiritual depth of the seasonal material for All Saints to Candlemas in Common Worship: Times and Seasons. It focuses on All Saints to the Eve of Advent Sunday, Advent, the Christmas Season and the Epiphany Season. The main part of the guide provides a range of practical tips and illuminating case studies to encourage creative use at a local level. It also gives succinct background information both for seasons and individual major seasonal occasions as well as for all the liturgical texts. John Sweet's introduction explains the raison d'etre of 'Times and Seasons' and provides a helpful brief introduction to the history and theology of the Christian Year.

Theological reflection upon the Eucharist is dominated by two paradigms: One approach interprets the Eucharist almost exclusively in theological terms, shaped by Scholasticism and the Reformation. Most discussions about the nature of the Eucharist, Eucharistic presence or the role of the priest follow these categories, even if they come in modern disguise. The other reads the Eucharist as an event which can be explored empirically. O'Loughlin develops a new understanding of the Eucharist. This can be done by looking afresh at the historical evidence and bringing it in dialogue with modern theology. In the past decades, historical research and new discoveries have changed our view of the origins and the development of the Eucharist. By bringing history into a fruitful dialogue with sacramental and liturgical theology, he shows not only ways how theology and practice can be brought closer together again, but also how current ecumenical divisions can be overcome. His book makes an important contribution to eucharistic theology, both for individual church traditions as well as for ecumenical dialogues.

Too many Christians still think that worship is only a Sunday-morning activity done inside the church, while mission involves how the church engages the outside world. But Ruth Meyers argues that a dynamic relationship exists between worship and mission -- that gathering as God's people includes at its heart our being sent out into the world in God's name. Meyers explores this relationship by taking readers through the various parts of the worship service: gathering, proclaiming the Word, praying for the world, celebrating the Eucharist, and going forth to continue participating in God's mission in the world. In each chapter Meyers includes stories of worship practices in different churches and considers how the actions of worship relate integrally to mission. Missional Worship, Worshipful Mission emphasizes that missional worship is not a set of techniques but rather an approach to worship and congregational life in which God's mission permeates every aspect of what the church does.

When contemporary Christians worship (be they Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox or Pentecostal), they engage in a variety of ritual acts whose diversity and complexity may at first puzzle the observer. A closer look reveals that worship incorporates a limited number of major components which, repeated, form the backbone of the ceremonies Christians enact when they meet on Sundays. The refined typology of ritual acts described here focuses on six elementary forms: praise, prayer, sermon, sacrifice, sacrament and spiritual ecstasy. 'Sacred Games' argues that the essential meaning of Christian ritual is embodied in these six elements, all of which have their roots in ancient, pre-Christian ritual life. Each has its own constituents, dynamics, meaning and distinct story. Accordingly, this book is divided into six interpretative sections which, using French, German and English sources and contrasting past experience with the present, European with American, and Catholic with Protestant, explain the meanings of each. Lang uncovers their ancient biblical roots and follows their course through history with special emphasis on biblical, historic and contemporary forms.This is a pioneering book and a major scholarly achievement: the first full-scale history and interpretation of a collective spiritual act fraught with meaning. Well-illustrated, written in a highly readable style and geared to the informed general reader as well as to students and scholars, it should become an indispensable additon to the broader study of Christianity. Bernhard Lang is Professor of Religion at the University of Paderborn, Germany and has taught in Tubingen, Mainz, Philadelphia (Temple University) and Paris (the Sorbonne). He has written many books, including (with Colleen McDannell) 'Heaven: A History', published by Yale University Press and translated into seven languages.

Using Coverdale's translation of the Psalms from the Book of Common Prayer, the very best of Anglican chant is married to texts that have been used to sing the transcendent glory of God for three thousand years. The Psalms are ruthlessly honest in their portrayal of conflicting human emotions, and many psalters have excised the verses that speak of vengeance, hatred and anger. Acknowledging that these emotions are also part of human experience, the Anglican Psalter retains this material, to be included or omitted as local preference or the occasion dictates. Includes work by renowned composers past and present including Elgar, Parry, Stanford, Stainer, Wesley, Malcolm Archer, David Willcocks, John Barnard, and many more.

It is a great help towards more, thoughtful worship if we know something about the great company of men and women who wrote the classic hymns of Britain - some thing about their lives, their spiritual stories and their records as authors. This book gives us the essential facts together with a critical commentary.). The result is a fresh introduction to a most interesting slice of history, ptures. from Isaac Watts publishing his `songs before unknown' in 1707, ,hrough the Wesleys and the Catholic Revival, to the death of the prolific John Ellerton in 1893.