Jesus: God's Unlikely Revelation Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany Services includes biblically-based sermons, suggested scriptures, children's time, hymn and prayers, as well as litanies for lighting the Advent wreath. Also included are suggestions for seasonal funerals. These services offer a completing message of hope during this important church season, when people often visit a church for the first time. Each service focuses on and celebrates a different aspect of the theme: Jesus: God's Unlikely Revelation 1. First Sunday of Advent- Jesus: The Unlikely Image of God (Genesis 1:26-27; Colossians 1:15-17) 2. Second Sunday in Advent Jesus: The Unlikely Gift from God (Isaiah 55:1-9) 3. Third Sunday of Advent Jesus: The Unlikely Story of God with Us (Matthew 1:18-25) 4. Fourth Sunday of Advent Jesus: The Unlikely Messiah (John 7:25-31) 5. Christmas Eve Jesus: An Unlikely Peacemaker (Luke 2:8-20) 6. Christmas Day An Unlikely Christmas Card (Matthew 2:13-23) 7. Epiphany John the Baptizer: Jesus' Unlikely Herald (John 1:1-14) Seasonal Funerals

This first volume focuses on the basic order of service - the classic fourfold shape of gathering, word, sacrament and sending. In simple, non technical language leading writers in the field get to the heart of the matter and provide invaluable guidance to clergy, ordinands, Eucharistic ministers, study groups and individuals who wish to understand the Eucharist more fully. Subsequent volumes will focus on Engaging with Scripture, Entering into Communion, Modes and Moods of Prayer and Celebrating the Christian Year.

Unlike weddings, funerals rarely take place after extensive planning. Often the deceased is not someone the pastor has known well, and preparations for the service of death and resurrection take place in the midst of pastoral care of the grieving, writing the funeral sermon, and the pastor s regular duties. These circumstances make it especially hard to plan an appropriate and meaningful order of worship for the funeral service.

Christian Funerals will help pastors as they attend to this crucial ministry of the church. Drawing on the books of worship from a number of denominations and traditions, it provides several options for each of the elements of the funeral service, from gathering texts to opening prayers to scripture lessons to final prayers. The book is bound in a way that makes it suitable for use at church services and at the grave side."

Every year, thousands of couples choose to marry in an Anglican church using the words of the Common Worship marriage service. This expanded version of the best-selling Marriage booklet has been designed to help couples and clergy plan the service with ease. Featuring both the contemporary Common Worship form of the service and the traditional language Solemnization of Matrimony (as popularised by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge), it also contains popular hymns, readings and prayers suitable for weddings, as well as advice on how couples can personalize the service. It makes an ideal gift for clergy to give to couples and can be used as an order of service on the day of the wedding itself.

Building on the success of his earlier book Hear Our Prayer: Resources for Worship and Devotions, and believing that Christians should experience worship as vocational rather than vacational, Rainsley writes these prayers and parables in a manner in which readers and listeners can recognize God in the midst of the ordinary. This resource can be used in worship or in Sunday bulletins and church newsletters. It includes calls to worship, opening prayers, words of assurance, pastoral prayers, prayers of dedication, benedictions, prayers for special occasions, and parables.

This timely and provocative book asks whether the widespread falling away of the appeal of religious worship is connected with the simplification of liturgical practice over recent decades. Has a well-meant policy of making the language and style of worship more accessible resulted in a loss of the sense of mystery - and has this accelerated the decline? The author, who was involved with the development of Common Worship, surveys five hundred years of change in the Anglican tradition against the wider backdrop of the Catholic and the Orthodox traditions. He explores what the search for re-enchantment might mean in a post-modern society where the corporate practice of religion is in decline and where religious language and religious worship have lost much of their appeal. ANDREW BURNHAM is the Bishop of Ebbsfleet He was formerly Vice-Principal of St Stephen's College, Oxford, and served on the Liturgical Commission of the Church of England. He is the compiler of A Manual of Anglo-Catholic Devotion. JONATHAN BAKER is the Principal of Pusey House Oxford and the author of Consecrated Women? He is currently a member of the Liturgical Commission of the Church of England.

Cardinal Yves Congar is universally known and respected as the great ecclesiologist of Vatican II whose seminal ideas helped to reconfigure the landscape of Catholic theology following the council. Less well known is his role in contributing far-reaching insights to the emerging liturgical movement in the church. This collection represents several of Congar's decisive contributions. Reading them makes possible a deeper and more cogent reception of the key ideas of the council documents. These texts are at once both erudite and exciting, both essential and pastorally incisive. There has never been a better time to disseminate these critically important liturgical insights than the present moment.

"Cardinal Yves Congar, OP, who died in 1995, was a French Dominican widely recognized as one of the most important Roman Catholic theologians of the twentieth century and a major influence upon the theology of the documents of Vatican II. Congar drew from biblical, patristic, and medieval sources to revitalize the discipline of contemporary theology. He was an early advocate of ecumenism and also contributed to shaping the theological agenda of the twentieth-century liturgical movement."

"Pal Philibert, OP, is a retired professor of pastoral theology who has taught in the United States and abroad. He is a Dominican friar of the US Southern Province. His 2005 Liturgical Press book, "The Priesthood of the Faithful: Key to a living Church, " reflects the theology of these essays of Cardinal Yves Congar. His translation of Congar's masterpiece, "True and False Reform in the Church, "will soon be published by Liturgical Press."

This is a critical assessment of the Liturgical Reform after the second Vatican Council that seeks the origins of failure in pre-conciliar developments. If the suppression of the traditional Roman liturgy against the wishes of the Second Vatican Council was, in the words of Silvio Cardinal Oddi, 'a crime for which history will never forgive the Church', why, at the end of the 1960s, did the vast majority of Latin Catholics abandon, with little or no regret, their time-hallowed forms of worship? "The Banished Heart" seeks to account for this cultural and spiritual catastrophe by demonstrating what will surprise many: how the present mainstream Catholic Church, with its modernistic and secular aura, grew directly from the official conservatism of the Church as it was before the Council. T Clark Studies in "Fundamental Liturgy" offer cutting edge scholarship from all disciplines related to liturgical study. The books in the series seek to reintegrate biblical, patristic, historical, dogmatic and philosophical questions with liturgical study in ways faithful and sympathetic to classical liturgical enquiry. Volumes in the series include monographs, translations of recent texts and edited collections around very specific themes.

C. E. Hammond's Antient Liturgies provided a valuable resource at an early stage in comparative liturgical studies. Free of extensive critical apparatus, Antient Liturgies presents a collection of historic forms of worship from the Western, Eastern, and Oriental Churches. This extract from the book focuses on the Clementine Liturgy, an important early liturgy, apparently known even to Justin Martyr. Rendered in Greek and with an analytical introduction this early study continues to provide a broad overview of early Christian worship made available in an accessible and convenient format for students and scholars.

This second title by outstanding authors in the field, will provide a major new study of Eucharistic spirituality and liturgical formation. With many new rites recently introduced or in development, the time is opportune for a fresh look at Eucharistic theology and practice. It provides invaluable guidance to clergy, ordinands, Eucharistic ministers, study groups and individuals who wish to understand the Eucharist more fully.

In a brief introductory chapter, the author addresses the question of why we need to confess our sins, and offers three reflections in response: Sin as Pride, Sin as Violation of Boundaries, Sin and the Possibility of Forgiveness. The book includes seventy prayers of confession and words of assurance, with accompanying liturgies and music suggestions (Scripture and hymn indexes included!). The prayers are offered in three sections, confession and pardon related to: The Human Condition, The Holy Scriptures, The Liturgical Year. The Just in Time! Series offers brief, practical resources of immediate help for pastors at an affordable price.

This is a serious, scholarly of liturgy analysis combining historical, philosophical, musicological and liturgical. The volume, like the series, will be aimed at moving the debate about liturgy out of the narrow confines of either 'pastoral liturgy', 'reform of the reform' or nostalgia and bemoaning of the ruination of liturgical tradition to an entirely higher plane, of serious, scholarly, measured analysis combining historical, philosophical, musicological and liturgical. This book advances a provocative and controversial set of proposals for the development of future liturgical reform in its attempt to re-engage with a traditional sense of the Roman Rite. The author is uniquely placed to make the case he does. A mediaevalist and musicologist of unparalleled experience and breadth, Dobszay combines - almost uniquely - a profound knowledge of the history of the development of the Roman Rite - especially the Antiphonary - with a personal interest and passionate concern for the lived experience of the rite itself. The result is a lively and vigorous text based around the idea of the actual liturgical sense of the Roman Rite - meaning a respect for its integrity as an historical tradition that found multiform expression across Europe and also across at least 1600 years, combined with a sympathy for the fact that the rite is still a living entity with a long future ahead of it. "T&T Clark Studies in Fundamental Liturgy" offer cutting edge scholarship from all disciplines related to liturgical study. The books in the series seek to reintegrate biblical, patristic, historical, dogmatic and philosophical questions with liturgical study in ways faithful and sympathetic to classical liturgical enquiry. Volumes in the series include monographs, translations of recent texts and edited collections around very specific themes.

Based on the Revised Common Lectionary and broadly ecumenical, this addition tothe Just In Time " "series provides: Sitting with the Text: Scripture commentary for each of the three lectionary years; Worship and Preaching Themes; Creating the Environment: ideas for decorating and preparing the worship space; Shaping the Worship Service: prayers, liturgies, dramas, music suggestions; Scripture Index; and more.

Beginning with Ash Wednesday, "Lenten Services" aids the reader in planning and implementing transformative worship services throughout the Lenten journey."

In this collection of weekly reflections on the Sunday Lectionary for Year B, Verna Holyhead draws us into the inspired texts of both the Old and New Testaments. Through a rich tapestry of literary forms, historical contributions, and life experiences, Holyhead gives us surprising perspectives and carefully constructed contexts, which are sure to enrich our appreciation for the Word of God. In addition to following St. Benedict's admonition to glean a harvest by attending mindfully to the pages and passages of the inspired books of the Old and New Testaments, Holyhead generously layers her commentary with insights distilled from the Rule itself. As a sourcebook for pastoral ministry or a reference for personal or communal reflection, this volume will assist believers who desire to engage more deeply with the Word. Verna Holyhead, SGS, is an Australian Sister of the Good Samaritan of the Order of St. Benedict. She leads retreats, lectures, and writes, all with an emphasis on biblical scholarship, liturgical insight, and pastoral challenge.

Would many believers consider a wake or funeral an act of worship? What does it mean to say that in anointing the sick or administering Viaticum to the dying humans are healed? Such questions plumb the biblical and traditional depths of the paschal mystery. Just as Jesus' ministry at the social-religious margins revealed the center of his faith in God' s reign, so also the church's ministry to sickness and death reveals much about the baptismal and Eucharistic worship so central to its entire life.

"In Divine Worship and Human Healing" Bruce Morrill turns to the rites serving the sick, dying, deceased, and grieving to show why sacramental liturgy is so fundamental to the life of faith. Readers will appreciate both his compelling narratives from actual pastoral experience and his engagement with biblical, theological, historical, and social-scientific resources. Morrill invites readers to discover how the liturgical ministry of healing discloses God's merciful love amid communities of faith.

Jesuit Father Bruce Morrill discusses new book on Liturgical Theology from Jesuit Conference USA on Vimeo.

"Bruce T. Morrill, SJ, holds the Edward A. Maloy Chair of Catholic Studies in the divinity school at Vanderbilt University where he is also Professor of Theological Studies. In addition to numerous journal articles, book chapters, and reviews, he has published several books, most recently" Encountering Christ in the Eucharist: The Paschal Mystery in People, Word, and Sacrament "(Paulist Press, 2012). His most recent book with liturgical Press is" Divine Worship and Human Healing: Liturgical Theology at the Margins of Life and Death "Pueblo/Liturgical Press, 2009).""

Intercessions for Daily Prayer offers patterns of intercessory prayer for every day of the church year, including weekdays. It is ideal for anyone, lay or ordained, who carries out the discipline of Daily Prayer and who seeks inspiration and structure to improve their prayers for the Church and the world. Arranged season by season, it provides sets of intercessions, with appropriate responses, for each day of the week during: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Passiontide, Easter, Ascension-Pentecost, Ordinary Time (two sets) and All Saints.

This rich resource of ready to use liturgies and reflections for the richest seasons of the Christian year sold out within a year. Its timeless qualities found a ready and eager readership among all looking for fresh inspiration for these annual celebrations. This new edition includes extra seasonal reflections from Rowan Williams and Martyn Percy, and a new liturgy for Maundy Thursday from Jim Cotter. In addition it offers: probing reflections by outstanding thinkers to inspire preaching and personal devotion, complete liturgies for a Christmas Eve vigil, Maundy Thursday foot washing and watch, a Good Friday devotional service, an Easter Eve vigil, a dawn celebration of the Resurrection, a set of meditations on the Stations of the Cross and the Seven Words from the Cross, and seven Good Friday addresses by WH Vanstone. Jim Cotter writes strikingly beautiful liturgies and was publisher of the successful Cairns Publications. Martyn Percy is the Principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon.Sylvia Sands is a writer who lives in the heart of Belfast.W H Vanstone wrote the spiritual classic Love's Endeavour Love's Expense. He died in 1999. Rowan Williams is the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Nicholas Taylor provides an Anglican theological approach to the controversial questions surrounding the demand for allowing lay ministers to preside at the Eucharist. This is a pressing issue thoroughly reviewed and addressed.The demand for allowing lay ministers to preside at the Eucharist has become a pressing issue in many churches, not only in Anglicanism. Within the Anglican Communion, this issue seems to be potentially divisive as most provinces refuse to accept lay presidency, but some - as the Archdiocese of Sydney - are discussing schemes to introduce it.In "Lay Presidency at the Eucharist" an Anglican theological approach to controversial questions is articulated. Taylor investigates in particular what allegiance to Scripture entails, and how its authority is to be applied in the Church today. The evidence of the New Testament and early Church on the Eucharist and ministry, and how critical scholarship relates to the authority of Scripture in the life of the Church, are explored, whilst the Reformation and subsequent developments in Anglican theology and Eucharistic practice are considered. Pressure to authorize lay presidency is largely a response to a shortage of clergy to meet demand for Eucharistic worship, and alternative provision for this need is discussed, before going on to consider specific schemes. The theological issues, to do with the Church, the Eucharist, and the ministry, are reviewed, and outstanding questions identified."Affirming Catholicism" is a progressive movement in the Anglican Church, drawing inspiration and hope from the Catholic tradition, confident that it will bear the gifts of the past into the future. The books in this series aim to make the Catholic element within Anglicanism once more a positive force for the Gospel, and a model for effective mission today.

These worship resources are inclusive in reference to God and humanity, and reflect concern for justice and peace in the world. They are also theologically sound, scripturally based, and well written. They are contemporary yet dignified and graceful in tone, and full of rich imagery for use in the context of worship.

Myra Nagel has written a resource to help readers grow in their faith as they "journey to the cross" during the season of Lent. Using the Gospel of Mark, this thoughtful guide invites the reader to "Come to the Story", "Reflect on the Story", and "Live the Story". The themes for each week of reflections are as follows:

Week 1

Teacher, Let Me See!

Week 2

She Has Done What She Could

Week 3

You Will All Fall Away

Week 4

Do This, Remembering Me

Week 5

Not What I Want, but What You Want

Week 6

Crucify Him!

Week 7

Their Eyes Were Opened

This Lenten resource will inspire its users to recall the biblical story of Christ's death and resurrection in a new and engaging way. Study questions are provided for individuals and groups.

This is a quality prayer book in the tradition of Catholic primers and devotional manuals. For each day of the year there is a scripture reading and an inspiring example from the lives of the many men and women in history who have made holiness visible lead into prayers of thanksgiving and intercession. Each month has a particular focus and is introduced by the leading Catholic laywoman, the Duchess of Norfolk. The foreword is provided by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor.