Speak It Plain: Words for Worship and Life Together delivers prayers, blessings, litanies, and liturgies for key moments in corporate worship and intimate gatherings of God's people. This collection is intended as a companion to other resources already being used for planning worship and living together in Christian community. Meta Herrick Carlson invites pastors and other leaders to pay attention to the great theology that sometimes is hidden beneath our high church language, patriarchal customs, and insular questions. Her language models healthy boundaries and marks life events, such as separation or divorce, political or civic grief, and anointing people in transition. She hopes her prayers and litanies will help you speak it plain, that the weight of unspoken trauma will lose its power, the work of the people will be reclaimed by the people, and the assembly will be inspired to deeper connections between worship and the questions we are asking today.The book includes prayers for many occasions, seasonal blessings, and a variety of litanies and liturgies for use in various worship settings and special services. Selections intended for group use with group responses will be available for download for all purchasers of the book.

A new edition of Gregory Dix's masterpiece, still essential reading for students and scholars and in print constantly for fifty years. Dom Gregory Dix's classic account of the development of the Eucharist rite continues to be the definitive and authoritative work on the subject. He presents his massive scholarship in lively and non technical language for all who wish to understand their worship in terms of the framework from which it has evolved. He demonstrates the creative force of Christianity over the centuries through liturgy and the societies it has moulded. His great work has for nearly fifty years regularly been quoted for its devotional as well as its historical value, and has regularly attracted new readers. In this book for the first time, critical studies in the learned periodicals of many countries have been carefully sifted and the results arranged to give a clear picture of the development of the Eucharistic rite.

Liturgy was the first and most significant subject taken up by the Second Vatican Council. The Council produced a document on the liturgy, The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, that would give shape to Catholic worship for years to come. By calling for the revision of all the rites according to the principles set forth in The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the Council set in motion the most comprehensive liturgical reform in Catholic history. This new book explains and puts into context the background of the new translation of the Mass, only now approved by the American bishops. It presents a useful schema of the contents of The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy by identifying seven essential themes of the document. No book in recent years has selected these themes or presented them with such clarity. It evaluates critically the "reform of the reform" movement, and other groups that currently propose a radical revision of the church's liturgy. It links the theoretical to the practical by asking concrete, pastoral questions about where the church stands today with respect to all of the key elements of the Constitution, making the book especially useful for pastoral practitioners. It offers a positive evaluation of the reform overall, while clearly focusing on the question of ongoing renewal. Finally, the unique annotated bibliography for further reading will appeal to a diverse readership by offering a stimulating variety of subjects, writing styles, and perspectives on the issues.

An all-round companion for everyone involved in the ministry of serving. Servers play a key part in the celebration of the Eucharist and knowing what to do is only half the story, - how to serve in a dignified way that adds to worship and doesn't detract from is equally important. This guide includes instruction on: relating to the clergy and the congregation, and working as a team; how to cultivate one's own spiritual space; knowing your way round the sanctuary;tools of the trade; movement, posture and processions, the Eucharist step-by-step;the liturgical year, and prayers and personal preparation for serving.

"Common Prayer" explores the relationship between prayer and poetry in the century following the Protestant Reformation. Ramie Targoff challenges the conventional and largely misleading distinctions between the ritualized world of Catholicism and the more individualistic focus of Protestantism. Early modern England, she demonstrates, was characterized less by the triumph of religious interiority than by efforts to shape public forms of devotion. This provocatively revisionist argument will have major implications for early modern studies.
Through readings of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet, " Richard Hooker's "Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie," Philip Sidney's "Apology for Poetry" and his translations of the Psalms, John Donne's sermons and poems, and George Herbert's "The Temple, " Targoff uncovers the period's pervasive and often surprising interest in cultivating public and formalized models of worship. At the heart of this study lies an original and daring approach to understanding the origins of devotional poetry; Targoff shows how the projects of composing eloquent verse and improving liturgical worship come to be deeply intertwined. New literary practices, then, became a powerful means of forging common prayer, or controlling private and otherwise unmanageable expressions of faith.

In this gift-size book, Cameron shares beautiful prayers of empowerment followed by potent declarations on the nature of creativity that extend beyond affirmations to facilitate a powerful awakening of the artistic child within and revitalize fading dreams, while lending encouragement and compelling reminders that we can all tap into the creative spirit. Heart Steps is certain to ignite the creative spark, drawing readers inward toward the fire of their own creativity. Whether read in one sitting or savored over time, Heart Steps is a book no creative being will want to be without. Index.

Most histories of Christian worship are written as if nothing significant in liturgical history ever happened in North America, as if cultural diversities were insignificant in the development of worship, and as if most of what mattered were words the priest or minister addressed to God. This book is a revisionist work, attempting to give new direction to liturgical history by treating the experience of worship of the people in the pews as the primary liturgical document. It means liturgical history written facing the other way--that is, looking into the chancel rather than out of it. Relishing the liturgical diversity of recent centuries as firm evidence of Chritianity's ability to adapt to a wide variety of peoples and places, Professor White shows that this tendency has been apparent in Chrisitian worship since its inception in the New Testament churches. Instead of imposing one tradition's criteria on worship, he tries to give a balanced and comprehensive approach to the development of the dozen or more traditions surviving in the modern world.

A complete prayer book in the Slavonic language printed with the Cyrillic (old orthography) alphabet. Includes morning and evening prayers, the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, various Akathists and Canons annd much more besides.

R.J. Urquhart provides the first systematic description of the ceremonial of the Sarum Mass in 500 years. Using a variety of sources, and tracing the Sarum rite and its occasional use from the Act of Supremacy through to modern times, Urquhart has compiled a volume that offers the best possible reconstruction and overview of these profoundly beautiful rites from the liturgical treasury of the Church. Urquhart considers Sarum in the light of Pope Benedict XVI's groundbreaking apostolic constitution, Anglicanorum Coetibus, and how this has reopened the question of the catholicity of part of the Anglican patrimony. He also considers the impact of Pope Benedict's Summorum Pontificum and its proposition that what was sacred for earlier generations remains sacred now, arguing that this supremely pastoral teaching calls for a more profound and detailed study of the rite. Urquhart covers all aspects of the ritual, beginning with an outline of the vessels, books and vestments and then moving on to outline both Low and High Mass, special forms, processions and blessings, and the ritual year. Appendices cover the role of the laity, and offer an Ordo Missae with simple rubrics.

This cultural history of mainline Protestantism and American cities--most notably, New York City--focuses on wealthy, urban Episcopalians and the influential ways they used their money. Peter W. Williams argues that such Episcopalians, many of them the country's most successful industrialists and financiers, left a deep and lasting mark on American urban culture. Their sense of public responsibility derived from a sacramental theology that gave credit to the material realm as a vehicle for religious experience and moral formation, and they came to be distinguished by their participation in major aesthetic and social welfare endeavors. Williams traces how the church helped transmit a European-inflected artistic patronage that was adapted to the American scene by clergy and laity intent upon providing moral and aesthetic leadership for a society in flux. Episcopalian influence is most visible today in the churches, cathedrals, and elite boarding schools that stand in many cities and other locations, but Episcopalians also provided major support to the formation of stellar art collections, the performing arts, and the Arts and Crafts movement. Williams argues that Episcopalians thus helped smooth the way for acceptance of materiality in religious culture in a previously iconoclastic, Puritan-influenced society.

If grandmothers ran the world, our grandchildren would always be within arms' reach-at least until we needed a little quiet time to relax and re-energise. But, life doesn't often work out that way. Even if we live right around the corner, our grown children- and their children - lead busy lives. 'Grandma Time' may never be as long, or frequent, as our hearts wish it would be. Here's a way we can make the most of the time we have, together or apart, by drawing closer to God, as well as our grandchildren. These 52 devotions for devoted grandmas cover topics like worry, playing favourites, and how to keep from becoming a 'Nana Diva'. They also include creative ideas on how to put our grandmotherly love into action. The perfect gift for a first-time grandma, or perhaps a well-deserved bit of encouragement for yourself, this devotional will inspire readers to get off their rockers and on their knees as they celebrate the unparalleled blessings that being a grandparent brings.

Psalm Prayers is a devotional companion to the Psalms and a practical resource for creating prayers for public worship. It is particularly helpful for those who lead services of Evensong from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, where the reading of the psalms and extemporary prayer are integral parts of the service. Stephen Cherry introduces each of the 150 Psalms and lays out its central theme before offering a prayer in response. Crafted with care in a traditional style that complements the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, these prayers are nevertheless fresh and immediate, vividly reflecting the concerns and pressures of today's world. These prayers have been developed and used over many years' experience in parish and cathedral ministry, and latterly in King's College, Cambridge, and are suitable for both choral evensong in cathedrals and college chapels or simple, spoken services in local churches.

The SCM Studyguide: Liturgy, 2nd Edition is an introduction to liturgy that considers the basic 'buliding blocks' needed to grasp the subject area. It outlines the essential shape and content of Christian worship and explores a range of liturgical dynamics of which both students of liturgy and leaders of liturgy need to be aware. This 2nd edition of the popular Studyguide is fully revised, updated and expanded. The book takes account of new developments in scholarship, engages with new contexts for liturgical celebration (notably, fresh expressions as part of a mixed economy of church), encompasses recent revisions in liturgy and seeks to broaden the engagement beyond the British context to consider the wider global context.

Using narrative, testimonies from leaders and members, and photographs, this book tells the story and explains the remarkable influence of the Vineyard Church of Anaheim on both the early years of the Vineyard movement and the emergence of contemporary worship in the broader church. Not only does this volume present an in-depth look at the congregation's pastor, John Wimber, and the church's first several years, it also tells an inspiring story of revival and renewal for people hungering for deeper knowledge of God. With interviews, sermon excerpts, sidebars, timelines, and a glossary of terms to enhance the text, Worshiping with the Anaheim Vineyard addresses core issues about knowing God intimately for all Christians.

The quality of the contributors

Theological reflection upon the Eucharist is dominated by two paradigms: One approach interprets the Eucharist almost exclusively in theological terms, shaped by Scholasticism and the Reformation. Most discussions about the nature of the Eucharist, Eucharistic presence or the role of the priest follow these categories, even if they come in modern disguise. The other reads the Eucharist as an event which can be explored empirically. O'Loughlin develops a new understanding of the Eucharist. This can be done by looking afresh at the historical evidence and bringing it in dialogue with modern theology. In the past decades, historical research and new discoveries have changed our view of the origins and the development of the Eucharist. By bringing history into a fruitful dialogue with sacramental and liturgical theology, he shows not only ways how theology and practice can be brought closer together again, but also how current ecumenical divisions can be overcome. His book makes an important contribution to eucharistic theology, both for individual church traditions as well as for ecumenical dialogues.

Theological reflection upon the Eucharist is dominated by two paradigms: One approach interprets the Eucharist almost exclusively in theological terms, shaped by Scholasticism and the Reformation. Most discussions about the nature of the Eucharist, Eucharistic presence or the role of the priest follow these categories, even if they come in modern disguise. The other reads the Eucharist as an event which can be explored empirically. O'Loughlin develops a new understanding of the Eucharist. This can be done by looking afresh at the historical evidence and bringing it in dialogue with modern theology. In the past decades, historical research and new discoveries have changed our view of the origins and the development of the Eucharist. By bringing history into a fruitful dialogue with sacramental and liturgical theology, he shows not only ways how theology and practice can be brought closer together again, but also how current ecumenical divisions can be overcome. His book makes an important contribution to eucharistic theology, both for individual church traditions as well as for ecumenical dialogues.

Que es lo que define a la Iglesia de Inglaterra? Tienen los Treinta y nueve Articulos alguna relevancia hoy en dia? El Anglicanisimo, segun Jim Parker, posee "la mas verdadera, mas sabia y potencialmente la mas rica herencia en toda la Cristiandad con los Treinta y nueve articulos en el centro de su corazon. Estos articulos captan la esencia y el espiritu del cristianismo biblico magnificamente bien, y tambien proporcionan un modelo excelente de como confesar la fe en medio de una cristiandad dividida. En este estudio, Parker tiene como objectivo mostrar como los Articulos del siglo dieciseis deben ser vistos en el siglo veinte y uno, y como pueden enriquecer la fe de Anglicanos en general y en particular de Anglicanos evangelicos. Parker demuestra por que los articulos una vez mas deben tener una voz dentro de la Iglesia, no solo como una curiosidad historica, sino como una declaracion con autoridad doctrinal. Roger Beckwith ofrece diecisiete Articulos Complementarios, en un apendice que stimula releccion y discuten teologicamente asuntos que los ha llevado a un sitio de prominencia desde que los Articulos fueron originalmente compuestos. Este folleto, fue publicado por primera vez hace mas de veinte anos, se mantiene en mucha demanda y tan oportuna como siempre. Ha demostrado ser uno de los estudios mas populares y perdurables publicados por The Latimer House, y es ahora publicado en una segunda edicion, traducida aqui al espanol. Jim Packer esta en la Junta Gobernadores, Categratico de Teologia en Regent College, en Vancouver. Roger Beckwith fue bibliotecario y Director de Latimer House, en Oxford Inglaterra durante mas de treinta anos. What defines the Church of England? Are the Thirty-nine Articles of any relevance today? Anglicanism, according to Jim Packer, possesses "the truest, wisest and potentially richest heritage in all Christen-dom" with the Thirty-nine Articles at its heart. They catch the substance and spirit of biblical Christianity superbly well, and also provide an excellent model of how to confess the faith in a divided Christendom. In this Latimer Study, Packer aims to show how the sixteenth century Articles should be viewed in the twenty-first century, and how they can enrich the faith of Anglicans in general and of Anglican evangelicals in particular. He demonstrates why the Articles must once again be given a voice within the Church, not merely as an historical curiosity but an authoritative doctrinal statement. A thought-provoking appendix by Roger Beckwith offers seventeen Supplementary Articles, addressing theological issues which have come into prominence since the original Articles were composed. This booklet, first published more than twenty years ago, remains much in demand and as timely as ever. It has proved one of the most popular and enduring Latimer Studies, and is now issued in a second edition, translated here into Spanish. Jim Packer is Board of Governors' Professor of Theology at Regent College, Vancouver. Roger Beckwith was librarian and warden of Latimer House, Oxford for more than thirty years.

This is a book to accompany the readings in year B of the Lectionary. It aims to help individuals and groups to understand and use Mark's Gospel. There are two other books that will follow this one: Journeying with Luke in Year C and Journeying with Matthew in Year A. This book's unique slant is that it asks readers to use their imagination 'to bring the Gospel to life.' It asks readers to visualize themselves in the scenes that Mark describes in order see Mark's Gospel in a fresh and exciting way.

Written centuries before Christ, the Psalms of the Hebrew Bible have been prayed by Christians since the founding of the Church. The early church fathers expounded the psalms in the light of the mystery of Christ, his death and resurrection, and his saving redemption. In this book, a Benedictine monk examines the Christian praying of the Psalms, taking into account modern and contemporary research on the Psalms. Working from the Hebrew text, Fr. Laurence Kriegshauser offers a verse-by-verse commentary on each of the one hundred and fifty psalms, highlighting poetic features such as imagery, rhythm, structure, and vocabulary, as well as theological and spiritual dimensions and the relation of psalms to each other in the smaller collections that make up the whole. The book attempts to integrate modern scholarship on the Psalms with the act of prayer and help Christians pray the psalms with greater understanding of their Christological meaning.The book contains an introduction, a glossary of terms, an index of topics, a table of English renderings of selected Hebrew words, and an index of biblical citations. "Praying the Psalms in Christ "will be welcomed by students of theology and liturgy, by priests, religious, and laypeople who pray the Liturgy of the Hours, and by all Christians who seek to pray the Psalms with greater profit and fervor.

"It is no easy task to combine devotion with scholarship. From the introduction onwards this book breathes a prayerfulness that lifts the heart to God. With contemporary linguistic, literary, and theological scholarship, it joins the rich tradition of the Church expressed over the centuries in the writings of the Fathers. Each psalm is given a striking image as a sort of 'logo' and then discussed for itself. A special feature of the book is the appreciation that the prayer of the psalms in Christ is interwoven, threads of one bringing richness to another." --Dom Henry Wansbrough, Master Emeritus of St. Benet's Hall, Oxford

"In "Praying the Psalms in Christ," Fr. Kriegshauser has given us a form of reading the psalms that runs very close in intention to that ancient practice of "lectio divina" where the text of the bible is read prayerfully as a form of contemplative prayer. His prayerful study is made all the more rich by the abundant cross references to other places in the bible, both Old and New Testaments, that add richness to the text. The result is an informative and spiritually nourishing companion to reading the psalms." --Lawrence S. Cunningham, University of Notre Dame

"Clear, accessible, and rooted in the tradition, "Praying the Psalms in Christ"""guides us into the ancient prayers of Israel and the Church. The result is a fresh contribution to the great Christian tradition of spiritual commentary." --Russell R. Reno, Creighton University

In Peculiar Crossroads, Farrell O'Gorman explains how the radical religiosity of both Flannery O'Connor's and Walker Percy's vision made them so valuable as southern fiction writers and social critics. Via their spiritual and philosophical concerns, O'Gorman asserts, these two unabashedly Catholic authors bequeathed a postmodern South of shopping malls and interstates imbued with as much meaning as Appomattox or Yoknapatawpha. O'Gorman builds his argument with biographical, historical, literary, and theological evidence, examining the writers' work through intriguing pairings, such as O'Connor's Wise Blood with Percy's The Moviegoer, and O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard to Find with Percy's Lancelot. An impeccable exercise in literary history and criticism, Peculiar Crossroads renders a genuine understanding of the Catholic sensibility of both O'Connor and Percy and their influence among contemporary southern writers.

The Christian mystery, celebrated in the Roman Catholic liturgy, is a sensible mystery, and calls out for artistic expression. Living Beauty explores the Christian mystery and points to the need for a liturgical aesthetic as a means to encounter the divine mystery. A liturgical aesthetic gives an account of Christian worship in terms of a new set of categories that includes divine beauty, a theology of sensibility, and the new notion of a unitive revelatory experience. These categories help to reveal the aesthetic dimensions of the Church's watershed document on the liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium. The Church today stands in need of a new conversation on the aesthetic dimension of the liturgy and the role of the arts. Contrary to common opinion, the arts provide more than an environment or mere extrinsic ornamentation for the liturgy; they are intrinsic to the very nature of liturgy. They provide the means of being sanctified in the encounter with divine beauty that is the mystery of Christian worship. Artistic expression enables the worshiping community to receive the divine mystery in beauty.