This resource helps you prepare a reverent, artful, and interactive experience of the symbols of the liturgy followed by reflection on their meaning for groups of adults or teens.

EVERY MOMENT HOLY, Vol. 2: DEATH, GRIEF, & HOPE, is a book of liturgies for seasons of dying and grieving--liturgies such as "A Liturgy for the Scattering of Ashes" or "A Liturgy for the Loss of a Spouse" or "A Liturgy for the Wake of a National Tragedy" or "A Liturgy for the Weighing of Last-Stage Medical Options." These are ways of reminding us that our lives are shot through with sacred purpose and eternal hopes even when, especially when, suffering and pain threaten to overwhelm us. -over 100 liturgies for seasons of dying and grieving -beautiful leather-bound hardcover -over 20 illustrations by Ned Bustard -silk bookmark -gilded edges

Embodied Liturgy marks a return to the body in thinking about Christian liturgy and sacramental practice. Rooted in phenomenology and incarnational theology, the book gives primary focus to the body as it considers the prayer offices and the liturgical calendar, sacrifices and sacraments, initiation and vestments, ritual theory and play, word and meal, fasting and feasting, penance and celebration, rites of passage, cultural perspectives, and the role of art, music, dance, and drama in worship. The author invites readers to return to the experience of their own body through guided yogic exercises. As a text for students and liturgical practitioners, the volume gives fresh voice to the experience and practice of worship as bodily acts. Embodied Liturgy is a dynamic, accessible new resource in liturgical and sacramental theology from one of the premiere scholars in the field. Frank C. Senn distills an established legacy of expertise in an innovative and inviting perspective on bodily acts of worship.

Everyday worship practices—from praying the rosary to moments of recognizing the beauty of God's creation, from being moved by the power of music to praying Vespers on an iPad—not only take place at different locations and during different days of the week but also dynamically interact with one another. The Liturgy of Life examines the interrelationship between the practice of Sunday Eucharist and the many nonofficial worship practices that mark the everyday lives of Christians who continually negotiate the boundaries of official teaching on liturgy. Drawing on the writings of theologians and sociologists of lived religion and data from an ethnographic research project, this timely work stretches the contextual horizon of liturgical scholarship and presents a provocative and dynamic paradigm of Christian worship for the twenty-first century.

Jesus’ saving Paschal work continues today in the liturgy and sacraments. They have the power to sanctify and beatify those who engage the liturgy with proper minds and hearts. In this comprehensive and accessible book, Christopher Carstens opens up the ritual elements mystagogically: that is, he leads participants from what they can sense—a calendar day, a musical instrument, and word—to what is otherwise undetectable: Jesus Christ. He examines the core meaning of each liturgical element in creation, in the culture, in the Old Testament, in Christ, and in heaven. This book is an excellent resource for pastors, seminarians, permanent deacons and deacon candidates, lay ministers, and parish liturgy coordinators.

In this book, Sister Kubicki uses Jacques Berthier's Taize music to explore the nature of liturgical music as ritual symbol. She carries out a hermeneutical analysis of Berthier's chants and examines biographical and historical data related to the creator's of Taize music and the founding of the Taize community. The author draws on five areas of study to interpret the Taize chants as ritual symbol - symbol theory, semiotics, theologies of symbol, ritual theory, and perfomative language theory. The final chapter explores potential ecclesial meanings which may be mediated in the Taize liturgy and the role of Berthier's chants in mediating that meaning. The study concludes that it is music's symbolic property that enables it to be both ministerial and integral to the liturgy. As symbolic activity, music-making evokes participation, negotiates relationships, and enables the assembly to orient themselves and to find their identity and place within their world. Furthermore, music-making provides the illocutionary force to "do something" in the act of singing. Thus it is that as part of a complexus of ritual symbols, music interacts with other symbols, in mediating the liturgy's meaning.

Caregiving practices in churches often center around listening and giving counsel, making referrals, and creating support groups for specific needs. In Caring Liturgies, Susan Marie Smith proposes that Christian ritual is both a method and a means for helping people through liminal times of transition and uncertainty, even vulnerability and fear. This volume teaches readers to recognize the ritual needs of fellow Christians and thus create post-baptismal rites of passage and healing that might strengthen and support them in the fulfillment of their ministries. The book extends the usefulness of denominational "occasional services" books and other resources by suggesting ways to build a rite around a central symbolic action, pointing out issues of ritual honesty and ethics, and identifying skills and attributes necessary to preparing and leading a rite. Numerous narrative examples help to flesh out the principles and illustrate the key argument: that rituals are necessary means to enable human growth and maturity, both through times of suffering and times of transition, and that ritual-making leaders are central to the ongoing health of the church.

Framed around one ordinary day, this book explores daily life through the lens of liturgy, small practices, and habits that form us. Each chapter looks at something author Tish Harrison Warren does in a day—making the bed, brushing her teeth, losing her keys—and relates it to spiritual practice as well as to our Sunday worship.

The Catholic Church teaches that the celebration of the liturgy is the “source and summit of the Christian life” (Lumen gentium, 11). Participating in the liturgy—the Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, the sacramental rites, blessings, and other official rites—is the most important act of Catholic Christians, for it is through the liturgy that the faithful give praise to God, thank him for his blessings, and go forth strengthened and challenged to life as Christ’s disciples in the world. This easy-to-read resource explores what it means to call liturgy “source and summit.” It will help the Catholic faithful to understand the meaning of the liturgy and its importance to our life of faith, experience Christ’s four-fold presence in the various Church rites, come to a deeper relationship with God, and reflect on the transforming power of the liturgy to change the world.

The 1928 Book of Common Prayer is a treasured resource for traditional Anglicans and others who appreciate the majesty of King James-style language. This classic edition features a Presentation section containing certificates for the rites of Baptism, Confirmation, and Marriage. The elegant burgundy hardcover binding is embossed with a simple gold cross, making it an ideal choice for both personal study and gift-giving. The 1928 Book of Common Prayer combines Oxford's reputation for quality construction and scholarship with a modest price - a beautiful prayer book and an excellent value.