Four complete Christmas services:
- Christmas Play With Drama And Service Of Lights
- Christmas Service Based On Traditions And Carols From Around The World
- Christmas Service In Monologues And Carols
- Christmas Service Of Scriptures, Traditions, And Carols
These inspiring services are easy for any size church to prepare and present. Each one offers a unique and different approach.
Gail Gaymer Martin has a Bachelor of Science degree in Education, majoring in English and Speech Performance, and a Masters degree in Educational Guidance and Counseling from Wayne State University in Detroit. She is a high school guidance counselor. She has written news and feature articles for professional publications and has been active for many years in worship planning and choral music. Gail sings with two professional choral ensembles. She is a script writer for puppet ministries and has written and directed numerous successful musical comedy productions used in fund-raising programs. Her poetry has been widely published.

-- An exposition of the meaning of the Trinity for worship, baptism, the Lord's supper and language for God.
-- Firmly rooted in Scripture and warm-heartedly pastoral while masterfully theological.
-- Points to the "who" of worship, not the "how".

Here Is a Book That Sets Our Worship, sacraments, communion and language of God back on track. In a day when refinement of method and quality of experience are the guiding lights for many Christians, James Torrance points us to the indispensable "who" of worship, the triune God of grace. "Worship is the gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son's communion with the Father", writes Torrance.

This book explodes the notion that the doctrine of the Trinity may be indispensable for the creed but remote from life and worship. Firmly rooted in Scripture and theology, alive with pastoral counsel and anecdote, Torrance's work shows us just why real trinitarian theology is the very fiber of Christian confession.

"Dallas Brauninger offers all who plan Sunday services of worship rich varieties of uses of one lectionary passage for every Sunday: a variety of voices and groupings of voices, and a variety of settings within the service of worship itself, from calls to worship to benedictions. Each arrangement can help worshipers hear the Word of God with new appreciation."
Arthur M. Field
Editor, "These Days"
"In The Beginning Was The Word" allows every person of whatever age who can read and speak to become a leader in worship.
The clear, ringing voice of children, and the aging voices of older members help make Sunday worship part of everyone's joy.
Dallas Brauninger takes one lectionary reading for each Sunday and other special days in the life of the church and develops it into a choral reading.
Readings are based on the New Revised Standard Version texts and the Revised Common Lectionary texts.
This is part of a three-book cycle on lectionary readings.
Dallas A. Brauninger, a graduate of Albion College, received her master of divinity degree and an honorary doctor of divinity degree from the Chicago Theological Seminary. A full-time writer, Brauninger has served churches in Colorado and Nebraska. She and her husband, also an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, live in West Point, Nebraska.

Liturgy, which literally means "the work of the people," sums up all the ways people have responded to God, including hymns, prayers, laments, invocations, and confessions of faith.
"The Liturgical Witness Of The New Testament" contemporizes and brings to life these various forms of worship as the author draws unique canticles, prayers, hymns, and responsive petitions from the books of the New Testament. Each New Testament book is allowed to speak with its own voice. For example, the service based on Luke gives voice to the gospel by the use of four canticles (psalms), and Luke's own version of the Words of Institution and his truncated version of the Lord's Prayer are included.
Also included are a helpful index listing the worship services according to their use in the lectionary and ten sermons for use with these liturgies.
Contents include:
- Through The Desert Clear A Highway -- The Liturgical Witness Of Luke
- One Lord, One Body -- The Liturgical Witness Of The Corinthian Letters
- Lordship And Unity -- The Liturgical Witness Of Colossians
- God Is Love -- The Liturgical Witness Of First John
- Worthy The Lamb -- The Liturgical Witness Of Revelation
Charles M. Mountain received a Master of Arts in Music degree from California State University, a Master of Divinity degree from Luther-Northwestern Theological Seminary, and has engaged in graduate work in Hispanic Ministries in Denver, Colorado. He has written, produced, and hosted various radio shows in Colorado and South Dakota, providing commentary for classical music. His articles have been widely published and he has authored three previous books, including "We Have Beheld His Glory "(CSS Publishing) and "New Testament Scriptures For Singing" (Fairway Press). A freelance violinist in the greater Denver area, he is married to Dr. Jane Mountain, a family practice physician.

Inspiring stories of Padre Pio's miracles, clairvoyance and bi-location.
Capuchin monk and spiritual leader, Padre Pio (1887-1968), is known and venerated throughout the world. Drawn by his stigmata (bodily wounds similar to those of the crucified Christ) and by his extraordinary powers of spiritual and physical healing, literally millions of people have made their way to his little monastery in Italy from every corner of the globe.
"Tales of Padre Pio" is a collection of first-hand accounts of various meetings with this humble and holy friar. Driven by curiosity and a bit of skepticism, the author first sought out Padre Pio some forty years ago and soon became a fervent disciple. Convinced of the man's saintliness, he remained a close confidant until Pio's death. As fascinating and inspiring as these stories are, they represent just a small portion of the countless miracles attributed to Pio. "The full extent of his authentic miracles will, however, never be known," the author reminds us. "But the example and spiritual splendor of his life," McCaffery continues, "is there for all to see. And that life, his attributes, and those works which we know constitute a tremendous rebuttal of all the blind and stupidly presumptuous godlessness of our present age."
This book is a most distinguished addition to the Image line and will be warmly welcomed for the spiritual riches it contains. In addition, students of ESP and mystical phenomena will find "Tales of Padre Pio" especially provocative, stimulating, and truly captivating.

A riveting work reflecting on the characteristics of Gregorian chant that have attracted the attention of so many: its permanence, beauty, and history, as well as its liturgical, sacred, and philosophical qualities.

This book offers 30 meditations and complete orders of worship for use by clergy or lay persons at retirement centers.
In addition to 26 topically based services, this volume features worship outlines for Easter, communion, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Each service includes and opening prayer, suggested scripture, hymns, easy-to-present meditations, and appropriate closings.
Worship themes include:
- If We Are Dreamers
- The Best Surprises
- The Larger Design For Living
"As a minister with 56 years of experience, the last 15 of which I have spent ministering to and living with older persons, how I wish a volume such as Chaplain Lewis' When It's Twilight Time had been available to me
The themes he has selected, and the manner in which he has organized them; his choice of hymns, prayers, scripture readings, and other worship helps; and his appropriate and timely illustrations reveal a keen insight into the interests and needs of older persons and those who work with them."
Rev. W. Darwin Andrus
San Antonio, TX
Clement E. Lewis has served as chaplain at Morningside Meadows, an ecumenically sponsored retirement community in San Antonio, Texas, since 1982. He is a graduate of Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas, and previously served as pastor of churches in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.

Worship must be directly connected to our daily lives," writes George A. Nye. "It must address our fears, our hopes, even our indifferences."
"Old Wine In New Skins" provides pastors many resources to make the connection. These include 66 calls to worship, 13 preparations for pastoral prayers, and 52 reflections.
Calls to worship categories include:
- With praise and celebration
- Using traditional hymns and praise hymns
- Relating to a story
- With a commitment theme
- Involving personal preparation
- By season
A preparation for pastoral prayer section helps pastors broaden a congregation's understanding of how to approach God in prayer. Thirteen "preparations" are provided, including one for Advent-Christmas.
Fifty-two short reflections cover eight major themes for countless pastoral uses. These are easily adopted for mini-devotions, sermon illustrations, and newsletter meditations.
George A. Nye, Medford, Oregon, is senior pastor of the Eastwood Baptist Church. He graduated from Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, and holds a master's of divinity degree from American Baptist Seminary of the West, Berkeley, California. He has pastored churches in Washington, Idaho, Utah, and Oregon.

These seventeen original and innovative studies reinterpret the social and institutional development of the Archdiocese of Toronto. Beginning with the arrival of Irish Catholic immigrants in the 1820s and concluding with the Archdiocese's burgeoning ethnic mosaic of the present day, this volume examines the evolution of lay confraternities, clerical formation and discipline, religous education, immigrant adjustment, the life and contribution of women's religious orders, the Catholic response to conscription during World War I and the fascism during World War II, and the Catholic struggle for social justice amidst Toronto's rapid industrial growth. Throughout, we witness the exciting interplay beween the Archdiocese's Catholics and their increasingly secularized environment.

"Death took me. I found myself in an empty, dark void. I don't remember anything of it, just emptiness. Then I heard his voice, "Lazarus, come out " Jesus called me from death to life. Struggling through the darkness, I came out of my tomb." (from Lazarus' personal confession)
Using the theme "confessions" this resource offers 12 worship options to enhance your congregation's Holy Week and Easter journey.
The journey begins with a Palm Sunday worship service and the confession of Lazarus. Resources are also offered for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and various Saturday and Sunday services.
Two communion services for Easter Sunday and an Easter message, "The Sun Has Risen, Behold -- The Risen Son " conclude the series.
Stephen and Cynthia Cowen, Escanaba, Michigan, have worked together to develop many creative worship resources for their congregations. The husband-wife team is active in the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Cynthia is author of many CSS books. This is the first CSS book jointly authored by the couple.

A blend of case history, anecdote, history, and spiritual quest, this intimate and fascinating look at the world's oldest and most reclusive monastic order provides a rare understanding of day-to-day Trappist existence.

Shalom means much more than prosperity, more than a sense of well-being, and more than quiet and calmness. It is more than the absence of stress and much more than peace. It is a peace that surpasses understanding; it is a promised gift. This book of eloquent poems, monologues, and worship resources is about the search for shalom.

"Kenneth Burcham... gives abundant information about the background of worship forms. He helps readers approach the parts of a worship service with a good sense of interpretation and meaning. I recommend its use with classes of lay people who are interested in growth in their spirit."
Harriet Miller, Administrator
First United Methodist Church
Dayton, Ohio
"The Wings of Worship" is an excellent introductory study course for congregations to gain a greater understanding of the people's role in public worship.
Ten sessions are offered in the course with each focusing on a different element of worship. Discussion questions conclude each session.
Topics include:
- Traditional worship
- Liturgical year
- Tools of worship
- Sacraments
- Rituals and celebrations
- Creeds and prayers
The book includes evaluation forms, a questionnaire on worship, and a bibliography section.
Kenneth R. Burcham is pastor of the United Methodist Church, West College Corner, Indiana. He is a graduate of Ball State University. Asbury Theological Seminary and United Theological Seminary. This is his first book published by CSS.

"At last A practical planning tool for use by those responsible for implementing corporate worship There's just enough information to get you in the mood of each liturgical season, then lots and lots of suggestions for creative and exciting worship."
Fred S. Mortensen, Pastor
Education Advent Lutheran Church, Boca Raton, Florida
"This is a carefully planned presentation that offers the liturgist a concise way of journaling through the seasons, keeping record of hymns, lessons, prayers, and themes each year. The special notes allow for "food for thought.""
Hannah M. Howe
Associate Pastor United Congregational Church, Tolland, Connecticut
"My Worship Planner And Organizer" is the best friend of the pastor, organist, church secretary, choir director, and worship committee when it comes to keeping worship records and reference.
Its focus is Sunday worship. Each Sunday has two pages available for taking notes and reference.
You will find Sunday by Sunday:
- Cycle A, B, and C, gospel, first and second lesson lectionary text listings for Revised Common, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic.
- Countless hymn possibilities based on the lectionary.
- Invaluable liturgical information, at your fingertips.
You may record Sunday by Sunday (for three years):
- Hymns used
- Special music
- Sermon titles
- Attendance
- Special notations for any Sunday
Gloria M. Meurant is a Lutheran layperson residing in Delray Beach, Florida.

The Psalms are wonderful sources of encouragement, enlightenment, and strength. This series explores the Psalms for Cycle C of the Common Lectionary using New Revised Standard Version of the Bible texts.
Each meditation is in three parts. First is the Psalm itself. Second is the alternate image, offering readers new insights to stimulate their vision of the Psalms. Third is the reflection section, offering a short analysis and comment on the passage.
"Aids to the Psalms" is appropriate for liturgical aids, Sermon starters, personal and group meditation, and Christian education.
Among the Psalms of Cycle C are:
- Psalm 8 -- O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth.
- Psalm 23 -- The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
- Psalm 51 -- Have mercy on me, O God.
- Psalm 100 -- Make a joyful noise to the Lord.
This is part of a three-book set on exploring the message of the Psalms.
Hugh H. Drennan is a Presbyterian minister serving in the Oakland-Cambridge Presbyterian Church in Cambridge, Wisconsin. He is a graduate of the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa.

Mead takes a broad look at past and present changes in the church, and postulates a future to which those changes are calling us. Denominations, once structured to deliver resources to far-off lands of foreign mission, now encounter the mission field in the layperson's workplace and the community surrounding the local congregation. Thus, the church is called to reinvention for this new mission frontier

This resource will help pastors and visitors in their ministry with the sick and the dying. It is designed for use by any person, ordained or lay, who is engaged in any ministry of care.

The Presbyterian Supplemental Liturgical Resource (SLT) series includes liturgies that were used on a trial basis in preparation for the development of the "Book of Common Worship." Though superseded by the "Book of Common Worship," SLR resources remain valuable, both for the variety of liturgical texts they contain and for the commentary on the text, which contains rich historical, theological, and practical background.

Lent is a time when many Christians approach the cross. This Lenten series approaches the cross from many different directions.
Author Cynthia E. Cowen explores the cross with meditations and orders of service for Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter vigil, and Easter sunrise.
Themes in the series include:
- The cross of repentance
- The cross of salvation
- The cross of destiny
- The cross of commitment
- Crossroads (Easter vigil)
- What's on your Easter menu? (Easter sunrise)
A communion service is provided in the Ash Wednesday order of service.
Cynthia E. Cowen is a resource person for youth, women and clergy/lay ministers. She is mission growth chairperson of the Synodical women's Organization of the Northern Great Lakes synod of women of the ELCA. She is a graduate of Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan.

Here is a fresh library of resources to help the busy pastor or worship planner prepare for the season of Lent and for Easter Day. Included are orders of worship, model homilies, scripture and hymn suggestions, and historical and theological reflections for:
- Ash Wednesday
- The Lenten Season
- Palm Sunday
- Maundy Thursday
- Good Friday
- Easter Vigil
- Easter Day
Complete sermons are provided for Ash Wednesday, Lent, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Day. Copying privileges are included, so that the original purchaser may duplicate any resource in this book which would prove useful in worship planning in the local setting.
Gary Houston is a United Methodist clergyperson with a prior ordination in the Episcopal Church. He holds a Ph.D. in Tibetan Studies. This unusual background combined with a rural Southern Indiana pedigree flavors all of his books. His other publications include "The Cross and the Lotus "(editor), "Wings of the White Crane," "The Bsam-yas Debate," "Cowherding Christians" (CSS), and "Six Presents From God" (CSS).

For those outside the cloister Norvene Vest sets the elements of the Rule 'regular prayer and prayerful attention to work 'within the silence which enables us to listen to, reflect on, and respond to God's cal.

Thousands of Lutheran pastors, worship planners, parish organists, and music directors have already found "Scriptural And Topical Indices To LBW " by Paul E. Schuessler, Thomas R. Bartsch, and David P. Rebeck to be an invaluable planning tool for weekly services and special events.
Now, users of the Lutheran three-year lectionary will want to add this companion volume, "Lectionary Indices To LBW," to their worship libraries.
Compiled by a Lutheran parish organist, this index is a thorough guide to LBW hymns for each scripture selection in the three-year lectionary. Listed are hymns for all three cycles (A, B, and C) -- including the First Lesson, Second Lesson, Gospel, Psalm, Verse, and Offertory for each week. Hymns are listed by number and title (making this resource useful to many who do not use the LBW, as well), and are arranged chronologically by Sunday for each lectionary year.
If you already have a copy of "Scriptural And Topical Indices To LBW," you will want to make a space on your bookshelf for "Lectionary Indices To LBW." (If you don't have either, you will want to make a space for both )
Until her death, Margy M. Nelson was organist for Swedesburg Lutheran Church, Swedesburg, Iowa. She attended the University of Iowa and Iowa Wesleyan College.

Worship ought to be the exclamation point of Christian experience. Given the regularity with which it is shared, however, and the sameness that its practice inevitably takes, fresh approaches are a constant need.
This planning resource addresses the need for new ideas in a familiar setting. Wayne Keller has provided a parade of creative alternatives to liturgy, music, preaching and prayer.
Based on the liturgical worship days on the Cycle C lectionary calendar, these resources can enrich worship in congregations whether liturgical or free. A pastor and worship planning team can use the material every week or choose to use it sparingly. A helpful worship planner page follows each Sunday's resources.
A hands-on appendix by Warren S. Satterlee II offers practical help for the creation of worship banners for the congregation.
Wayne H. Keller is pastor of Trinity United Presbyterian Church, Sedro Wolley, Washington. He has throughout his parish ministry self-consciously endeavored to make the worship experience a lively and meaningful event. He indicates that his teenage son never reported to have been bored at worship when his father was presiding. Wayne Keller is also a regular contributing columnist for "Rite Ideas," a monthly worship resource letter published by CSS Publishing Company.
Warren S. Satterlee II is an active lay member of Grace United Methodist Church, Arlington, Texas. His artistic work has recently included teaching art concepts, custom designing, logo designing, banner and visual fabrication, and work in print making.

Relate the themes of scripture to the everyday concerns of modern life with this collection of penetrating prayers written in an informal, personal style. The first-person language encourages individual accountability while affirming our common sins and the sense of community upon which Christian worship is built. Based on lectionary scripture passages, there are original prayers of confession for each Sunday plus several special days in the church year.
Whether read aloud or contemplated silently, these tried and proven prayers will add a freshly honest, contemporary texture to your Sunday morning worship -- or provide meaningful insight for Bible study classes and personal devotions.
"Wade's work reflects a keen and well-grounded theological awareness, a sensitivity to the real-life issues we face, and powerful, daring language that makes available to us the possibility of faithfulness and liveliness in worship. This book of prayers may help the church (and its pastors) refocus so that we can re-engage our mission."
Walter Brueggemann
William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament
Columbia Theological Seminary
"Real feeling, common guilt, cosmic sin, and personal failure are given expression in these prayers of confession that define the human quest for wholeness in God's presence. Worship is enlivened as personal prayers become common prayer."
George W. Otto
Former Executive Director
United Church of Christ Stewardship Council
David L. Wade is a United Church of Christ pastor who has served congregations in Wyoming and Indiana. He also spent more than a decade as an ecumenical campus minister at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.

Convenient and user-friendly, this one-volume guide provides resources for the entire three-year lectionary cycle, including midweek festival days. Brief comments on each of the three daily biblical texts identify themes for the day, musical settings for the appointed psalm are offered, organ music appropriate for the day is suggested, anthems for the day are graded according to difficulty, and hymns of the day are keyed to several hymnals. Pastors, music leaders, and worship committees will find much practical assistance for worship planning in the "Handbook for the Common Lectionary."

Over 100 responsive prayers are included in this useful resource. They may be used either as beginning "Calls to Worship" or at another place within the service. The author has organized the material in eight categories:
- Christ's Life
- The Holy Spirit
- Christian Values
- Consecration
- The Christian Life
- Gratitude and Praise
- The Church
- Special Occasions
By using one prayer each week, a congregation will have a new prayer for each worship service for two entire years.
Linda J. Werman is a Christian laywoman, active church participant, and freelance writer living in Ashland, Ohio.