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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Philosophy and Liturgy Conference - Update 1
Update from the Philosophy and Liturgy conference:
“This conference is the beginning of the fulfillment of a dream that I’ve had for about 25 years—getting philosophers to engage liturgy,” said Nicholas Wolterstorff to begin the conference. Too often philosophers content themselves with talking only about belief and epistemologies of belief, he said, while liturgy is considered mere ritual. Wolterstorff laid out a definition of liturgy as “scripted action” in a broad sense. In liturgy we “face God” and “affirm the worth” of God. Liturgy is not just a ritual that expresses social values, traditions, and beliefs; it is a response to core underlying reason or logic (he used the Latin word ‘ratio,’ akin to the Greek ‘logos’) to worship, and this demands further philosophical attention. Questions Wolterstorff suggested for philosophical discussion included:
- what does it mean to pray a psalm as one’s own words?
- what is going on in the liturgical use of the present tense (“Christ is born today”)?
- in entering a worship space, do we leave secular space?
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Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Blog reports from Transforming Culture conference in Austin
Blog reports from Transforming Culture, which featured Eugene Peterson, Jeremy Begbie, Barbara Nicolosi, Andy Crouch, David Taylor, and CICW director John Witvliet:
- Two Days After from David Taylor
- Day 3 Panel Discussion from doulos2k.net
Events • Interdisciplinary Application • Liturgical Arts • (4) Comments • Permalink
Monday, January 28, 2008
Symposium ‘08: all blog posts
List of all blog posts from Symposium 2008:
Symposium ‘08 Update 18 - communal conviviality, literally!- Symposium ‘08 Update 17
- Symposium ‘08 Update 16
- Symposium ‘08 Update 15
- Symposium ‘08 Update 14
- Symposium ‘08 Update 13
- Symposium ‘08 Update 12
- Symposium ‘08 Update 11
- Symposium ‘08 Update 10
- Symposium ‘08 Update 9 - ‘One generation will call to the next’
- Symposium ‘08 Update 8 - other reports
- Symposium ‘08 Update 7 - We’re Live!
Symposium ‘08 Update 6- Symposium ‘08 Update 5
- Symposium ‘08 Update 4 - Cold but bright weather for Day 1
- Symposium ‘08 Update 3
- Symposium ‘08 Update 2
- Symposium ‘08 Update 1
- Prayer Booth Takes Shape
- This is what 2,000 books looks like
- Another presenter preview
- Calling all Symposium bloggers!
- Presenter preps for Symposium
- Prayers for overseas Symposium guests denied visas
- Prayer Booth at Symposium
Calvin Symposium on Worship homepage
Symposium ‘08 Update 18 - communal conviviality, literally!
I told a few colleagues that I saw at Wikipedia that the word “symposium” “originally referred to a drinking party (the Greek verb sympotein means ‘to drink together’).” Scott Hoezee replied:
The “new wine” of the Spirit will have to continue to suffice!
Curiously, the Greek “sumposia” is used just once in the New Testament. It’s in Mark 6 where Jesus—at the Feeding of the 5,000—directs the disciples to have the people to “sit in GROUPS of 50 and 100.” The word translated as “groups” is “sumposia,” and I think Mark was using that intentionally to convey the joy and giddiness that attended Jesus’ great feeding miracle in the wilderness. In addition to the Wikipedia note about drinking, “sumposia” did refer to any party characterized by great joy and conviviality.
Come to think of it, that works for [our] Symposium, too!
Symposium ‘08 Update 17
Blog posts looking back on Symposium from bethaniqua, churchbeat, cpyu, drbobk, indeliblog, preaching2thechoir, rachelvz, vwieringa, and witheagleswings (add yours).
Calvin Symposium on Worship homepage
Symposium ‘08 Update 16
In closing worship on Saturday afternoon, we sang Keith and Krystin Getty’s “Behold the Lamb” as we celebrated the Lord’s Supper together.
And so with thankfulness and faith we rise
To respond, and to remember
Our call to follow in the steps of Christ
As His body here on earth.
As we share in His suffering
We proclaim Christ will come again!
And we’ll join in the feast of heaven
Around the table of the King
Our prayers go with all who attended Symposium as they travel back to their worshiping communities and lead (or join) them in vital worship!
Calvin Symposium on Worship homepage
Symposium ‘08 Update 14
Above: Richard Ostling, longtime religion reporter for Time magazine, leads a session on “The Cultural Context of American Worship” Calvin Symposium on Worship homepage Previous update
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Saturday, January 26, 2008
Symposium ‘08 Update 13
A story that is cause for prayer, as told in our prayer booth:
“Brother Davis Ludav Lugoloobi (of Uganda) died in a car crash on Monday, January 14, 2008, a week before he was scheduled to arrive in Grand Rapids for Symposium.”Calvin Symposium on Worship homepage Previous update
Symposium ‘08 Update 12
Morning worship in the Fine Arts Center ended with this benediction from Jude 24-25:
Now to him who is able to keep you from falling,
and to make you stand without blemish
in the presence of his glory with rejoicing,
to the only God our Savior,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
be glory, majesty, power, and authority,
before all time and now and forever.
Amen.
Calvin Symposium on Worship homepage
Symposium ‘08 Update 11
Day 2 report from lukehyder
I’m writing as I listen to Michael Card play an old upright piano in the corner of the room, singing a song from his recent lament album, “Come Lift Up Your Sorrows.” A beautiful song. I’ll have to write about it later.
In the meantime, I want to just begin processing through a couple questions that were raised at a workshop I attending Friday by the worship historian Lester Ruth - The Most Used Contemporary Worship Songs: Their View of God and our Love of God.
Calvin Symposium on Worship homepage
Friday, January 25, 2008
Symposium ‘08 Update 10
Seen around Symposium this morning:
Above: John Witvliet leads a workshop on “Worship 101”
Above: Ron Man leads a workshop on “Biblical Principles of Worship”
Above: One of our many exhibitors: GIA Publications
Above: Lisa De Boer leads a presentation on art and worship
Above: Jorge Lockward leads a workshop on “Planning Worship for the Global Village”
Above: Stephanie Wiltse leads a workshop on handbells
Above: Another sunny snowy morning in Michigan! Calvin Symposium on Worship homepage Previous update
Symposium ‘08 Update 9 - ‘One generation will call to the next’
In worship in the chapel this morning, we sang this song(pdf) by Greg Scheer that echoed our theme of “cloud of witnesses”:
One generation will call to the next:
“Our God is good, and his hand is strong!”
All of the world sings his marvelous acts,
and our voice will join with theirs in the song.
Calvin Symposium on Worship homepage
Symposium ‘08 Update 8 - other reports
Day 1 reports from lukehyder and rachelvz (add yours).
Blogging will be lighter here today, but there’s lots to catch up on from yesterday, and tune in this afternoon for the plenary address by Dallas Willard!
Calvin Symposium on Worship homepage
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Symposium ‘08 Update 7 - We’re Live!
We just wrapped up our first ever live webcast from Worship Symposium—Jimmie Abbington’s stirring plenary address on the last 100 years of gospel music.
We’ll have the whole file archived on our website after Symposium, but to give you a taste, here are a few clips. (The video in these clips is a little grainy, but the archived version will be crystal clear!)
• Jimmie Abbington introduces a video clip of Andre Crouch (7 MB)
• Jimmie Abbington leads a piano-pounding rendition of “Soon and Very Soon” (7 MB)
• Jimmie Abbington concludes his presentation (26 MB)
Calvin Symposium on Worship homepage
Symposium ‘08 Update 6
One of the seminars today dwelled on the significance of the Ascension—arguably the most underrated day, and most underrated theology, in the life of the church. The seminar was a reprise of sorts of a 2006 conference on the Ascension.
Among the statements I overheard as I listened in:
- Pastor Mike Abma asked if anyone in the room worshiped in a church that observed Ascension Day with a Thursday worship service. No one raised their hand.
- A comment was made that Ascension Day might be observed on the previous Sunday, but it often has to compete with Mothers Day—which is not exactly a liturgical holiday.
- Speakers encouraged worship leaders and preachers to highlight Ascension themes throughout the church year (for instance, Advent ties in to the second coming, which is predicted by the angel after the Ascension; the Transfiguration presents Jesus in a cloud, similar to the cloud that hides him when he ascends; Lent and Easter can be observed mindful of how John unites the passion, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ by talking about “the hour” in which “the Son of Man lifted up”—and they didn’t mention it by name, but Christ the King Sunday has clear Ascension overtones.
- In addition to liturgical seasonal connections, Gerrit Scott Dawson pointed out that “lift up your hearts” is the call to spiritual ascension that defines every worship service (and most explicitly, every celebration of the Lord’s Supper).
- Mike Abma said that music is one of the most important ways to celebrate the Ascension, in part because “we sing our theology.” He pointed to “Joy To The World” as an unlikely but fitting Ascension hymn.
Calvin Symposium on Worship homepage
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