Resources

Liturgical Arts

Here you will find resources for enhancing and disciplining creativity in liturgical expression, including dance and drama, language arts, music, technology and media arts, and visual arts.

Aspects of Liturgical Arts

Dance
resources and thoughts on liturgical dance
Drama
scripts and instruction for theatrical arts in worship
Media
resources and reflections on using technology meaningfully and purposefully in worship
Music
tools and insights on hymnody, psalmody, and other forms of music in worship
Visual Arts
book lists, images, and other resources on the study and practice of visual arts in worship
Word
resources for wisdom and depth in the language arts in worship

Theology and the Liturgical Arts

Artworks for Public Worship Assemblies: An Invitation to Accept Three Spiritually Nourishing and Culturally Crucial Constraints
John D. Witvliet, plenary address at the April 2008 Transforming Culture conference, Austin, Texas
Authentic Worship and Artistic Action
Harold M. Best, plenary address at the 2005 Calvin Symposium on Worship
Thinking Theologically about the Arts in Worship
Jeremy Begbie, address (audio clip)

Other Resources
46 Essays on Worship and Liturgy (www.religion-online.org)
essays by Willimon, White, Westermeyer, Schalk, and more
Bibliography of Research Tools for the Study of Liturgics :
prepared by Robert R. Howard, Divinity Library, Vanderbilt University, July 2001
Institute for Worship Studies Bibliography on Worship (www.iwsfla.org)
edited by Mark A. Torgerson

“Whether Christians sing hymns, settings of the psalms, spiritual songs, anthems, or praise choruses, music is the principle artistic form that shapes Christian worship. But many others are involved. We gather in architectural structures; we enter rooms sunlit cobalt and ruby through stained-glass filtered light; we sit in well-fashioned furniture; we listen to the literature of the Scriptures; we hear aesthetically crafted messages; we move in processions; and we view images of the symbols and historic figures associated with our faith. When we gather for worship art is all around us, even within us.”
–Clayton J. Schmit, “Art for Faith’s Sake” from Theology, News and Notes 48, no. 2 (Fall 2001), Fuller Theological Seminary