Worship Weblog
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
‘Seeing the Savior’ exhibit at John Knox Presbyterian in Seattle
John Knox Presbyterian Church is hosting a new exhibit through Christians in the Visual Arts, Seeing the Savior, through the end of July. From the Annunciation to his Second Coming, 34 insightful and colorful interpretations of the birth, ministry, Passion, ascension, and return of the Lord are masterfully portrayed by 13 artists from a variety of artistic and ethnic backgrounds.
Interdisciplinary Application • Liturgical Arts • News • (0) Comments • Permalink
B&C on ‘Sundays in America’
Review of ‘Sundays in America’ at Books&Culture’s website:
I’m trying to think of something that’s as strange as church. As frankly odd. As consistently peculiar. My own church, for instance. I love it. But I wonder how it might appear to a Martian. Or, to John the Baptist, say. Or, for that matter, to Suzanne Strempek Shea, author of Sundays in America: A Yearlong Road Trip in Search of Christian Faith. Shea, a writer who made it her business to visit fifty-two churches in a year, and to write a chapter about each one. It’s a lot of churches. It’s a lot of chapters.
Interdisciplinary Application • Reading • Worshipping Communities • (0) Comments • Permalink
Monday, June 30, 2008
60 Minutes on the persecution of Christians in Iraq
An abandoned Christian church in the Baghdad neighborhood of Dora.
60 Minutes re-aired this story last night on Christian congregations in Iraq. It was a reminder of the harsh persecution that has fallen on Christians in Iraq, most of whom have either fled or been killed by Islamic radicals. And it was a cause for gratitude and awe to see what God is doing in the face of death through Canon Andrew White, a courageous priest ministering in Baghdad (learn more about his foundation, his books, and his work). He and his wounded flock need the fervent prayers of Christians around the world.
Interdisciplinary Application • Leadership • News • World • Worshipping Communities • (2) Comments • Permalink
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Grants Colloquium ‘08 Update 3
Update from Grants Colloquium:
One of the highlights of every Colloquium is the poster session. Here’s a look at some of the posters and conversations from this afternoon:
Colloquium concludes tomorrow morning with worship and reflections. We pray for safe travel and vital worship and ministry among all our grant recipients as they return to their worshiping communities.
Update: Read Chris Meehan’s report on grant recipients from the Christian Reformed Church.
Grants Colloquium ‘08 Update 2
Update from Grants Colloquium:
Worship this morning 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 forevermore.Amen.
Bless the Lord.The Lord’s name be praised.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Grants Colloquium ‘08 Update 1
Update from Grants Colloquium:
For me one highlight of the day was the passing of the peace after opening worship:
Friday, June 20, 2008
Christmas in July? (Advent in August?)
Today is the longest day of the year, and so, naturally, my thoughts turn to ... Advent. Maybe because this means we’re halfway to the next longest night of the year, which for one church makes for a powerfully resonant Advent service. But on this day of bright sunshine, let me ask worship planners: Christmas in July? Advent in August?
Why not? Although many preachers get to November and wonder how in the world they’re going to tell the same story all over again the following month, I (and I’m just a biblical studies student, not a preacher or
worship planner, so I don’t know what I’m talking about when it comes to planning) find that one month isn’t enough for me to explore all the rich themes and layers of that great mystery, the Incarnation. So if you’re curious, or just looking for something to fill those summer months, I’d be intrigued by a summer series on the Incarnation.
Interdisciplinary Application • Leadership • (0) Comments • Permalink
A picture of connections in the biblical narrative
From the Everyday Liturgy blog:
Seems some people keen on visualizing the narrative intersections of the Bible have linked all the different cross-refrences, metaphors, images, and stories together in a biblical mosaic of color.The alternating grey and white at the bottom are the different books of the Bible, and the colored arcs connecting them are all the different narrative strands.
Interdisciplinary Application • Liturgical Arts • Preaching • (0) Comments • Permalink
Oldest Christian Church found in Jordan?
We often say that worship wasn’t invented yesterday; we inherit centuries of Christian practice. No matter what this cave actually is, this news release is a reminder that our liturgical heritage has deep roots.
Excavators in Rihab, northern Jordan, say they have uncovered a cave underneath a third-century church that they believe was used by the very first Christians between the years 33, about when Jesus was crucified, and 70 A.D., when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. The cave contains a circular structure that may have been an apse, and the floor of the later church above contains a mosaic that refers to the “70 beloved by God and the divine”—a reference, the excavators say, to the first followers of Jesus, who went to that area of Jordan to flee persecution.
Interdisciplinary Application • News • Reading • Worshipping Communities • (0) Comments • Permalink
Alban Weekly on the problem of trying to ‘meet needs’
Food for thought from a recent Alban Weekly:
Defining the church’s ministry by responding to people’s needs is a common notion; but, because of the blurred line between want and need, no matter how much we speak of needs or perceived needs, it puts the church in the position of being defined not by its faith or history but by people’s wants. This trivializes the church, its mission, and its outreach. It eviscerates the heart of the church’s message and cuts the church off from its identity as the people of Christ. But the attitudes engendered in people who come to congregations expecting the church to make meeting their needs (or, more likely, their wants) a priority also harms the church. Simply put, when we say the church is to meet people’s needs, many people personalize that message. They hear, “If I go to church, those folk will take care of me.” In selling the church as a place where people’s needs are met, we draw people for whom there is, at least in their perception, an implied promise that if they come to the church it will provide them with what they think they need. The measurement of a congregation then becomes personal: “Is it meeting my needs?”
Christian History on Spirituals
From Christian History (as featured in a recent newsletter)
Militant abolitionist Thomas W. Higginson was the commander of the First South Carolina Volunteers, the first Union regiment made up of freed slaves. In his camps, his soldiers would break out into song, which Higginson wrote down and published in the Atlantic Monthly.
“These quaint religious songs were to the men more than a source of relaxation, they were a stimulus to courage and a tie to heaven,” he wrote.
“By these they could sing themselves, as had their fathers before them, out of the contemplation of their own low estate, into the sublime scenery of the Apocalypse. I remember that this minor-keyed pathos used to seem to me almost too sad to dwell upon, while slavery seemed destined to last for generations; but now that their patience has had its perfect work, history cannot afford to lose this portion of its record.”
Interdisciplinary Application • Music • Reading • (0) Comments • Permalink
Friday, May 23, 2008
Blog posts from Philosophy and Liturgy
Blog posts from the Philosophy and Liturgy conference:
Related Post
Initial report from John Wilson of Books&Culture
Events • Interdisciplinary Application • (4) Comments • Permalink
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Philosophy and Liturgy - Update 11
Update from the Philosophy and Liturgy conference:
A panel just concluded the conference with reflections and suggestions for future progress in the area of philosophy and liturgy.
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Philosophy and Liturgy - Update 10
Update from the Philosophy and Liturgy conference:
Terence Cuneo just spoke on icons in the Orthodox tradition as “vehicles of divine speech.”
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Philosophy and Liturgy - Update 9
Update from the Philosophy and Liturgy conference:
Peter Ochs led us in vibrant small group reflections on philosophy and Jewish morning prayer--in particular, what happens to the “I,” or sense of self in the act of prayer and through the words of prayer.
