An inspirational source of encouragement for Lent. 'The Little Book of Lent' is a powerful anthology of readings from spiritual writers for each day of Lent, with accompanying scripture and prayers to help guide daily reflections. With extracts from a range of inspirational writers and theologians, including Desmond Tutu, Sheila Cassidy and Rowan Williams, 'The Little Book of Lent' guides you to deepen your prayer life in anticipation of Easter. This book can be read on your own or with others, used either for self-reflection or to spark discussion and share insights on God's truths. This edition would be perfect on which to base a Lent course or to use as a talking point for home groups. Whether or not you choose to read the extracts multiple times or once straight through, Howells' latest work will lead you to new heights in your Christian journey and personal walk with God. It is the ideal gift for friends, family or anyone else preparing themselves for the sacrifices of Lent.

This thought-provoking book explores medieval perceptions of pilgrimage, gender and space. It examines real life evidence for the widespread presence of women pilgrims, as well as secular and literary texts concerning pilgrimage and women pilgrims represented in the visual arts. Women pilgrims were inextricably linked with sexuality and their presence on the pilgrimage trails was viewed as tainting sacred space.

Reflections, meditations, prayers and liturgies for Holy Week following the journey of Jesus from Palm Sunday to Easter Day. A book which affirms that, even in the darkness of betrayal and denial and death, we can rise up and live different lives: where the justice, peace and love poured out in Christ's life can be resurrected in our own. You stepped gently on the earth, O Christ of all; and you treat gently all those who come your way - Call us down into the world you love and put us to work. Call us down into the streets you walk and have our footsteps keep to yours. Call us down into the places where you are needed and make us your body.

Pam Rhodes is a passionate advocate for our heritage of splendid hymns. Hymns, she explains, help us respond to God: they are "prayers in our pockets". With her warm personal touch she describes how these hymns came to be written, and considers the perceptions they contain. This book is a treasury of fascinating detail, but it is also a source of devotion: as you consider each hymn and the story behind it you will be drawn into worship. Each reflection concludes with a short prayer.

Written as the First World War was finally drawing to a close, A. Clutton-Brock's reflections on the Kingdom of Heaven examine this challenging theological concept in light of the great religious, political and moral uncertainties thrown up by the conflict. In particular, Clutton-Brock contends that historically Christian orthodoxy has not sufficiently emphasised the role of the Kingdom in salvation, given its importance in the ministry and teaching of Christ. To preserve a religious vision capable of interacting with the modern, industrial world, Christian orthodoxy must carefully consider the scope and importance of political practice, the role of the individual in the realisation of the Kingdom, and the profound implications of reconciling the facts of the universe with the most sincerely held beliefs.

This book explores the way in which liturgy can be used effectively in all-age communication. It is also a comprehensive practical resource - containing 12 complete all-age worship outlines for use throughout the year.

* Reflections follow the practices of The Way of Love-Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, Rest * Each devotion includes a passage of scripture, a story, and reflection questions * Perfect during Lent or any time of year "Living the Way of Love" offers forty brief reflections about the seven Jesus-centered practices identified by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry in "The Way of Love" initiative. Sullivan tells stories from her own and others' experiences as a starting point for discussion about how to seek and find a deeper connection to God. Rotating through each practice so that each is covered once a week, going deeper into the practice throughout the forty days, each reflection ends with questions designed to spur further discussion and assist readers in making the practices their own. Perfect for using as a Lenten devotional or at any time of the year, the book includes a guide for creating a personal rule of life, and a downloadable Facilitator's Guide.

Prayer That Gets ResultsPrayer is the Christian's lifeline to God, and with it lives are changed for eternity! E. M. Bounds knew the secrets of prayer and that God has established divine principles and promises for our every need. He reveals these principles and illustrates how God has answered the prayers of men and women since the beginning of Bible times. He also uncovers how you can...* Have direct communication with God* Maintain a prayer life that produces results* Overcome Satan and his hold on prayer* Obtain all that God has for you* Discover all the possibilities of prayerSince the time of the apostles, no man besides E. M. Bounds has left such a rich inheritance of biblical research into the life of prayer. Here are teachings that form the only effective barrier against the powers of evil that prevail throughout the present world. Through his writings, you will discover how you can have a totally effective prayer life and how you can know the fullness of divine power."Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."--John 16:24

The Anastenaria are Orthodox Christians in Northern Greece who observe a unique annual ritual cycle focused on two festivals, dedicated to Saint Constantine and Saint Helen. The festivals involve processions, music, dancing, animal sacrifices, and culminate in an electrifying fire-walking ritual. Carrying the sacred icons of the saints, participants dance over hot coals as the saint moves them. 'The Burning Saints' presents an analysis of these rituals and the psychology behind them. Based on long-term fieldwork, 'The Burning Saints' traces the historical development and sociocultural context of the Greek fire-walking rituals. As a cognitive ethnography, the book aims to identify the social, psychological and neurobiological factors which may be involved and to explore the role of emotional and physiological arousal in the performance of such ritual. A study of participation, experience and meaning, 'The Burning Saints' presents a highly original analysis of how mental processes can shape social and religious behaviour.

""Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world "" (John 1:29)
No work of modern literature can usher you so powerfully and intimately into the Savior's heart like "The Day I Was Crucified."
Master storyteller, Gene Edwards (author of Divine Romance) recounts the harrowing scene of Calvary as if the crucifixion narrative was being told by Jesus Himself.
In this book, you will... Encounter the depths of God's unfathomable love as you walk side by side with Jesus during His final moments on Earth. Live in new levels of thankfulness as you come face to face with the full measure of what Jesus carried to the Cross on your behalf. Take an unforgettable journey, where the heartache of the Cross and victory of the Resurrection have never been more real to you. Step into history's most powerful and defining moment as you gaze upon the Lamb of God with new eyes.

A beautifully written, theologically astute Advent study that focuses on the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth.

In Exclusion and Judgment in Fellowship Meals, Lanuwabang Jamir seeks to demonstrate that the tradition of fellowship meals in the ancient world form the background against which the Lord's Supper must be understood. Similarly, the basis of Paul's response to the situation in Corinth and his theology of the Lord's Supper is to be found in these traditions. The role of the fellowship meal in Greco-Roman and Jewish culture indicate that it was an important institution that played a pivotal role in the functioning of society. Judgment was an integral part of the fellowship meal traditions and it made such meal practices all the more significant in ancient cultures. For example, Jamir reveals that social-economic factors were only part of the problem in Corinth, where differences in ideology were the underlying cause of divisions in the church. Paul's response to the problem shows that he upheld the fellowship meal traditions, linking sickness and death with the abuse of the Lord's Supper. The concept of judgment in the Lord's Supper, while based on the fellowship meal traditions, has been redefined in the light of the Gospel tradition.

A few selected cases of visions and apparitions are detected and analyzed, including personal interviews with some of the witnesses. Of special interest is the final third of the book: the transposition of medieval and early modern representations of the relations between humans and the divine into the modern art of photography. Christian presents a pictorial examination of the phenomenon, commenting a large number of images, including commercial postcards and family photographs from the first half of past century Europe.

* All the most exciting readings - in all three years - come from the Gospel of John

This book of daily Bible readings and reflections for Advent and Christmas is based around spiritual insights gleaned from some of the best-loved poets of the past - T.S. Eliot, George Herbert, Tennyson and Auden, among others. While they come from different ages and backgrounds, they wrestled with the same questions that we do, about God, love, hope, and suffering. This book is not a literary study of their work, but a quest to see what they can tell us about life and faith today. Their poems are quoted in short sections, with suggestions about what they might mean for us now. There are so many aspects of God's love for us and ours for him that are hard to grasp. While we can glimpse only part of the picture, it often seems that, in poetry, our deepest yearnings can come to the surface. As we travel the road to Christmas in the company of these great poets, we will find our minds enlarged and our hearts touched with something of the wonder and joy of this special season. The Bible readings are drawn from the lectionary.

Comparative studies of medieval chant traditions in western Europe, Byzantium and the Slavic nations illuminate music, literacy and culture. Gregorian chant was the dominant liturgical music of the medieval period, from the time it was adopted by Charlemagne's court in the eighth century; but for centuries afterwards it competed with other musical traditions, local repertories from the great centres of Rome, Milan, Ravenna, Benevento, Toledo, Constantinople, Jerusalem, and Kievan Rus, and comparative study of these chant traditions can tell us much about music, liturgy, literacy and culture a thousand years ago. This is the first book-length work to look at the issues in a global, comprehensive way, in the manner of the work of Kenneth Levy, the leading exponent of comparative chant studies. It covers the four most fruitful approaches for investigators: the creation and transmission of chant texts, based on the psalms and other sources, and their assemblage into liturgical books; the analysis and comparison of musical modes and scales; the usesof neumatic notation for writing down melodies, and the differences wrought by developmental changes and notational reforms over the centuries; and the use of case studies, in which the many variations in a specific text or melodyare traced over time and geographical distance. The book is therefore of profound importance for historians of medieval music or religion - Western, Byzantine, or Slavonic - and for anyone interested in issues of orality and writing in the transmission of culture. PETER JEFFERY is Professor of Music History, Princeton University. Contributors: JAMES W. McKINNON, MARGOT FASSLER, MICHEL HUGLO, NICOLAS SCHIDLOVSKY, KEITH FALCONER, PETER JEFFERY, DAVID G.HUGHES, SYSSE GUDRUN ENGBERG, CHARLES M. ATKINSON, MILOS VELIMIROVIC, JORGEN RAASTED+, RUTH STEINER, DIMITRIJE STEFANOVIC, ALEJANDRO PLANCHART.

Analysis of Latin sacred music written during the century illustrates the rapid and marked change in style and sophistication. Winner of the 2007 AMS Robert M. Stevenson prize The arrival of Francisco de Penalosa at the Aragonese court in May 1498 marks something of an epoch in the history of Spanish music: Penalosa wrote in a mature, northern-oriented style, and his sacred music influenced Iberian composers for generations after his death. Kenneth Kreitner looks at the church music sung by Spaniards in the decades before Penalosa, a repertory that has long been ignoredbecause much of it is anonymous and because it is scattered through manuscripts better known for something else. He identifies sixty-seven pieces of surviving Latin sacred music that were written in Spain between 1400 and the early 1500s, and he discusses them source by source, revealing the rapid and dramatic change, not only in the style and sophistication of these pieces, but in the level of composerly self-consciousness shown in the manuscripts. Withina generation or so at the end of the fifteenth century, Spanish musicians created a new national music just as Ferdinand and Isabella were creating a new nation. KENNETH KREITNER teaches at the University of Memphis.

Drawing on the riches of the Celtic tradition, a look at seven traditional sacred spaces and their meaning in our own lives There are many books that explore actual, physical, sacred space and pilgrimage sites. This is a different kind of book. It introduces seven traditional "sacred spaces" but then leads readers into a deeper reflection on what such "sacred space" means in our own lives and experience. The various sacred spaces explored are: the Celtic Cross; the infinite knot; hilltops; wells and springs; causeways and bridges; thresholds and burial grounds; and boundaries. In each chapter, the author introduces a "sacred space" as the main theme and then illustrates this by associating it with a particular stage of life and a particular sacramental experience. The ideas are then brought together by means of a scripture story.

Paul Bradshaw, one of the world's foremost scholars on the history of Christian liturgy, has shared this expertise in several works that have become standard texts for students of liturgy. In Rites of Ordination, Bradshaw turns his attention to the ways that Christians through the ages have understood what it means to ordain someone as a minister and how that has been expressed in liturgical practice. Bradshaw considers the typological background to ordained ministry some have drawn from the Old Testament and what ministry meant to the earliest Christian communities. He explores the ordination rites and theology of the early church, the Christian East, the medieval West, the churches of the Reformation, and the post-Tridentine Roman Catholic Church.

What would it look like if women built a lectionary focusing on women's stories? What does it look like to tell the good news through the stories of women who are often on the margins of scripture and often set up to represent bad news? How would a lectionary centering women's stories, chosen with womanist and feminist commitments in mind, frame the presentation of the scriptures for proclamation and teaching? The scriptures are androcentric, male-focused, as is the lectionary that is dependent upon them. As a result, many congregants know only the biblical men's stories told in the Sunday lectionary read in their churches. A more expansive, more inclusive lectionary will remedy that by introducing readers and hearers of scripture to "women's stories" in the scriptures. A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church, when completed, will be a three-year lectionary accompanied by a stand-alone single year lectionary, Year W, that covers all four gospels.

This is the first comprehensive and up-to-date account of the internal arrangement of church buildings in Western Europe between 1500 and 2000, showing how these arrangements have met the liturgical needs of their respective denominations, Catholic and Protestant, over this period. In addition to a chapter looking at the general impact of the Reformation on church buildings, there are separate chapters on the churches of the Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican and Roman Catholic traditions between the mid-sixteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries, and on the ecclesiological movement of the nineteenth century and the liturgical movement of the twentieth century, both of which have impacted on all the churches of Western Europe over the past 150 years. The book is extensively illustrated with figures in the text and a series of plates and also contains comprehensive guides to both further reading and buildings to visit throughout Western Europe.

"Gertrud Nelson has written a book on ritual that is one of a kind. Her exquisitely written volume covers the history, psychology and spirituality of ritual in general and Christian ritual in particular. Enlivened by pithy and insightful examples, many of them drawn from her own family life, Ms. Nelson penetrates to the heart of the meaning of ritual and ceremony in a fresh way. She manages to escape the trap of many writers on this subject-superficial piety-and makes relevant for the modern reader the importance of ritual for connecting us to the meaning and flow of life. I would not have thought in today's rationalistic age that the ceremonies of life could be made vital again as cogently and splendidly as has been don in this book. Sometimes even single sentences speak volumes: 'It is Advent, and we, a people, are pregnant.' This is a book to be read carefully, perhaps only a few pages a day. Reading the book can become a ritual, especially for Christian people to whom it is primarily addressed. Beautiful illustrations by the author add to the expressiveness of this carefully composed work. This book may prove to be a classic treatment of the meaning of ritual for this modern era." -John Sanford