2015 marks the 30th anniversary of Lee Mitchell’s great standard work on the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. As his student, protégée, and colleague, Ruth Meyers takes this classic work and updates it for the Church in its current era and for the future.

2015 marks the 30th anniversary of Lee Mitchell’s great standard work on the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. As his student, protégée, and colleague, Ruth Meyers takes this classic work and updates it for the Church in its current era and for the future.

What if the way we worship isn't just an expression of our faith, but is what shapes our faith? The Church has believed this about the way we worship and pray together for centuries: The way we worship becomes the way we believe. But if this is true, it’s time to take a closer look at what we say and sing and do each week. Drawing from his own discovery of ancient worship practices, Glenn Packiam helps us understand why the Church made creedal proclamations and Psalm-praying a regular part of their worship. He shares about why the Eucharist was the climactic point of their corporate “re-telling of the salvation story.” When our worship becomes a rich feast, our faith is nourished and no longer anemic. The more our worship speaks of Christ, the more we enter into the mystery of faith.

Traces and comments upon the sources, history, and development of each of the rites and formularies of the book from the earliest known forms until the present day.

• Plain language exploration of the theology of worship • Valuable resource for individuals, seminarians, service planners • Structure and chapter discussion guides facilitate use for parish workshops Professional theological terminology is often inaccessible to the average Christian. The House of Meanings presents liturgical theology in accessible ways, free of technical language. The book is designed for individual reading and structured to be a resource for a series of parish workshops, especially during the Easter season. Chapters conclude with a discussion guide intended to assist parishioners in developing their own sense of the value of worship and its relationship to our dai-ly lives. Dedicated to deepening parishioners’ understandings of the Church and how it has both gathered and sent into service to the world, The House of Meanings will be useful not only to congregations, but to seminarians and anyone planning or evaluating worship

In this third and final volume in a series of ceremonial guides to worship in the Episcopal Church according to The Book of Common Prayer, Leonel L. Mitchell focuses on the pastoral and occasional liturgies. Beginning with the celebration of the Daily Office, he goes on to discuss the seasonal liturgies beyond the Lent-Easter cycle, including Advent Lessons and Carols, Candlemas, and Rogation processions. The pastoral offices include baptism, marriage, the blessing of homes, reconciliation, ministry to the sick, and burial. Finally, Mitchell concludes with the services involving bishops, including celebrations of new ministries, consecrations of churches, and ordination rites. Like its two companion volumes, Howard E. Galley’s The Ceremonies of the Eucharist and Mitchell’s Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and the Great Fifty Days, this new guide offers clear descriptions of ways of celebrating the rites as well as the theological and historical reasons behind them. The book is designed to be useful in churches of all sizes, small and large.

An exploration of the history of the Book of Common Prayer and its revisions, beginning with the 1549 English Prayer Book and continuing up to the present. This revised and expanded version finishes the story of the final adoption of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Sydnor explores why each revision was necessary, what was changed, added, omitted, as well as what was retained in the “new” book. By understanding the delicate balance between the need for change and the preservation of what is timeless, William Sydnor believes that Episcopalians will “find anew that common ground of common prayer which is our legacy, our inspiration, and our joy.”

Daily spiritual practice takes dedication and discipline, and we often wonder where to start and how to keep it from feeling like yet another task on our to-do list. In this grounded, practical book, author Derek Olsen uses The Book of Common Prayer for a template to a deeper spiritual life. Olsen explains the purpose and intention of the prayer book with fresh insight, offering practical applications for daily living.

Who is God? Who is the Creator? Who is the Christ? What is Salvation? Who is God the Spirit? What is the Church? What is Baptism? What is our future? Loving the Questions is a series of reflections on the questions raised by the Nicene Creed, a fourth-century statement of the Christian faith still used regularly in worship in churches around the world. Taking us through the creed step-by-step, Marianne Micks not only poses the questions most asked by contemporary Christians, but also teaches us to delight in the questions themselves. Faith accompanied by doubt, she believes, is far healthier that faith that never asks "why?" In short, accessible chapters Micks informs us of the historical background of the Nicene Creed and reminds us of the creed's theological, communal, and personal relevance today.