Explores the role of jazz celebrities like Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, and Mary Lou Williams as representatives of African American religion in the twentieth century Beginning in the 1920s, the Jazz Age propelled Black swing artists into national celebrity. Many took on the role of race representatives, and were able to leverage their popularity toward achieving social progress for other African Americans. In Lift Every Voice and Swing, Vaughn A. Booker argues that with the emergence of these popular jazz figures, who came from a culture shaped by Black Protestantism, religious authority for African Americans found a place and spokespeople outside of traditional Afro-Protestant institutions and religious life. Popular Black jazz professionals-such as Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, and Mary Lou Williams-inherited religious authority though they were not official religious leaders. Some of these artists put forward a religious culture in the mid-twentieth century by releasing religious recordings and putting on religious concerts, and their work came to be seen as integral to the Black religious ethos. Booker documents this transformative era in religious expression, in which jazz musicians embodied religious beliefs and practices that echoed and diverged from the predominant African American religious culture. He draws on the heretofore unexamined private religious writings of Duke Ellington and Mary Lou Williams, and showcases the careers of female jazz artists alongside those of men, expanding our understanding of African American religious expression and decentering the Black church as the sole concept for understanding Black Protestant religiosity. Featuring gorgeous prose and insightful research, Lift Every Voice and Swing will change the way we understand the connections between jazz music and faith.

Whether you serve as a vocalist, instrumentalist, technician, dancer, actor, or in some other role, you know what a blessing it is to serve on your church's worship team. But you also know that some days you're more technically prepared than you are spiritually prepared for the ministry of leading others in worship. In the midst of rehearsals, setup, and myriad distractions, not to mention the busyness of daily life, it's easy to miss the forest for the trees. How can you and your fellow team members be prepared to worship in spirit and truth as well as lead others in worship with integrity? With thirty years of experience in worship leading, Rory Noland knows the issues-in both the private life of the worship team member and the public ministry of a worship team. In this readable book, he offers practical insights on how to * Grow as a private worshiper * Encounter the character of God during worship * Respond to the character of God during worship * Be transformed by the character of God * Learn from ancient worship leaders ... and more. So relevant you'll think the author was eavesdropping on your last church service, The Worshiping Artist is ideal to read either by yourself or as a team.

If only you could be sure that every craft you planned for your children's ministry would be a winner... Now you can be certain of success with over 100 tried-and-tested crafts, submitted by children's workers like you, and used with real children in real churches. Structured into three sections of crafts for younger and older primary ages and for all ages together, The Big Book of Bible Crafts is a lifesaver for Sunday school, midweek groups and holiday clubs.

Der Band Ritual und Sakrament befasst sich mit der Ritualtheorie des Ethnologen und Kulturanthropologen Victor Turner. Angesichts des Bedeutungsverlusts der Sakramente wird nach einer neuen Zuordnung von Leben und Sakrament gefragt. Ziel ist es, die Beziehung von Ritual und Sakrament auf der Basis der Turnerschen Grundbegriffe soziales Drama, ritueller Prozess, Liminalitat und Communitas neu zu bestimmen. Die Konfrontation klassischer Sakramentendefinitionen mit den Begriffen Turners eroeffnet ein neues Verhaltnis von Leben und Sakrament. Lasst sich die Sakramentalitat von Ritualen und die Liminalitat der Sakramente behaupten? Dies kann auf der Basis seiner Theorien gelingen.

Pauline and Dan Campanelli's classic companion to Wheel of the Year is back for a new generation of readers to enjoy Celebrate the seasons of the year according to the ancient Pagan traditions. Ancient Ways shows how to prepare for and conduct the Sabbat rites, and helps you harness the magickal energy for weeks afterward. The wealth of seasonal rituals and charms within are drawn from ancient sources but are easily performed with readily available materials. Learn how to look into your previous lives at Yule. At Beltane, discover the places where you are most likely to see faeries. Make special jewelry to wear for your Lammas celebrations. For the special animals in your life, paint a charm of protection at Midsummer. Most Pagans feel that the Sabbat rituals are all too brief and wish for the magick to continue. Ancient Ways can help you reclaim your own traditions and heighten the feeling of magick all year long. Praise: "A delightful, joyous guide to celebrating the seasons and festivals with homespun magic." --Scott Cunningham, author of Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs "A delightful book that beautifully complements the authors' Wheel of the Year." --Ray Buckland, author of Practical Candleburning Rituals

With the sensitivity born of time and experience, Charles Hoffacker presents an unusually warm and caring approach to preaching at a pivotal transition in human life, one which goes to the very heart of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Hoffacker teaches the reader, whether a seasoned preacher or a novice homilist, to find the key to unlocking the mystery of Jesus promise of eternal life in a mortal life now ended.

The Reformation restored the Scriptures to the people, but the job was only halfway finished. Today the church is awakening to the truth that ministry is not just the domain of clergy, but belongs to the entire body of Christ. God is moving her to complete her unfinished business of placing the ministry back in the hands of the people. Unfinished Business has played a pivotal part in helping the church reclaim ministry at the grassroots level. First published in 1990 as The New Reformation, it has become a classic resource for church life. Expanding on and updating the original material with fresh examples and references to eight key important movements, this new edition lays foundations for the church to move from: . Passive to active . Maintenance to mission . Clergy to people of God . Teacher/caregiver to equipping enabler Pointing us back to the church as an organism, not an institution, author Greg Ogden shows how each of us is called to help finish the Reformation s unfinished business: expressing the priesthood of every believer practically in the church, the world, and all avenues of life."

Our culture has undergone a major shift: younger generations have less and less interest in the printed word as they become predominantly image oriented. In response, as congregations increasingly learn to be more sophisticated in using newer electronic technologies, they are finding themselves at different places in the quest to understand, acquire, manage, and benefit from the technology boom. Worship leaders in congregations already using some electronic media are realizing that they could be doing more with it, and are seeking new ideas. Congregational leaders scrambling to catch up with a worship committee that has decided it's time for a change aren't sure of the next steps. Or maybe there's been a gift to the congregation to be spent on electronics, and no one is quite sure how best to use the money. Michael Bausch's book grows out of several years' of conversation, personal experimentation, and experience with multimedia worship in one modest-sized, small-town church, while also drawing on the experiences and work of other churches learning to use electronic media in worship. Bausch balances concern for practical issues, such as finances and architecture, with attention to theological integrity and the challenges of sustaining media-enhanced worship. He skillfully shows how the artistic resources of the world around us can enhance our awareness of God's presence in worship.

The Growing Edge is a book of Howard Thurman's sermons. For Thurman, the sermon is an act of worship in which the preacher exposes his spirit and mind as they seek to reveal the spirit of the Living God upon them. Thurman presents his sermons in six sections: Concerning Enemies, Concerning Prayer, Concerning God, Concerning Peace, Concerning Festivals, and Concerning Christian Character.