2013 Catholic Press Award Winner What can we learn from early Christian imagery about the theological meaning of baptism? Robin Jensen, a leading scholar of early Christian art and worship, examines multiple dimensions of the early Christian baptismal rite. She explores five models for understanding baptism--as cleansing from sin, sickness, and Satan; as incorporation into the community; as sanctifying and illuminative; as death and regeneration; and as the beginning of the new creation--showing how visual images, poetic language, architectural space, and symbolic actions signify and convey the theological meaning of this ritual practice. Considering image and action together, Jensen offers a holistic and integrated understanding of the power of baptism. The book is illustrated with photos.

Liturgies for Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter, Transfiguration, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, All Saints', St Columba's Day, Father's Day; on hunger, economic witness, peacemaking, the environment, pilgrimage, welcome, hospitality and friendship. Includes a blessing liturgy for a marriage or partnership, a wedding/partnership ceremony and resources for a memorial event. Full communion services and shorts acts of worship; liturgies for small groups and all-age gatherings; worship rooted in church life and the Iona Community's resident group on Iona, in social justice and pastoral work. So - as always with the Iona Community - worship which is contextual, with a strong justice and peace edge. Originally published as single digital downloads by Wild Goose, these are now all brought together for the first time in the second of at least two Big Books of resources and liturgies. Contributors include: John Harvey, Nancy Cocks, Tom Gordon, Jan Sutch Pickard, Joy Mead, Chris Polhill, Ian M Fraser, Thom M Shuman, Alison Swinfen, Annie Heppenstall, Norman Shanks and others. God of the rhinoceros and the midge, God of the Large Hadron Collider and the iPhone, help us to sense your presence in and through all things. God whose grace is sufficient for all our needs, help us to be people of compassion, justice and peace. (Norman Shanks, from `A liturgy for the Feast of the Transfiguration')

What is God saying to you today? Jesus invites you to seek Him and receive all you need for a Spirit-led day. This book of 90 two-minute biblical meditations will inspire you to focus on one word every day--from God's Word--and live it out practically through the power of the Holy Spirit. Each day also includes a * question for reflection * powerful prayer * declaration of faith * practical action step God has clarity and purpose for you today. You will find strength and direction when you discover one word for your day--every day!

Another great collection of seasonal resources from Ruth Burgess. Winter is a liturgical resource book that covers the months of November, December and January. It includes prayers, stories, responses, songs, poems, reflections, liturgies and meditations for the major Christian festivals of All Saints', Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, as well as for Remembrance, Blue Christmas, Christingle, New Year, Christian Unity and other occasions. The material is written by Iona Community members, associates, friends and others.

Christianity Today's Book of the Year Award of Merit What happens when a diverse church glorifies the global God? We live in a time of unprecedented intercultural exchange, where our communities welcome people from around the world. Music and media from every culture are easily accessible, and our worship is infused with a rich variety of musical and liturgical influences. But leading worship in multicultural contexts can be a crosscultural experience for everybody. How do we help our congregations navigate the journey? Innovative worship leader Sandra Maria Van Opstal is known for crafting worship that embodies the global, multiethnic body of Christ. Likening diverse worship to a sumptuous banquet, she shows how worship leaders can set the table and welcome worshipers from every tribe and tongue. Van Opstal provides biblical foundations for multiethnic worship, with practical tools and resources for planning services that reflect God's invitation for all peoples to praise him. When multiethnic worship is done well, the church models reconciliation and prophetic justice, heralding God's good news for the world. Enter into the praise of our king, and let the nations rejoice!

A completely revised and expanded edition of this collection of liturgies for morning, day, evening, Holy Communion and healing services and there are revised liturgies from the original edition. Aimed primarily at participative worship with shared leadership, it includes optional methods of scriptural reflection and prayer with symbolic acction. There is also a preface of comments on leading worship, dealing with all the issues which ordained clergy never tell lay people but presume they should know.

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'aEURO"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.

'Holy Ground' contains liturgies and worship resources on a range of subjects and concerns: globalisation, food, water, HIV/Aids, the environment, interfaith dialogue, prisoners of conscience, 20th century martyrs, homelessness, racism, gender, living in community, youth, children, ageing... and much more.

A short, simple and thoroughly biblical explanation of the meaning and purpose of Holy Communion, designed to appeal to all ages. Explains its biblical origins, the different ways in which Christians have understood it over the centuries, and its crucial place in the Christian life today.

Gospel medicine' is Barbara Brown Taylor's metaphor for the power of God's word to heal and mend a broken world. In this searingly beautiful collection, she practises the oldfashioned art of gospel home remedies, drawing strength and piercing insight from biblical stories that can help us confront our weaknesses, revive our spirits and restore us to lasting wholeness.

Here, in the `Celtic' tradition, are prayers from members, associates and friends of the Iona Community for the whole of life: for starting an engine, for keeping us engaged and on the road to God's Kingdom; for taking a daily walk, for refugees travelling dangerous seas; an Iona Abbey kitchen prayer for chopping carrots, making bread and sanitising surfaces, and a Harvest supper prayer of sharing; prayers for personal healing, and for our deeply wounded world; a prayer for self-knowledge, and another for doing the laundry and remembering `lost socks' ... Contributors include: Tom Gordon, John Harvey, Jan Sutch Pickard, Peter Millar, Rosemary Power, David McNeish, David Osborne, Ewan Aitken, Anna Briggs, Elaine Gisbourne, Thom M Shuman, Chris Polhill, Neil Paynter and others. Lord God ... we bring you everything, and tip it out in front of you ... And now we pause a while in silence, waiting for you to show us what we need to understand ...

Completely updated to reflect the sweeping changes in worship patterns which began with "The Liturgical Revival" and culminated in the adoption of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.

Chapters cover preparations for the various services of the Church, plus special celebrations such as Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, weddings, burials, ordinations, consecrations, and others. A glossary of church terms is included.

Discover How to Flourish as an Artist in the Church. Over 150,000 Copies Sold. God is interested in your art and your heart. The Heart of the Artist, now in an updated second edition, deals head-on with issues every person in an arts ministry faces, including: Servanthood versus stardom Excellence versus perfectionism Handling criticism Jealousy and envy Managing your emotions The spiritual disciplines of the artist And much more Each chapter includes provocative questions for group discussion and personal action steps for individual application. Somewhere between pride and self-abasement lies true humility--just one aspect of the balanced character God wants to instill in you as a musician, a technical media artist, or other creative person involved in ministry. The Heart of the Artist will give you a better understanding of yourself and your unique place in the body of Christ. You'll find wisdom and encouragement that can help you survive the challenges and reap the rich joys of a ministry in the creative arts.

Daily readings for four months from a wide range of contributors within the Iona Community. These prayers, liturgies, songs, poems and articles can be used for group or individual reflection and are intended to inspire positive action and change in our lives. Hospitality and welcome, prayer, justice and peace, the environment, healing, social action, church renewal, worship, work, racial justice, women, community, pilgrimage, sexuality, Columban Christianity and Celtic tradition, ecumenism, interfaith dialogue, peacekeeping and non-violence, spirituality, commitment, economic witness, youth.

A wealth of worship resources for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany from the Wild Goose Worship Group. These litanies, meditations, monologues, poems, prayers, readings, scripts and symbolic actions aid the rediscovery of the stories of Christ's birth through adult eyes. Contents include: ADVENT RESOURCES Behind the corridors of space (responses) Waiting (meditation) In the beginning of creation (responses) The people who walked (meditation) Among the poor (litany) A story of light & darkness (meditation) Open our eyes (prayer) The desert will sing and rejoice (responses) Lucky day (script) Prepare the way of the Lord (responses) Mary and the angel (script) The Magnificat (meditation) Mary, pondering (reading) Mary and Lizzie (script) We suspect angels (prayer) God of the watching ones (blessing) Pinning our hopes on Jesus (i) (intercessions) Pinning our hopes on Jesus (ii) (symbolic action) Into our world as into Mary's womb (responses) The village gossips (script) The census (script) How far is it? (symbolic action) Registering hope (symbolic action) Mary's journey (reading) The diaries of Joseph and Theodore (script) The Bethel Inn (script) Cloth for the cradle (symbolic action) In hope, the universe waits (responses) CHRISTMAS RESOURCES It was to older folk that Jesus came (reading) Light looked down (responses) This, tonight, is the meeting place (prologue) The journey of Jesus (reading) The Incarnation (script) Litany of the Incarnation (litany) When the world was dark (intercessions) The shepherd (script) And did it happen? (reading) They have heard it on the hills (proclamation) The Word (meditation) A perfect disgrace (script) Michael Mouse (script) A special baby (script) Once in Judah's least known city (reading) A boy has been born for us (responses) In the face of the Gospel (intercessions) Anna and Simeon (script) Women weeping (meditation) EPIPHANY RESOURCES The wise man's journey (reading) The gatekeepers (script) The soldiers (script) God of God, Light of Light (responses) God bless us and disturb us (reading)

The official new Weekday Missal in a classically beautiful red imitation leather binding. The Collins Weekday Missal is fully updated with the new, approved Order of Mass, perfect for anyone wishing to prepare for Weekday Mass and take an active part in its celebration. With a closer and more direct translation of the original liturgy, more detailed and explanatory commentary and additional readings to help prepare and collect after Mass, The Weekday Missal will aid a closer, more transcendent experience during Weekday worship. It includes the official new Order of Mass, The Proper of Seasons, Ordinary Time, The Proper of Saints, Occasional Masses, as well as Masses for the Dead. New illustrations in the Romanesque tradition, four firmly stitched in ribbons, clear design, and quality printing, make Collins' Weekday Missal a durable, beautiful book from which to worship.

A collection of resources for the late summer and autumn period of Ordinary Time - prayers, stories, responses, songs, poems, reflections and meditations, written by Iona Community members, associates, friends and others. Acorns and Archangels offers resources for groups and individuals covering the weeks from the Feast of the Transfiguration to All Hallows' Eve, including the psalms and the prophets, the Acts of the Apostles and New Testament letters, women's stories, sections on saints and angels and harvest, a variety of blessings and a play for Hallowe'en. This is a companion resource book to Bare Feet and Buttercups: Resources for Ordinary Time (Trinity Sunday to the Feast of the Transfiguration), Candles & Conifers: Resources for All Saints' and Advent, Hay & Stardust: Resources for Christmas to Candlemas, Eggs and Ashes: Practical & Liturgical Resources for Lent and Holy Week, and Fire and Bread: Resources for Easter Day to Trinity Sunday. Ruth Burgess is also the author of Hear My Cry, Friends and Enemies and A Book of Blessings.

This book explores the Liturgy as the manifestation by cultic signs of Christian revelation, the 'setting' of the Liturgy in terms of architectural space, iconography and music, and the poetic response which the revelation the Liturgy carries can produce. The conclusion offers a synthetic statement of the unity of religion, cosmology and art. Aidan Nichols makes the case for Christianity's capacity to inspire high culture - both in principle and through well-chosen historical examples which draw on the best in Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Anglicanism.

Continuing the tradition of centuries, The Divine Office is the Catholic liturgy for morning prayer, prayer during the day, and evening prayer, for every day of the year. Volume Three of the Divine Office covers all the days of the year that are not covered in Volumes One and Two, and includes all the prayers, as well as readings. This edition comes in an attractive binding with ribbon marker. The Divine Office is the official text for the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, as well as various countries across Africa and Asia.

Contains 569 hymns including 21 canticles, three musical settings for Holy Communion plus outline for a Chorale Service, Service of the Word, Propers, Responses, Psalms, Prayers, Morning and Evening Prayer, Marriage, and Burial of the Dead. Green cloth cover with embossed gold title and symbol.