In introducing eight new eucharistic prayers, "Common Worship" has focused fresh attention on the most central act of Christian worship. This text offers a wealth of information on both the words and actions of the Eucharist. Part one focuses on the content of the Eucharist, from the opening greeting to the final blessing and dismissal. Each stage of the service is explored from a biblical and historical perpective and readers discover how the Eucharist has evolved from the days of the Early Church. Part two focuses on the actions of the Eucharist: the posture and movement of the celebrant and participants, ceremonial, symbolism, the role of memory, essentials and variables in the rite. Part Three explores the eight different Eucharistic prayers of "Common Worship", their distinctive styles, provenance, theological features and pastoral uses.

Written as the First World War was finally drawing to a close, A. Clutton-Brock's reflections on the Kingdom of Heaven examine this challenging theological concept in light of the great religious, political and moral uncertainties thrown up by the conflict. In particular, Clutton-Brock contends that historically Christian orthodoxy has not sufficiently emphasised the role of the Kingdom in salvation, given its importance in the ministry and teaching of Christ. To preserve a religious vision capable of interacting with the modern, industrial world, Christian orthodoxy must carefully consider the scope and importance of political practice, the role of the individual in the realisation of the Kingdom, and the profound implications of reconciling the facts of the universe with the most sincerely held beliefs.

This volume by Gracia Grindal introduces English-speaking readers to several significant yet unsung Lutheran women hymn writers from the sixteenth century to the present. After a brief introductory discussion of Elisabeth Cruciger, the first woman hymn writer of the Reformation, Grindal provides fascinating profiles of these talented Scandinavian women who "preached from home": Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, Birgitte Hertz Boye, Berthe Canutte Aarflot, Lina Sandell, Britt G. Hallqvist, and Lisbeth Smedegaard Andersen. Grindal not only gives a biographical account of each woman her life, her piety, her times but also offers sparkling new English translations of each writer's key hymns. In the last chapter Grindal recounts her own inspiring journey as a Lutheran woman hymn writer. Her Preaching from Home will open the door to a world previously unknown to most North Americans.

Everyone is happy to see Mary in the creche at Christmastime, but by the time the Magi head back East after the Feast of the Epiphany, Christians of many traditions are often ready to place Mary to the side, too. But in Blessed Is She, Timothy Perry presents a Mary who belongs in Lent as much as in Advent, who shows what it means to die and live with the crucified and risen Jesus.Drawing primarily from the Gospel of Luke, this lovely book of devotions sketches a Lenten Mary who teaches us about being disciples. The result is a complex, inviting, strong character a disciple to be emulated by all Christians, especially during this holy season. With a meditation for each day of Lent, along with reflection questions, this is a thought-provoking volume for private use or parish study.

According to legend, the Mandylion was an image of Christ's face imprinted on a towel, kept in Edessa. This acheiopoieton image ("not made by human hands") disappeared in the eighteenth century. The first records of another acheiropoieton relic appeared in mid-fourteenth century France: a long linen bearing the image of Jesus' corpse, known nowadays as the Holy Shroud of Turin. Some believe the Mandylion and the Shroud to be the same object, first kept in Edessa, later translated to Constantinople, France and Italy. Andrea Nicolotti traces back the legend of the Edessean image in history and art, focusing especially on elements that could prove its identity with the Shroud, concluding that the Mandylion and the Shroud are two distinct objects.

The book of Revelation is exciting! Yet, too many today think it to be boring and hard to understand! I think it is just the opposite. If you take the book from a literal perspective, the "unveiling" fits, and it creates a perfect panorama of man's final days. long with the text, I have created a practical application for our lives today. Revelation is relevant, and it permeates the reader with God's last word to mankind.....His Son Jesus Christ! The final invitation alone is worth the time spent to enjoy the "book."

Ecologies of Resonance in Christian Musicking Rexplores a diverse range of Christian musical activity through the conceptual lens of resonance, a concept rooted in the physical, vibrational, and sonic realm that carries with it an expansive ability to simultaneously describe personal, social, and spiritual realities. In this book, Mark Porter proposes that attention to patterns of back-and-forth interaction that exist in and alongside sonic activity can help to understand the dynamics of religious musicking in new ways and, at the same time, can provide a means for bringing diverse traditions into conversation. The book focuses on different questions arising out of human experience in the moment of worship. What happens if we take the entry point of a human being experiencing certain patterns of (more than) sonic interaction with the world around them as a focus for exploration? What different ecologies of interaction can be encountered? What kinds of patterns can be traced through different Christian worshiping environments? And how do these operate across multiple dimensions of experience? Chapters covering ascetic sounding, noisy congregations, and Internet live-streaming, among others, serve to highlight the diverse ecologies of resonance that surround Christian musicking, suggesting the potential to develop new perspectives on devotional musical activity that focus not primarily on compositions or theological ideals but on changing patterns of interaction across multiple dimensions between individuals, spaces, communities, and God.

The face of the divine feminine can be found everywhere in Mexico. One of the most striking features of Mexican religious life is the prevalence of images of the Virgin Mother of God. This is partly because the divine feminine played such a prominent role in pre-Hispanic Mexican religion. Goddess images were central to the devotional life of the Aztecs, especially peasants and those living in villages outside the central city of Tenochtitlan (present day Mexico City). In these rural communities fertility and fecundity, more than war rituals and sacrificial tribute, were the main focus of cultic activity. Both Aztec goddesses and the Christian Madonnas who replaced them were associated, and sometimes identified, with nature and the environment: the earth, water, trees and other sources of creativity and vitality. This book uncovers the myths and images of 22 Aztec Goddesses and 28 Christian Madonnas of Mexico. Their rich and symbolic meaning is revealed by placing them in the context of the religious worldviews in which they appear and by situating them within the devotional life of the faithful for whom they function as powerful mediators of divine grace and terror.