Tried-and-tested collection of creative resources for the Church's year

The book gives an account of various movements in art and their relation to the visual and in churches and in liturgy, for example the Franciscan movement, different approaches to the crucifixion, and the restoration of creation. It recovers the links between the cross and creation, and relates the baptismal covenant to a commitment to care for creation.

What does it really mean to "proclaim the good news of God in Christ" and to "continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers?" These promises from the baptismal rite of the Book of Common Prayer have become very familiar to most Episcopalians, but they have yet to be fully lived out in most congregations. In this lively and accessible guide, Clayton Morris argues that everyone present on Sunday mornings has a ministry of hospitality, coming together in a proclamation of welcome to all.

Catechesis for Infant Baptism will help parishes design a catechetical process for the formation of a ministry team to share "our common treasure" of faith with parents preparing for their infant's baptism. This book is for pastors, pastoral staff, liturgists, DREs, and all those who prepare catechists to engage in this ministry. Ellen Marie Collins employs primary symbols, the Lectionary and prayer texts for infant baptism to offer a process for deepening the catechists' understanding of the Rite of Infant Baptism and to help them as they share their faith as a baptismal ministry team.

The second part of the book turns intriguingly to a number of less obvious topics. The author considers what it means to be a serious reader and how literature can enable us to discover more about ourselves; he probes the spiritual dimension of music and its power to speak to deep human longings; he offers valuable insights into the significance of the human emotions in relation to our wellbeing and moral imagination and, finally, a personal testimony to the place and significance of silence in matters of faith and our human journey.

In the wake of recent papal legislation, the various liturgies of the Roman Rite may today be celebrated in either their post-Tridentine or post-Vatican II forms. Whilst much discussion of this new situation focuses on purely liturgical issues, this book breaks new ground by arguing that the coexistence of the two forms raises questions of a profoundly ecclesiological character. Peter McGrail explores the relationship between ritual form, ecclesial self- understanding and constructs of the world that are at play as adults become members of the Church. Analysing the rites by which adults were taken into the Church for three and a half centuries, this book goes on to explore attempts to find a new ritual expression for the journey to Christian Initiation, set against the divergent and even conflicting ecclesiologies which were at play before and during the Council.

With the twelve-volume series Feasting on the Word, Westminster John Knox Press offers one of the most extensive and well-respected resources for preaching on the market today. When complete, the twelve volumes will cover all of the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with moveable occasions.The page layout is truly unique. For each lectionary text, preachers will find brief essaysA--one each on the exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homiletical challenges of the text. Each volume will also contain an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers may make use of its contents. The printed volumes for Ordinary Time include the complementary stream during Year A, the complementary stream during the first half of Year B, the semicontinuous stream during the second half of Year B, and the semicontinuous stream during Year C. Beginning with the season after Pentecost in Year C, the alternate lections for Ordinary Time not in the print volumes will be available online at feastingontheword.net.

Eyes to See: The Redemptive Purpose of Icons offers the discovery of life-giving spiritual insights found through learning to read the language of religious icons. Written especially for those whose traditions have not included icons, this book introduces eight icons written (painted) by the author. Historical notes, explanation of symbolism, related scriptures for interpretation, and a reflection for each icon deepens understanding and appreciation for the ancient holy images of the Church. The book is eight chapters in length, each describing one of the eight full-color icon plates in the insert. Written by a Protestant for a non-Orthodox readership Includes full-color images of eight icons Strong potential for group study

This former Deputy Warden of Iona Abbey presents a selection of the liturgies she wrote for worship there which aim to stimulate a rediscovery of God in everyday life. As well as exploring aspects of creativity in worship design, she also provides numerous poetic reflections, stories and duologue's designed for people of different ages and backgrounds. This work is ideal for churches wanting to discover fresh insights into the Gospels as well as for individual reflection, prayer and meditation.

This book examines the historical development of the blessing of waters and its theology in the East, with an emphasis on the Byzantine tradition. Exploring how Eastern Christians have sought these waters as a source of healing, purification, and communion with God, Denysenko unpacks their euchology and ritual context. The history and theology of the blessing of waters on Epiphany is informative for contemporary theologians, historians, pastors and students. Offering important insights into how Christians renew Baptism in receiving the blessed waters, this book also proposes new perspectives for theologizing Christian stewardship of ecology in the modern era based on a patristic liturgical synthesis. Denysenko presents an alternative framework for understanding the activity of the Trinity, enabling readers to encounter a vision of how participants encounter God in and after ritual.

What is the point of the Lectionary? What are the problems and opportunities that it presents to those who use it? What are its strengths and weaknesses as an aid to worship? How can it be used and communicated most effectively today? These are among the key questions that Thomas O'Loughlin explores in this stimulating and much-needed guide.

This tried and test collection is a must for anyone leading intercessions in the Church of England. It provides prayers for every Sunday, Holy Day and Festival, Years A, B and C that can be easily adapted to local contexts. The prayers reflect the Bible readings of the day, creating a more integrated act of worship. This expanded edition also contains forms of intercession for numerous extra occasions: * Principal Feasts - e.g. The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, the Transfiguration * Other Holy Days - e.g. The Birth of John the Baptist, Holy Cross Day * Red Letter Saints' Days * Pastoral occasions in the context of a Eucharist - baptism, confirmation, marriage, funeral, healing service, Remembrance * Installation of a new incumbent A trusted liturgical resource for many years, regularly used in hundreds of parishes, this continues to be the essential handbook for Lectionary-based intercessions.

What Roger Ferlo did for the Bible in Opening the Bible, volume 2 of The New Church s Teaching Series, Jeffrey Lee now does for the prayer book in volume 7 of the series. Opening the Prayer Book introduces us to the history and liturgies of The Book of Common Prayer, and helps us understand why the prayer book is such an important aspect of Anglican self-understanding. Lee begins with the fundamental question, What is common prayer? He explores some of the ways in which our worship according to The Book of Common Prayer affects who we are as a church, and the way it shapes our lives of faith. In chapter 2 Lee turns to the development of patterns of liturgy from the time of Jesus to the Reformation, tracing changes in the primary liturgies of baptism, eucharist, and daily prayer. The American prayer book is the focus of chapter 3, from the earliest revisions in the new nation through the liturgical scholarship that led to the substantial theological and liturgical changes in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Chapter 4 begins a survey of the pages of the prayer book itself. Lee examines in particular the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter, baptism and eucharist, and the daily office, with a view to understanding the way the parts of the services are rooted in the historical prayers of the church and at the same time reflect the living tradition of Christians today. This theme is further developed in chapter 5, which focuses on the prayer book and our common life. Here Lee discusses questions of how a common prayer book can be responsive to a growing variety of pastoral situations and diverse cultures in a fast-changing world. The final chapter addresses the future of the prayer book within the Anglican Communion, in light of demands for further revision and for greater freedom to adapt the prayer book to local needs and beliefs. As with each book in The New Church s Teaching Series, recommended resources for further reading and questions for discussion are included.

This 2009 book provides a comprehensive historical treatment of the Latin liturgy in medieval England. Richard Pfaff constructs a history of the worship carried out in churches - cathedral, monastic, or parish - primarily through the surviving manuscripts of service books, and sets this within the context of the wider political, ecclesiastical, and cultural history of the period. The main focus is on the mass and daily office, treated both chronologically and by type, the liturgies of each religious order and each secular 'use' being studied individually. Furthermore, hagiographical and historiographical themes - respectively, which saints are prominent in a given witness and how the labors of scholars over the last century and a half have both furthered and, in some cases, impeded our understandings - are explored throughout. The book thus provides both a narrative account and a reference tool of permanent value.

This classic guide helps servers to perform with confidence and reverence, allowing the liturgy to unfold in a smooth and prayerful manner. A glossary of words and objects accompanies illustrations of vessels, linens, altar preparation, vestments, posture symbols, and examples of processions. Also contains easy-to-draw symbols that servers can use to make a diagram of their sanctuary's layout for study and practice.

'I offer Thee Every cloud that ever swept O'er the skies and broke and wept In rain, and with the flowerlets slept. My King. Each communicant praying Every angel staying Before Thy throne to sing. Adoramus Te! This extract from the ancient Irish prayer, Glorificamus Te, beautifully captures both the Celtic peoples' devotion to the Psalter, and their desire to express their love for God in every situation. There is much to gain from their approach to worship. David Adam's wonderful compilation celebrates the enduring Celtic dreams of Creation, Protection, Glory, Guidance and Praising God, through songs and poems that have enriched his own private devotions and public ministry.

An invitation to a conversation about the direction of our worship life. The Anglican colloquium of the North American Academy of Liturgy acknowledged the need for a collection of insights to aid in the liturgical formation of the Episcopal Church as we move into liturgical revision. The volume's contributions have been shaped around the clauses of resolution A068, looking at the ways in which parishes and individuals can live into this time of revision and creativity. With a shared understanding of our deepest held Christian values, the editors look forward to what the future brings for our collective worship lives and our missional lives as bearers of Christ to a troubled and broken world. This volume provides churches with tools for intelligent, cogent, accessible historical and theological conversation illuminating the way forward for the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement.

This helpful book is the first of two volumes that encourage parishes and other communities to explore the way they mark the festivals and seasons, and that offer practical advice on how to celebrate the Christian story through the Christian year. Celebrating Christ's Appearing covers the year from All Saints to Candlemas and comments on seasonal aspects of the celebration of daily prayer and Christian initiation. The second volume, Celebrating Christ's Victory, will cover the period from Ash Wednesday to Pentecost and include a number of agricultural celebrations.

The Act of Consecration of Man is the communion service of The Christian Community. In this fascinating book, experienced priest Tom Ravetz weaves together contemplations inspired by Rudolf Steiner with insightful commentary on the meaning and purpose of the ritual itself. The book will be valuable for both new worshipers and people who have been taking part in the communion service for many years.

Worship has always been affected by its surrounding culture. This book examines the changing perspectives in and discussions on worship styles and practices from the Restoration to the death of Wesley, in England and Scotland. Moving beyond the text, Spinks grounds the discussion within the changing cultural and intellectual framework of the period referred to as the Enlightenment. The focus is the end of the early modern period, when already the upheaval of the English Civil War, the methods of the Cambridge Platonists, and the thinking of Descartes and Spinoza were making the period one of transition, and Newtonian thought and the thought of John Locke impacted theological thought and worship forms. It is against this framework that the worship in England and Scotland will be described and assessed. As well as published and unpublished liturgical documents, this book draws on contemporary accounts and descriptions of worship, catechisms, sermons and theological works, and contemporary diaries. Musical and architectural changes are also noted, particularly the late seventeenth century hymns of Richard Davies of Rothwell, Joseph Stennett and Benjamin Keach. This book places worship in the society which it served, and from which changes sprang. It explores the interaction of cultural thought and worship, drawing parallels between the Enlightenment period and problems of late modernity and the worship wars of the late twentieth century.

Popes Francis, Benedict XVI, and John Paul II have called the present a time of New Evangelization for the Church and have stressed the importance of catechesis for this mission. John Paul II claimed that this renewal of the Church's mission is grounded in the teachings of the Second Vatican Council. Nevertheless, approaches to catechesis in the conciliar and postconciliar era have varied greatly, as evidenced by the shifts in catechetical practice effected by the modern catechetical movement. Just as the dominant forms of theology changed from neo-scholastic to anthropological approaches so, too, did catechesis move from catechism-based approaches to more anthropological models based upon human experience. In light of this context, Catechesis for the New Evangelization examines the theological foundations of catechesis in the Church's understanding of divine revelation and its reception by the human person, especially as found in the conciliar constitutions, Dei Verbum and Gaudium et Spes. After drawing norms on divine revelation from these documents, it traces the history of the modern catechetical movement in order to compare this history with the conciliar norms, highlighting the renewal's strengths and weaknesses. These steps prepare the way for the main part of the book: an examination of the anthropology of Karol Wojty?a/Pope John Paul II. Ultimately, his anthropology provides an understanding of the person that can unite divine revelation and human experience in a way that takes what is best from the modern catechetical movement, while developing the ministry in a way that can be fruitful for the New Evangelization. Pedraza's book is not only an incisive look at modern catechetical history and theory. It also touches upon some of the most important theological topics of the past century, including the neo-scholastic crisis, the proper interpretation of the Council, the relationship of nature and grace, and the modern understanding of the imago dei, with the research and competency appropriate for scholarly interest and the accessibility needed for educated practitioners in catechesis.

A re-evaluation of the mysterious "charms" found in Anglo-Saxon literature, arguing for their place in mainstream Christian rites. Since its inception in the nineteenth century, the genre of Anglo-Saxon charms has drawn the attention of many scholars and appealed to enthusiasts of magic, paganism, and popular religion. Their Christian nature has been widely acknowledged in recent years, but their position within mainstream liturgical traditions has not yet been fully recognised. In this book, Ciaran Arthur undertakes a wide-ranging investigation of the genre to better understand how early English ecclesiastics perceived these rituals and why they included them in manuscripts were written in high-status minsters. Evidence from the entire corpus of Old English, various surviving manuscript sources, and rich Christian theological traditions suggests that contemporary scribes and compilers did not perceive "charms" as anything other than Christian rituals that belonged to diverse, mainstream liturgical practices. The book thus challenges the notion that there was any such thing as an Anglo-Saxon "charm", and offers alternative interpretations of these texts as creative para-liturgical rituals or liturgical rites, which testify to the diversity of early medieval English Christianity. When considered in their contemporary ecclesiastical and philosophical contexts, even the most enigmatic rituals, previously dismissed as mere "gibberish", begin to emerge as secret, deliberately obscured texts with hidden spiritual meaning.

In this book Allan Doig explores the interrelationship of liturgy and architecture from the Early Church to the close of the Middle Ages, taking into account social, economic, technical, theological and artistic factors. These are crucial to a proper understanding of ecclesiastical architecture of all periods, and together their study illuminates the study of liturgy. Buildings and their archaeology are standing indices of human activity, and the whole matrix of meaning they present is highly revealing of the larger meaning of ritual performance within, and movement through, their space. The excavation of the mid-third-century church at Dura Europos in the Syrian desert, the grandeur of Constantine's Imperial basilicas, the influence of the great pilgrimage sites, and the marvels of soaring Gothic cathedrals, all come alive in a new way when the space is animated by the liturgy for which they were built. Reviewing the most recent research in the area, and moving the debate forward, this study will be useful to liturgists, clergy, theologians, art and architectural historians, and those interested in the conservation of ecclesiastical structures built for the liturgy.