The face of the divine feminine can be found everywhere in Mexico. One of the most striking features of Mexican religious life is the prevalence of images of the Virgin Mother of God. This is partly because the divine feminine played such a prominent role in pre-Hispanic Mexican religion. Goddess images were central to the devotional life of the Aztecs, especially peasants and those living in villages outside the central city of Tenochtitlan (present day Mexico City). In these rural communities fertility and fecundity, more than war rituals and sacrificial tribute, were the main focus of cultic activity. Both Aztec goddesses and the Christian Madonnas who replaced them were associated, and sometimes identified, with nature and the environment: the earth, water, trees and other sources of creativity and vitality. This book uncovers the myths and images of 22 Aztec Goddesses and 28 Christian Madonnas of Mexico. Their rich and symbolic meaning is revealed by placing them in the context of the religious worldviews in which they appear and by situating them within the devotional life of the faithful for whom they function as powerful mediators of divine grace and terror.

Based on the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year C, Volume 2 is an invaluable aid that provides liturgical pieces needed in preparing for worship each week. Written and compiled by a team of eleven ecumenical and seasoned liturgy writers under the creative leadership of Kimberly Bracken Long, this resource offers a multitude of poetic prayers and responsive readings for all parts of worship and is meant to complement existing denominational resources. In addition, the weekly entries include questions for reflection and household prayers for morning and evening that are drawn from the lectionary, allowing churches to include them in their bulletin for parishioners to use throughout the week.

During times of the year when two different tracks of Old Testament texts are offered by the RCL, this resource offers an entire set of materials for each track. Also, a CD-ROM is included with each volume that enables planners to easily cut and paste relevant readings, prayers, and questions into worship bulletins.

Research on pilgrimage has traditionally fallen across a series of academic disciplines - anthropology, archaeology, art history, geography, history and theology. To date, relatively little work has been devoted to the issue of pilgrimage as writing and specifically as a form of travel-writing. The aim of the interdisciplinary essays gathered here is to examine the relations of Christian pilgrimage to the numerous narratives, which it generates and upon which it depends. Authors reveal not only the tensions between oral and written accounts but also the frequent ambiguities of journeys - the possibilities of shifts between secular and sacred forms and accounts of travel. Above all, the papers reveal the self-generating and multiple-authored characteristics of pilgrimage narrative: stories of past pilgrimage experience generate future stories and even future journeys.

Simon Coleman moved to Sussex University in 2004, having spent 11 years at Durham University as Lecturer and then Reader in Anthropology, and Deputy Dean for the Faculty of Social Sciences and Health.

John Elsner is Senior Research Fellow at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.

Missa Est! is a constructive work in ecclesiology, and particularly the relationship between liturgy and mission in the churchs life. It advances a notion of the church in which liturgy and mission are both given their due without opposing them to each other, subordinating one to the other, or collapsing them into each other. Mission and liturgy are intrinsically related to each other, for the churchs liturgical rites disclose and enact the churchs identity as a missionary community.

The author shows in this book how a parish can incorporate its children into full participation with the worshiping community. Tapping their creativity to design a spectacular array of materials for worship -- a storyteller's cloak, prayer cards, confessions stones, rap sermons, sculpture, and painting -- liturgy comes intensely alive for parishioners of all ages. As Fairless demonstrates, the full participation of children in corporate worship, while not a simple matter, is deeply rewarding. An introduction by Louis Weil, professor at Church Divinity School of the Pacific, provides the theological rationale for the inclusion of all baptized members in the worship life of the community.

Halloween has been referred to as the Devil's holiday, but all 365 1/4 days were created by and belong to Jesus. If Satan usurps even one day it is our Christian duty and responsibility to reclaim and redeem it in the name of our Lord. Are the imaginary ghouls and goblins of Halloween any more wicked than the jolly elf called Santa Claus, or the Easter bunny? Should the Church stop celebrating these holy days, the bookends of our faith, as well?

Instead of battling the spiritual enemy on Halloween, the Church is guilty of crossing swords with one another. We fight among ourselves, not about "how" to celebrate Halloween, but whether it should even be observed. Jesus is more the "reason for the season" on Halloween than He is at Christmas. The Church must realize it is forfeiting Halloween as an opportunity to glorify the Prince of Peace, the One who has given us the victory over the "prince of darkness" and his evil minions. The Way, the Truth and the Life has conquered Death and the grave.

By dressing up in costumes and portraying frightening creatures who at one time caused us to fear and tremble, we are not glorifying Satan. Rather, we are poking fun at the Serpent whose kingdom has been plundered by our Savior, and whose head has been crushed Should we celebrate Halloween? The question is, "How can we not?" "Halloween, Hallowed is Thy" "Name "offers a believer confidence and joy in expressing the greeting "Happy Halloween."

Christian Ethics provides a biblical, historical, philosophical and theological guide to the field of Christian ethics. Prominent theologian David S. Cunningham explores the tradition of 'virtue ethics' in this creative and lively text, which includes literary and musical references as well as key contemporary theological texts and figures.

Three parts examine:

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• the nature of human action and the people of God as the 'interpretative community' within which ethical discourse arises
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• the development of a 'virtue ethics' approach, and places this in its Christian context
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• significant issues in contemporary Christian ethics, including the ethics of business and economics, politics, the environment, medicine and sex.

This is the essential text for students of all ethics courses in theology, religious studies and philosophy.

The Wonder of Worship explores the basics of worshiping God in spirit and truth. Ultimately, worship that pleases God is not about the individual's preferences, but God's purposes.

Sacred Pathways reveals nine distinct spiritual temperaments--and their strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies--to help you improve your spiritual life and deepen your personal walk with God. It's time to strip away the frustration of a one-size-fits-all spirituality and discover a path of worship that frees you to be you. Experienced spiritual directors, pastors, and church leaders recognize that all of us engage with God differently, and it's about time we do too. In this updated and expanded edition of Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas details nine spiritual temperaments and--like the Enneagram and other tools do with personality--encourages you to investigate the ways you most naturally express yourself in your relationship with God. He encourages you to dig into the traits, strengths, and pitfalls in your devotional approach so you can eliminate the barriers that keep you locked into rigid methods of worship and praise. Plus, as you begin to identify and understand your own temperament, you'll soon learn about the temperaments that aren't necessarily "you" but that may help you understand the spiritual tendencies of friends, family, and others around you. Whatever temperament or blend of temperaments best describes you, rest assured it's not by accident. It's by the design of a Creator who knew what he was doing when he made you according to his own unique intentions. If your spiritual walk is not what you'd like it to be, you can change that, starting here. Sacred Pathways will show you the route you were made to travel, marked by growth and filled with the riches of a close walk with God. A Sacred Pathways video Bible study is also available for group or individual use, sold separately.

Worship renewal is now on the agenda of many Reformed churches, as the need for adaptation and new approaches is acutely felt all over. How can the church faithfully worship God in the midst of rapidly changing situations? How can it constructively relate to widely differing cultural contexts? What is its place in the wider ecumenical scene? In preparing a sweeping survey of Reformed worship across time and place, this volume provides some help to those engaged with vital questions like these.

Written by theologians and liturgical scholars from a wide range of churches and countries, these chapters explore the history of Reformed worship on every continent from the sixteenth century to the present. Surveying the most significant developments in the growth of Reformed worship, the book identifies the major "ingredients" that make the Reformed worship tradition distinctive and highlights those aspects of Reformed worship that are particularly relevant to present efforts at renewal. Indeed, an important component of this book is the inclusion of "A Common Reflection on Christian Worship in Reformed Churches Today, " the result of a major consultation in January 2001 at the International Reformed Center John Knox.

Revealing the rich variety of forms and diversity of perspectives that have made and do make up Reformed worship worldwide, this volume will be a valuable resource for church and worship leaders both in and outside the Reformed family.

CONTRIBUTORS: Horace T. Allen Jr.
Emily R. Brink
Livingstone Buama
Coenraad Burger
Bruno Burki
Gerson Correia de Lacerda
Alan D. Falconer
Kasonga wa Kasonga
Baranite T. Kirata
Elsie Anne McKee
Seong-WonPark
Ester Pudjo Widiasih
Alan P. F. Sell
Joseph D. Small
Bryan D. Spinks
Leonora Tubbs Tisdale
Lukas Vischer
Isaiah Wahome Muita
Geraldine Wheeler
Marsha M. Wilfong
John D. Witvliet

The Wonder of Worship explores the basics of worshiping God in spirit and truth. Ultimately, worship that pleases God is not about the individual's preferences, but God's purposes.