Religion Commons^™

A Word Fitly Spoken, Michael Cobbler

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

Let the people say "Amen!" Amen. I can't hear you. AMEN! Thank you, Jesus. Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed. Alleluia, alleluia! I like to say, when I gather with folk who care about what we do after we say "I believe," when it comes down to ultimate things, I'm just a nobody trying to tell everybody about somebody who can save anybody. Let me run that by again, so everybody can give a rousing "Amen" I'm just a nobody trying to tell everybody about somebody who can save anybody. Amen. And the task I have today is …

The Bible And The Liturgical Movement: Scripture As A Voice In The Church, Not A Book Faxed To It, Robert Farrar Capon

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

I want to begin by telling you my own personal connection with the liturgical movement. It happened way back when I was twenty-one years old and entered seminary in 1946. Those were the bad old days when you went through high school, college, seminary, ordination, and under after that. Actually, we are recognizing they were in some ways the good old days, too, because we got a lot of service out of some of those types who started early and who maybe even learned something along the way.

"The Whole Bible Painted In Our Houses": Visual Narrative And Religious Polemic In Early Lutheran Art, Samuel Torvend

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

In his discussion of the psychodynamics of orality, the Jesuit linguist and philosopher Walter Ong writes that ''the interiorizing force of the oral word relates in a special way to the sacral, to the ultimate concerns of existence. In most religions the spoken word functions integrally in ceremonial and devotional life ... In Christianity, for example, the Bible is read aloud at liturgical services. For God is thought of always as 'speaking' to human beings, not writing to them ... [Indeed] the Hebrew word dabar, which means word, means also event and thus refers directly to the spoken word …

A Brook Runs Through It: Fresh Water From The Bach For Today's Thirsty Church, Mark P. Bangert

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

"Not Bach [brook], but Meer [sea] should be his name," Beethoven once said of Johann Sebastian Bach. 1 In this anniversary year marking the two-hundred and fiftieth year of his death on July 28, Bach is receiving extraordinary attention, which includes a significant biography by Christoph Wolff,2 yet another series of recordings of all the cantatas (that makes five3), and soul-searching among various scholars in an attempt to grasp the essence of this person's life and work.

The Bible As One Story: Images As The Holy Spirit's Device For Making Scripture God's Word Written, Robert Farrar Capon

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

My approach to scripture, you probably have guessed, is not that of someone trained by the biblical scholarship critical fellowship. I studied under them as you all did, too. I managed not to think too much about them, because I didn't think much of them. When I was in seminary a number of us got together and wrote a series of four-line doggerel verses on the result of biblical criticism as we were receiving it when applied to the scriptures. I can only remember one of those stanzas: Of wilderness wanderings, there'd not be so many; of Abraham's stories, …

The Message Is From God, Frederick A. Niedner Jr.

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

I never settled on an opening line for this presentation, so I'll simply tell you that it's a humbling thing to stand here today charged with giving the keynote address for a gathering of the Institute for Liturgical Studies. I have attended this conference for many years-not for as long as many of you, but in twenty-six years at Valparaiso University I recall only one institute I missed completely. That means I've heard at least a hundred institute talks from this podium, and the excellence of the speakers here has consistently enriched and encouraged, sometimes entertained, and often awed …

The Lda Today, Vol. 5, No. 2, Lutheran Deaconess Association

The LDA Today

No abstract provided.

Speaking Of Liturgy: Education And Fonnation Through And For Worship, Dorothy C. Bass

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

On Palm Sunday eighteen days ago I paid a visit to the country of my youth. I was visiting my parents on the East Coast and so on that day I worshiped with them at their church, First Presbyterian. I've never belonged to that particular congregation, but the denominational ethos was familiar. Visiting my family of origin, I had reentered my denomination of origin as well.

You Have To Wear Something, Susan R. Briehl

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

I begin with scripture. Where else could one start when invited to speak about preaching and its power of formation in the lives of hearers? How else can preaching shape a people for the living of this particular and peculiar life to which Jesus calls us, except we tum to scripture, tell its stories, sing its songs, cry its laments, pray its prayers, enter its wisdom, and taste the life it bears? We have no other word to proclaim than the promise of God, the mystery of God's unfailing love for the world revealed and offered to us in …

"Hearers Of The Word": Luke's Gospel As Sacramental Formation For A Liturgical Community, Arthur A. Just Jr.

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

It is privilege to return to the Institute of Liturgical Studies after a long absence, especially on a subject that has consumed me in one way or another over the last fifteen years. I am very grateful to the advisory council for assigning me a topic that develops the biblical foundations of the catechumenate. My doctoral work on Emmaus, my vocation as professor of exegesis and pastoral theology, my participation in the ELCA and LCMS working groups on the catechumenate, as well as my participation in the Missouri Synod's efforts to develop its own catechumenal process, have all contributed …

Baptismal "Spirituality" In The Early Church And Its Implications For The Church Today, Maxwell E. Johnson

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

Let me begin with two quotes from a recent collection of essays by British Methodist liturgical theologian Geoffrey Wainwright, both of which, I believe, speak to the overall theme of this year's liturgical institute. First, in an essay originally published in 1988, Wainwright says: "Without the heartbeat of the sacraments at its center, a church will lack confidence about the gospel message and about its own ability to proclaim that message in evangelism, to live it out in its own internal fellowship, and to embody it in service to the needy."1 And, second, in an essay appearing originally in …

Formed And Reformed: What God Effects Through The Liturgical Assembly Of Christians, Paul R. Nelson

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

It is a privilege to be invited to offer a "keynote" address to the Institute of Liturgical Studies, where so much serious reflection and energy for the renewal and study of Christian worship has been generated. As will become clear to you almost immediately, "keynote" today does not mean key in the sense of offering the key concept that is needed to unlock all subsequent deliberation on the important topic of forming Christians. In my case, "key" refers more frankly and realistically to the indispensable need to start somewhere by opening the door to subsequent work in the institute-with …

Transformed And Transforming: What God Effects Through The Presence Of Christians In The World, Paul R. Nelson

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

On the model of mystagogy: remember your experience last night at the vigil, please, and recall these words from the eucharistic prayer: God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, open our eyes to see your hand at work in the world about us. Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this table for solace only and not for strength; for pardon only and not for renewal. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one body, one spirit in Christ that we may worthily serve the world in his name.' And from Welcome to Christ: Dear …

The Lda Today, Vol. 5, No. 1, Lutheran Deaconess Association

The LDA Today

No abstract provided.

Asking New And Old Questions As We Remember The Future, Marva J. Dawn

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

Let me explain my title, "Asking New and Old Questions as We Remember the Future." Because my training is in biblical ethics, my approach to various worship concerns centers on asking questions (the proper work of ethics) about how our worship practices form us to be God's people. If we are interested at this conference in what our "eschatological tradition" has to say to issues of worship, then we will discover the more new questions we ask, the more they will drive us back to the old ones. Indeed, "there is nothing new under the sun." Always, throughout human …

Holy Communion Is An Artifact Of The Future, Walter R. Bouman

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

A bit of reminiscing seems appropriate on this anniversary occasion.2 The Institute of Liturgical Studies was founded by true pioneers in the liturgical movement. The blessings granted to that movement in terms of its achievements are awesome. I don't know if anyone counted such things in the 1940s, but in the decade in which the Institute of Liturgical Studies was founded there were not a hundred congregations in all of North American Lutheranism where there was a weekly Eucharist.

What Are We Doing When We Pray?, Jorgen Moltmann

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

My God, we cry out and complain we groan and weep we are speechless and silent. And we beg and implore, we wish and we will, we crave and insist. We thank and praise, we rejoice and dance, we sing and we glorify. These are all ways of expressing our lives before God. To call them all 'praying' is much too narrow, because the word 'pray' means much the same as 'ask' and 'plead'. But to come to God only with our entreaties is hardly the expression of a true love for God. God is more than our heavenly …

It's About Time: Practices Of Rest And Worship In Church And Culture, Dorothy C. Bass

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

At this institute on "Worship, Culture, and Catholicity: Remembering the Future" I may focus a little more on culture than have the other speakers, a choice perhaps appropriate for a church historian and student of American religious life. Let me begin, therefore, with a statement from an anthropologist: "Time talks," says Edward T. Hall in his book The Silent Language. "It speaks more plainly than words. The message it conveys comes through loud and clear. Because it is manipulated less consciously, it is subject to less distortion than the spoken language. It can shout the truth where words lie."

Liturgy And Ecumenism: What Next?, Eugene L. Brand

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

This year, 1998, marks the twentieth anniversary of the Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW) that we celebrate together with the fiftieth anniversary of the Institute of Liturgical Studies here at Valparaiso University. My personal debt to the institute goes back to 1956 when I persuaded my internship supervisor to allow me to attend the institute in Michigan. That meeting introduced me to some of the giants of the previous generation-Arthur Carl Piepkorn, Berthold von Schenk, AR. Kretzmann and M. Alfred Bichsel-and gave me a vision of what worship among Lutherans might be. Then, following my return from doctoral studies …

The Lda Today, Vol. 4, No. 1, Lutheran Deaconess Association

The LDA Today

No abstract provided.

The Lda Today, Vol. 4, No. 2, Lutheran Deaconess Association

The LDA Today

No abstract provided.

The Freedom Of The Christian For Culture, Timothy Lull

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

It is somewhat surprising for Timothy Lull to be invited to address a liturgical conference of any sort. I was talking to several of my colleagues at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary this week about what I would be saying, and one of them said, "Ah! Is Lull among the liturgists?" He seemed surprised These colleagues wondered if you knew, for example, that I describe myself as a recovering evangelical catholic, or if you would know that I have the reputation in my congregation as being "the great complainer" about matters like the length of service, the fact that we …

On Baptism And The Spirit: The Ethical Significance Of The Marks Of The Church, Vigen Guroian

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

As the church rounds the close of its second millennium, Christians must recapture the ecclesial and sacramental character of Christian ethics. They must see clearly once more that their ethics belongs to the mystery of the incarnation and the redemptive mission of the church. They must see afresh that their ethics issues directly from their adoption through baptism as sons and daughters of God.

Culture: Around, Against, In The Church's Worship, Marva J. Dawn

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

Two weeks ago a Canadian Broadcasting producer in Montreal telephoned me. She had heard of my book, Reaching Out without Dumbing Down, from a few pastors and wanted to know the main points of my approach, because she was preparing a program for Easter to focus on what congregations could do to attract Canadians to worship.

Concluding Address: Culture And Worship, Once More, Marva J. Dawn

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

The organizing principle I needed to pull together the events of this week became clear quite early in the institute. It became clear because of the great wisdom of the people who attended my discussion session after the opening keynote. They raised some critical issues and pulled many things into the dialectical tensions of which, for lack of time, I had been able to explicate only one side. In response, I found myself again and again saying, "This gets us back to the necessity for community, doesn't it?" All of the worship issues, especially the wars, arise because our …

Liturgical Traffic In Culture: Gridlock, Beginning Drivers, Detours, And Dui, Mark P. Bangert

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

In the Sunday New York Times from March 16, 1997 a short piece with accompanying picture offered a report on a weekly liturgy at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, a liturgy which is very popular with young people. Entitled "The Faithful Are Casual at This Sunday Service," the article concerns a forty-year tradition of doing sung compline in a space which is almost totally dark except for about fifteen male singers, bedecked in cassock and surplice, who stand dimly lighted at portable choir desks. Young people hurry to the 9:30p.m. service to sit in the pews, lie prone …

The Lda Today, Vol. 3, No. 2, Lutheran Deaconess Association

The LDA Today

No abstract provided.

The Lda Today, Vol. 3, No. 1, Lutheran Deaconess Association

The LDA Today

No abstract provided.

Living Word: Sharper Than Any Two-Edged Sword, Edgar Krentz

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

The theme for this year's Institute on liturgical Studies-"Grace Upon Grace: Living Word."-describes what should enliven and move every action among God's people. Not only doxological actions, but didactic, kerygmatic, evangelistic, parenetic-you name it, every thought and action should live in and arise out of the living word.l But just what is that living word? The adjective is striking, not the one we usually attach to the term "word" in either its garden variety meaning or its theological sense. Where do you find a living word? The classical answer for many is obvious: in the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures. …

Sound Theology: The Risk Of Audition, Ed Foley

Institute of Liturgical Studies Occasional Papers

(Excerpt)

It was after I had settled on a tide for this presentation that the irony of it all hit me. Thinking about being on this campus and holding forth on the topic on "sound theology" and the "risk of audition," I was suddenly reminded of an autumn day In 1968, when I first came to this University, played an organ audition with then reigning chapel organist, Dr. Philip Gehring. As I reflect back, however, I am not sure whether that experience should be appropriately categorized as a risk or musicological embarrassment