With this new lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. When complete, the twelve volumes of the series will cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints' Day. For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays--one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclaimation of the Word on any given occasion. The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series will follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume will contain an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its content.

Ordo Romanus Primus (ORP) is a descriptive account in Latin of the papal mass at Easter in Santa Maria Maggiore, probably at some time in the seventh or eighth century. It is the first such account, and differs from earlier evidence of the Roman rite by its relative disregard for the spoken text, which is usually only cited in ORP as providing cues for the ceremonial action. The 'action', however, is detailed, is often surprising, and gives a three-dimensional approach to a rite which, in its textual form, only tells the half of what was happening. The whole action is set on a large canvas, so that the account starts with the procession of the papal household from the Lateran. As Alan Griffiths put it 'the nature of ORP is to be a key to ritual business, not to text', and he adds 'one might describe it as an "events management" document.' There has been no full edition of the text in English since that of Atchley in 1905, and his translation has today a highly dated look to it. Alan Griffiths has drawn upon the Latin text collated by Michel Andrieu in his French edition of the ordines Romani in 1948, and has provided his own fresh and contemporary translation of it into English, running in parallel columns with the Latin. It makes a valuable addition to the series of Joint Liturgical Studies which have made such a large range of patristic liturgical materials available to students who work largely in English.

With this new lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. When complete, the twelve volumes of the series will cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints' Day. For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays--one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclaimation of the Word on any given occasion. The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series will follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume will contain an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.

This Homiliary provides a comprehensive guide to doctrinally based preaching for the entire Church year, presented in the Dominican tradition: a preaching of Scripture which takes doctrine as guide to the clarification of the Bible's main themes. Doctrine is necessary to preachers because in its absence the Scriptural claims and themes do not easily hang together. The grace the Word imparts always has a reference to the Mystical Body which mediates all the grace that is given by Christ as the Head. So, precisely as a fruit of grace, preaching is necessarily related to ecclesial awareness. Doctrine ensures that preaching does not fall short of its true dimensions which expresses the biblical revelation, the faith of the Church. Preaching about the lives of the saints is a partial exception to these principles - every saint throws light on some aspect of the mystery of Christ and the Church - and provides the subject matter of the first volume of Year of the Lord's Favour. The second, third, and fourth volumes of the Homiliary cover between them the Temporal Cycle of the Church of the Roman rite: the second volume furnishes texts for the Privileged Seasons - Advent, Christmastide, Lent and Eastertide; the third for Sundays through the Year; the fourth for Weekdays through the Year.

This Homiliary provides a comprehensive guide to doctrinally based preaching for the entire Church year, presented in the Dominican tradition: a preaching of Scripture which takes doctrine as guide to the clarification of the Bible's main themes. Doctrine is necessary to preachers because in its absence the Scriptural claims and themes do not easily hang together. The grace the Word imparts always has a reference to the Mystical Body which mediates all the grace that is given by Christ as the Head. So, precisely as a fruit of grace, preaching is necessarily related to ecclesial awareness. Doctrine ensures that preaching does not fall short of its true dimensions - expressing the biblical revelation, the faith of the Church. The second, third, and fourth volumes of Year of the Lord's Favour cover between them the Temporal Cycle of the Church of the Roman rite: this second volume furnishes texts for the Privileged Seasons - Advent, Christmastide, Lent and Eastertide; the third for Sundays through the Year; the fourth for Weekdays through the Year. Preaching about the lives of the saints provides the subject matter of the first volume of the Homiliary.

This Homiliary provides a comprehensive guide to doctrinally based preaching for the entire Church year, presented in the Dominican tradition: a preaching of Scripture which takes doctrine as guide to the clarification of the Bible's main themes. Doctrine is necessary to preachers because in its absence the Scriptural claims and themes do not easily hang together. The grace the Word imparts always has a reference to the Mystical Body which mediates all the grace that is given by Christ as the Head. So, precisely as a fruit of grace, preaching is necessarily related to ecclesial awareness. Doctrine ensures that preaching does not fall short of its true dimensions - expressing the biblical revelation, the faith of the Church. The second, third, and fourth volumes of Year of the Lord's Favour cover between them the Temporal Cycle of the Church of the Roman rite: this fourth volume furnishes texts for Weekdays through the Year; the second for the Privileged Seasons - Advent, Christmastide, Lent and Eastertide; the third for Sundays through the Year. Preaching about the lives of the saints provides the subject matter of the first volume of the Homiliary.

With this twelve-volume series, Westminster John Knox Press offers one of the most extensive and well-respected resources for preaching on the market today. The twelve volumes 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 essays--one each on the exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homiletical challenges of the text. Each volume also contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers may make use of it.

To take, share bread and wine in the context of a meal at home or among friends is to reach deep into Old Testament tradition and to experience something of how the Early Church kept Jesus' command to remember him in the breaking of bread. Today, this central act of our Christian worship and devotion almost always takes place in the formal setting of a church service, yet many Christians are beginning to rediscover the intimacy and significance of simpler celebrations, such as an agape meal. Take, Bless, Break, Share provides a rich source of table blessings and liturgies suitable for agapes and other informal gatherings where people meet to share a meal and share their faith. Drawn from Anglican, Catholic and evangelical sources, they are designed to enable everyone present to participate. Many have a pastoral character, with liturgies of reconciliation, healing and hope. Others have a strong ethical focus, such as social justice, the environment and discrimination, making Take, Bless, Break, Share the most comprehensive and versatile collection of its kind.

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.

Readings for Weddings is an inspirational collection of Bible quotations, poems, hymns and prose for secular weddings, church ceremonies and services of blessing. Mark Oakley includes such 'wedding classics' as 1 Corinthians 13 and Khalil Gibran's The Prophet, the poetry of Shelley and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, verse by Wendy Cope and other witty, contemporary poets.

Worship should be about more than just the ears. Worship is enhanced when we re experiencing more than simply the spoken, read, and sung word. At its best, worship invites in the other senses as well, especially the eyes. Delia Halverson and Karen Appleby have written Creating Holy Spaces to help you make worship an exciting and meaningful visual experience. The book contains suggestions for worship visuals tied to each Sunday of all three years of the Revised Common Lectionary. These visuals can be assembled on the altar, placed elsewhere in the sanctuary, or photographed to be used for projection. The weekly entries describe the readings for that Sunday and suggest visuals appropriate to each, creating a multisensory experience of worship bound up with the day s lectionary theme. Also, the reader will find three appendixes that help with the planning and execution of visuals for each Sunday. Thanks to a topical index and a scripture index, it is easier for those not using the lectionary to also take advantage of the great ideas found here. Let Halverson and Appleby show you how to create balanced worship experiences each Sunday, while inspiring you to create your own unique holy spaces."

The celebration of the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer has helped to stimulate a renewed interest in its teaching and fundamental contribution to Anglican identity. Archbishop Cranmer and others involved in the English Reformation knew well that the content and shape of the services set out in the Prayer Book were vital ways of teaching congregations biblical truth and the principles of the Christian gospel. Thus the aim of this series of booklets which focus on the Formularies of the Church of England and the elements of the different services within the Prayer Book is to highlight what those services teach about the Christian faith and to demonstrate how they are also designed to shape the practice of that faith. As well as providing an account of the origins of the Prayer Book services, these booklets are designed to offer practical guidance on how such services may be used in Christian ministry nowadays. In this study of the daily collects and readings in the Book of Common Prayer, Benjamin Sargent opens up the rationale of the lectionary.

This study examines the collects assigned to the Sundays and major feasts of the proper seasons in the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Roman rite. The Latin collects assigned to each day in the typical editions of the respective missals are compared and contrasted both with their respective sources and with one another. Pertinent discussions and decisions of the Consilium study groups responsible for the post-Vatican II revisions of the liturgical calendar and Mass collects are also presented and considered. The goal of the study is to determine whether the two sets of collects present the same picture of the human situation, approach God in the same way, seek the same things from him, and, where they do not, to identify significant changes in theological and/or spiritual emphases.

The celebration of the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer has helped to stimulate a renewed interest in its teaching and fundamental contribution to Anglican identity. Archbishop Cranmer and others involved in the English Reformation knew well that the content and shape of the services set out in the Prayer Book were vital ways of teaching congregations biblical truth and the principles of the Christian gospel. Thus the aim of this series of booklets which focus on the Formularies of the Church of England and the elements of the different services within the Prayer Book is to highlight what those services teach about the Christian faith and to demonstrate how they are also designed to shape the practice of that faith. As well as providing an account of the origins of the Prayer Book services, these booklets are designed to offer practical guidance on how such services may be used in Christian ministry nowadays. In this exposition of the services of Morning and Evening Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer, Mark Burkill reveals how the focus of the daily offices is to build up God's people by immersing them in the Scriptures.

Liturgical texts, repeated week after week by hundreds of thousands of people, are an ideal starting-point for exploring deep matters of faith. Their rich theological content, their themes and their familiarity, can help us develop a more mature, informed faith and spirituality. Assuming no specialist knowledge but convinced that a good theological understanding is within everyone's grasp, Paul Ferguson takes often repeated words from the Eucharist, morning and evening prayer, and the baptism, marriage and funeral rites to explore core Christian belief. Ideal for confirmation courses, study groups and individual reading, this will take readers to new places of understanding via familiar, loved texts.

or all who preach and for all who prepare for worship by prayerful reading of the Scripture passages for the day, Word of Promise is a practical and devotional companion which offers wise and informed commentary on the principal service lectionary readings for each Sunday and major holy day in Year A, the year of Matthew. The authors represent a wide spectrum of biblical theology, but their shared love of Scripture and concern for excellence in preaching have combined to produce a commentary that is at once insightful and inspirational. Drawing together Old Testament, Psalm, Epistle and Gospel readings, they provide many imaginative starting points for further reflection and application. Word of Promise will open minds and hearts to the Scriptures and encourage a greater sense of expectation in worship.

'A chapter on worship with young people, with practical hints as well as spiritual guidance, introduces a hundred 'epilogues'. Each act of worship includes prayers old and new, with a suggested lesson frank the Bible. Youth leaders, club leaders, those responsible for morning prayers in schools, and all who have to lead worship, will be grateful for Dr Barclay's insight and industry. Adults wanting a book to help their private devotions will find riches here. .. the expression of Professor Barclay's own insight and reverent thought, with lines, too, from saints and common men of every age. Brief and wholesome, all of them.' Expository Times 'They are brief but never scrappy; they are eminently understandable but never so devotionally avant garde as to sound a false or strained note. .. . All who have to conduct informal acts of worship will find this book invaluable - but read and observe the introduction!' View Review `This book will be used over and over again.' British Weekly A companion volume is Dr Barclay's Prayers for the Christian Year. Dr William Barclay, CBE, is Professor of New Testament Language and Literature in the University of Glasgow.

The relatively recent -worship wars- over styles of worship -- traditional, contemporary, or blended -- have calmed down, and many churches have now reached decisions about which -worship style- defines them. At a more fundamental level, however, change has yet to begin. In From Memory to Imagination Randall Bradley argues that fallout from the worship wars needs to be cleaned up and that fundamental cultural changes -- namely, the effects of postmodernism -- call for new approaches to worship. Outlining imaginative ways for the church to move forward, this book is a must-read for church leaders and anyone interested in worship music.

Since its initial publication in 2006, Paul Turner's"Let Us Pray" has become a valuale resource for understanding, planning, and celebrating the Eucharist.This new edition, thoroughly updated by the author to be in full continuity with the Revised English Translation of"The Roman Missal," will be one that priests, liturgical ministers, planners, and students will want to keep close at hand.

Turner offers helpful explanations for the principal rubrics for a typical Sunday Mass. He reflects on the place of ritual within the context of Catholic piety and then explores the regulations governing the furnishings, vestments, and ministers. Hecarefully walks readers through the entire Mass from the entrance procession to the dismissal. The book is cross-referenced to answer most questions about the Sunday ritual.

"Pal Turner is pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Kansas City, Missouri. A priest of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, he holds a doctorate in sacred theology from the Athenaeum of Saint Anselm in Rome. He is the author of "Glory in the Cross: Holy Week in the Third Edition of The Roman Missal," "When Other Christians Become Catholic," and many other titles. He is a former President of the North American Academy of Liturgy and a team member for the North American Forum on the Catechumenate. He is a member of "Societas Liturgica" and the Catholic Academy of Liturgy. He serves as a facilitator for the International Commission on English in the Liturgy."

This collection of sermons arises from the culture of an active parish life as a part of its usual worship routine. With over sixty sermons spanning Pre-Lent, all forty days of Lent, and the Sundays after Easter, this book now serves as an excellent daily devotion for both pastors and parishioners. Distinctive in his preaching style, Pr. Petersen fluidly interweaves the words of Holy Scripture with his own, immersing us in the text and applying Law and Gospel with sharp insight. As Luther explains in his catechisms, preaching the Word brings the kingdom of heaven from Christ, through the Holy Spirit, to the individual, always pointing us to Christ and Him crucified, died, and risen.

Imagine that it's Christmas Eve and you're on your way to the store before the annual candlelight service. Suddenly you find yourself transported back in time to the night of the birth of the Messiah The places you're used to seeing are all gone; the usual trappings of modern society don't work. And, to top it off, you're placed in a situation where you have to help a young couple deal with having a baby -- with no hospital Yikes
This imaginative chancel drama for Advent or Christmas will make the members of your congregation think about the night of Jesus' birth in a new way. A variety of ages can be used in the production from young children to older adults. The dialogue can be easily modified with local references. Suggested readings and music are included for use between scenes for additional congregational involvement.
Frank Ramirez is the pastor of Everett Church of the Brethren in Everett, Pennsylvania. A graduate of the University of LaVerne and Bethany Theological Seminary, Ramirez is the author of numerous books, articles, and short stories. Frank has been a long-time writer for CSS' online subscription "StoryShare." His CSS titles include "Gabriel's Horn, The Christmas Star," "The Bee Attitudes," "Partners in Healing," " He Took a Towel," "Coming Home," "Lectionary Worship Aids "series, " "and "A Call to Worship."

The Book of Common Prayer remains at the heart of the Church of England and using it is an essential skill for all clergy and readers, yet many are no longer familiar with its contents. This practical guide explains how to use the Book of Common Prayer in a way that is accessible and informative. Introducing this central tradition of Anglican worship without using technical language or assuming prior knowledge, it is intended as a beginner's guide for ordinands and readers, especially those for whom the Prayer Book tradition may be alien. Part 1 of the book offers a general introduction to the history, theology and liturgical character of the BCP. It also explores the place and meaning of 'common prayer' within the Anglican tradition. Part 2 offers general practical advice on the principal services of the BCP, how to use them, and where flexibility is permitted. Using the Book of Common Prayer will help its readers come to a renewed appreciation of the place of the Book of Common Prayer in the distinctive tradition of Anglican praise and prayer.

"Words and Gestures in the Liturgy" is a call to attentiveness. What do the various movements in the liturgy mean? How do words affect and effect liturgical actions? Antonio Donghi explains that these gestures emerge from the experience of prayer; they are a response to the invitation to relationship with God. Donghi writes that the habit of drama tends to have us celebrate passively the great mysteries of salvation." This text (a revised and expanded edition of "Actions and Words: Symbolic Language and the Liturgy, " 1997) pulls readers out of that passivity and into an active and knowledgeable participation in the worship of God.

"Antonio Donghi is a priest of the Diocese of Bergamo in Northern Italy and a teacher of liturgy and sacramental theology. Besides being a frequent contributor to various periodicals focusing on liturgical spirituality, he has published six other books with Liberia Editrice Vaticana."

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The sacraments are a precious, seven-faceted jewel embedded in the heart of the Catholic faith. Yet, while believers readily acknowledge the centrality of these rites to the faith, they may be a bit fuzzy when it comes to explaining them. That's where this book comes to the rescue

"Liturgy 101: Sacraments and Sacramentals" provides a concise and easy-to-follow overview of the liturgy that will immerse you into the Church's teaching and practice of the seven sacraments. The author, respected Catholic scholar and educator Daniel G. Van Slyke, grounds the book in Sacred Scripture, the teachings of the Church, and the rites with which the Church celebrates the sacraments.

Following a helpful introductory chapter that explains the vocabulary used to discuss worship, "Liturgy 101" explores the seven sacraments one by one. Each chapter explains, in an accessible manner, the sacrament's origins, how and by whom it is celebrated, and what it accomplishes. Van Slyke also addresses frequently asked pastoral, practical, and canonical questions concerning the celebration of the sacraments.

"Liturgy 101" will empower you to more fruitfully participate in sacred liturgy by helping you to understand, appreciate, love, and celebrate the sacraments that Christ has entrusted to the Church.

One of the most beloved stories in history, J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series topped the best-seller charts, inspired the highest-grossing film series of all time, and has now become a $250 million Universal Studio theme park. What is it about this story that has ignited such fandom and struck such a chord with people around the world? As English professor, culture critic, and Potter devotee Greg Garrett explains, these novels not only entertain but teach deeply held truths about ourselves, others, and the world around us. Unlocking the textual intricacies behind the Harry Potter narrative, Garrett reveals Rowling's magical formula--one that, he contends, earns her a place right next to the literary giants of old. Not for sale in the UK.