This resource is designed to help those in the parish who direct church choirs but have no formal training directing.

Composing Music for Worship is a unique, challenging and timely book that asks vital questions about the future of music for Christian worship. The increasing presence of background music in public places, the unlimited choice of recorded music cheaply available, the ease with which we can control our musical environment and ready access to musical perfection in the comfort of our own homes all have profound implications for churches and their music. While the availability of musical choice has exploded, organized religion has declined. Traditional institutions, including the churches, are increasingly avoided. What does this mean for music as a medium for conveying spiritual truths? What is the way forward for composers of Christian music? What music will speak deeply to worshippers and build churches into embodiments of Christian theology? What music will intrigue new people and attract them to the Christian good news? An impressive line-up of eminent musicians, representing a wide variety of music styles, consider these questions and explore the future for church music in all its expressions. The result is a cutting-edge examination of the challenges facing the churches in the modern age and a dynamic range of responses to those challenges. STEPHEN DARLINGTON is Organist and Tutor in Music at Christ Church, Oxford and director of music at Christ Church Cathedral. ALAN KREIDER was previously director of the Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture, Regent's Park College, Oxford.He is presently teaching at the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Indiana.

An invaluable resource to enrich the Service of the Word in the Common Worship range, The Word for All Seasons provides complete liturgies for Sunday services, all-age worship, and other non-eucharistic occasions throughout the Christian year. Worship material is provided for every Sunday, for major holy days and for special festivals such as harvest and Mothering Sunday. The liturgies contain a wealth of resources which may be used as they stand or extracted for use elsewhere. They may be photocopied or downloaded from the free accompanying disk (in Word format) and they include a seasonal or reflective introduction, opening sentences, expanded penitential prayers, gospel responses, intercessions and blessings. They arc applicable for use in years A, B and C. A welcome aid for clergy, readers and worship leaders, The Mrd for All Seasons will prove its practical worth time and time again. DAVID GRAHAM is Rector of Haves, Kent and is Secretary of the Rochester Diocese Liturgical Committee. The illustrations are by Val and Charlie Edmondson.

This pocket-sized informative travel guide is a companion to the principal Celtic sites in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Comprehensive both in content and detail, the places featured include: Scotland - Iona, Whithorn, Melrose; England - Lindisfarne, Whitby, Jarrow, Ripon, Lichfield, Old Sarum, Glastonbury, Tintagel, Canterbury, Lullingstone; Wales - Bardsey and the Llyn Peninsula, St Winifred's Well, St David's, Lantwit Major; and Ireland - Skellig Michael, Glendalough, Kells, Kildare, Slane Hill and Tara. The stories of the saints associated with these and other places are retold for today's visitors and pilgrims, along with quotations, prayers and readings from the Celtic era. Practical information is also given, plus maps, illustrations and suggestions of other places to visit nearby. An introduction explains the significance of pilgrimage to these places both in Celtic times and in the present day.

A call to a renewed hunger and thirst for the Lord's Supper, this book unfolds a historic Reformed understanding in contrast to other views. Building on careful biblical analysis, Robert Letham explains why we have the Supper, how we partake of Christ in it, who should take communion, and related matters.

Penance and confession were an integral part of medieval religious life; essays explore literary evidence. Penance, confession and their texts (penitential and confessors' manuals) are important topics for an understanding of the middle ages, in relation to a wide range of issues, from medieval social thought to Chaucer's background. These essays treat a variety of different aspects of the topic: subjects include the frequency and character of early medieval penance; the summae and manuals for confessors, and the ways in which these texts (written by males for males) constructed women as sexual in nature; William of Auvergne's remarkable writing on penance; and the relevance of confessors' manuals for demographic history. JOHN BALDWIN's major study "From the Ordeal to Confession", delivered as a Quodlibet lecture, traces the appearance in French romances of the themes of a penitent's contrition, the priest's job in listening, and the application of the spiritual conseil and penitence. PETER BILLER is Professor of Medieval History at the University of York; A.J. MINNIS is Douglas Tracy Smith Professor of English, Yale University. Contributors: PETER BILLER, ROB MEENS, ALEXANDER MURRAY, JACQUELINE MURRAY, LESLEY SMITH, MICHAEL HAREN, JOHN BALDWIN

Written by the leading and best-known experts and practitioners

Eucharistic liturgy has differed through the centuries and in different Churches. Because of these differences, it is essential that eucharistic liturgy be studied from ahistorical perspective. In The Celebration of the Eucharist, Enrico Mazza offers a thorough account of the theology of the Eucharist and presents a historical analysis of the origin and variety of eucharistic liturgies and their development in the Church. Beginning with the Last Supper, Father Mazza weaves his way through interpretations elaborated by the Fathers of the Church and medieval writers to provide the rich tapestry of concepts and categories adopted by Vatican Council II. Complete with an appendix including Jewish texts and early Eucharistic Prayers, abbreviations, bibliography, and notes, The Celebration of the Eucharist is a comprehensive source for those who have an interest in the theology of the Eucharist in the course of history. Chapters are Old Testament Sacrifices and Ritual Meal," "The Origin of the Christian Eucharist," "From the Jewish Liturgy to the Christian Eucharist," "Primitive Anaphoras: From the Didache to the Mystical Eucharist," "Primitive Anaphoras: Developments of the Eucharistic Liturgy," "Thematic Developments in the Eucharistic Liturgy," "The Early Patristic Period," "Tertullian and Cyprian," "The Fourth Century," "The Early Middle Ages," "The Scholastic High Middle Ages," "The Eucharist and the Relics of the Saints," "The Reformation and the Council of Trent," "The Liturgical Reform of Vatican Council II," "The Implementation of the Liturgical Reform," "The Parts of the Eucharistic Prayer," and "The Last Supper and the Church's Eucharist." Enrico Mazza is professor of liturgical history at the Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. He is the author of Mystagogy: A Theology of Liturgy in the Patristic Ages, Eucharistic Prayers of the Roman Rite, and The Origins of the Eucharistic Prayer published by The Liturgical Press. "

Contemplative spirituality is not simply a way of praying, undertaken by religious profekSionals, hut is an adventurous way of living the Christian life that is open to all. At its centre is the belief that God is active in human affairs and in people's hearts. Our response is to wait - not in resigned passivity, but in anticipation of being caught up in the activity of God, in our personal lives and in the life of the world. The first part of this book explores the roots of contemplative spirituality in the Old Testament, focusing particularly on the theme of 'waiting for the Lord' in the Psalms. The second part draws on this Old Testament tradition. and on the insights of the Desert Fathers and other early contemplatives the Church, to present a way of engaging in contemplative spirituality which is relevant for people today. . Practising such a spirituality can transform not only the way we pray, but every aspect of our lives. This is a message we need to rediscover today when so much importance is given to what we can achieve -for ourselves:

Guided by Ignatian principles, this book looks at techniques for prayer, ways of focusing prayer, problems in prayer and ways of moving on.

The Women of the Passion offers a completely fresh and challenging perspective on the key events in the life of: Jesus and his, followers, seeing them from the point of view of the women present at them. Jesus' human life begins with a young girl courageously saving yes to a startling plan. At his death, when his disciples have fled, Mary stands at the Foot of the cross with her sister and friend and share in the bitter agony Of it all. Distraught, but unafraid to face, the Roman guard, a group of women bring anointing. spices to the tomb only to Find it empty ... And on that wonderful Easter morning, it is to a woman that the resurrected Christ first appears. Other women are strangely affected by only the remotest encounter - the servant girl who accuses Peter on the night of Jesus' trial and sees the 'piercing look that reduces the headstrong disciple, to shameful weeping, Pilate's wife who has a troubled night on Jesus' account and begs her husband to leave well alone. their voices speak with clarity and directness down the centuries, calling us to draw near and to discover for ourselves the life-changing effect of us Jesus ourselves.

Chambers provides a defense of our traditional worship format by contrasting it with the style and content of the new wave of contemporary worship assemblies dominated by drama, special singing, and lifting hands. "With amazing clarity; with a grateful grasp of current problems in public worship; with a fairness that is totally Christian, Dan Chambers has produced a work of monumental importance speaking to worship needs of this day." -- Jim Bill McInteer "By focusing the spotlight on biblical, worthy worship, Chambers brings the curtain down on current calls for entertainment-style showtime during our gathered celebration of the divine drama." -- F. LaGard Smith "I do not know of any study that is more needed in the churches today than this study of worship by Dan Chambers. The study is comprehensive, balanced, in touch with contemporary thought, and thoroughly biblical. It is my hope that it will be widely used as a text in Bible study classes as well as by individual students interested in meaningful worship. The book is an engaging and cogent plea for a more biblical approach to worship." -- Harvey Floyd Dan Chambers preaches for the Concord Road congregation in Brentwood, Tennessee. He has also served as an adjunct instructor in Bible at David Lipscomb University in Nashville. He has done graduate work in theology at Grace Theological Seminary and has received advanced degrees in Bible from David Lipscomb University (M.A., M.A.R) and in Business Management from Indiana University - Ft. Wayne (M.B.A.)

Here is a resource that will dramatize the lighting of the Advent candles during your worship service. The lighting of each candle is proceeded by a statement, which the author suggests may be read from offstage.
The series of statements reveal the significance of the traditional Advent characters: the angel, the shepherds, the wisemen, Mary and the Christ Child.
This simple but dramatic resource provides an explanation of the deeper meaning of the events preceding Jesus' birth, as they spell out the relationship of these individuals to Christ, the Light of the World.
Wayne L. Tilden has served as a Minister of Drama and Instructor of Music and Drama at various seminars. He is the founder of "The Salt and Light Company," a drama ministry. He holds the Master of Divinity degree from American Baptist Seminary of the West, Berkeley, California. Tilden is also the author of "Letters From Bethlehem," a series of dramatic monologues for Advent (CSS Publishing Company).

Presents the late Cardinal's personal reflections on themes such as prayer, solitude, and living the Christian life today. A beautiful book with full colour photographs.

Best-selling Catholic author Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle encourages Catholic families to reclaim a significant tradition: setting apart Sundays as a day of worship, true rest, teaching, and simply spending precious time together. In fifty-two creative chapters Donna-Marie presents fun and meaningful ideas for all fifty-two weeks of the year inspired by the seasons (both natural and liturgical), holidays, Saints days, and holy Scripture, to help keep Sundays holy, just as God said we should!

An outstanding book on prayer and the spiritual life written by one of the best spiritual directors of our time. Dubay synthesizes the teachings on prayer of the two great Doctors of the Church--St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila--and the teaching of Sacred Scripture.

Found in Common Worship: Times and Seasons, The Way of the Cross is a series of scripture-based devotions for personal or group use in Lent and Holy Week. Similar in intent to the traditional Stations of the Cross, it focuses wholly on the biblical narrative of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. This seasonal companion provides the sequence of fifteen meditations appears in full, including opening and concluding prayers. Each is accompanied by three short reflections from different perspectives by three of today's very best spiritual writers: - Paula Gooder offers reflections on the scriptural narratives; - Stephen Cottrell considers the story from the perspective of personal discipleship; - Philip North explores the story's challenge to mission and witness.