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Worship Planning for Today's Episcopal Church
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Shawn M. Schreiner & Dennis E. Northway
Nov/2014, 160 Pages, PAPER, 8.5 x 11
ISBN-13: 9780819229458
• Ready-to-use liturgies with music, for all seasons of the church year
• Offers a practical guide for child-directed, inclusive worship
• Download the liturgy template here
Grace Episcopal Church, Oak Park, Illinois has become a model for how to engage all generations in an experiential and fully inclusive Eucharistic liturgy. The Rite Place is a 30-minute service designed for young children and their households in response to the congregation’s desire to offer welcoming worship for all ages. This book has three parts: the theology of intergenerational worship, including pastoral issues and how a church might get started to implement such a model; the use of music as an integral piece to worship as formation; and complete liturgies for Advent/Christmas/Epiphany, Lent, Maundy Thursday/ Good Friday, Easter, and the Season of Pentecost/Summer that are accessible for other congregations to use in their own settings.
For clergy, Christian educators, musicians, liturgists, Episcopal schools, chaplains, children’s hospitals, seminaries, and faith formation organizations.
Dr. Dennis E. Northway is an active and award-winning conductor, composer, organist, teacher, and is the parish musician at Grace Episcopal Church. He has twice received the coveted "Who's Who among America's Teachers" award. His books include Pipe Organs of Chicago, Volumes One and Two, co-authored with Stephen Schnurr, and the musical collection "ChicAGO Centenary Anthology." He lives in Chicago, Illinois.
Shawn M. Schreiner is the former rector of Grace Episcopal Church, Oak Park, IL, and is recognized for being on the forefront of liturgical innovation. She has served in four congregations since her ordination in 1991 and lives in Chicago, Illinois.
"If you want to seed and nurture your own genuinely intergenerational Eucharistic congregation, this is the practical, specific, and theologically grounded guide you've been looking for. Shawn Shreiner and Dennis Northway's generous offering of their experience in this book will make a difference to you whether you're overwhelmed or inspired by the challenge of creating worship that's accessible and engaging for children and that moves and forms adults' faith, too. This priest and musician team gathered, grew, and continues to lead worship that matters deeply to the adult and children who make liturgy with them – truly liturgy for the whole congregation. The compelling story of their insight, dreams, discoveries, and challenges will engage your own hopes and visions." - Donald Schell, President of All Saints Company, co-founder of St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, San Francisco, and founder of "Music that Makes Community""At a time when church leaders seek to engage anew all of God's people in worship, Shawn Schreiner and Dennis Northway deliver the ultimate bundle of goods. Grounded in the belief that formation begins in worship, The Rite Place: Kids Do Church! Adults Do Too! offers the perfect resource for those who take seriously children and their life and place in the congregational community. This book not only lays out a concise theology of baptismal ministry and liturgy that engages all of God's people, but also provides the necessary tools to embrace such a liturgy in any congregation. Based on sound doctrine and practical experience, the liturgies, music, and additional resources provided are a treasure trove for anyone leading worship. The Rite Place tells us, "A gift is something we give. It is also something we are." This book is a gift to the Episcopal Church."
- Anne E. Kitch, Canon to the Ordinary and Canon for Formation in the Christian Faith, Diocese of Bethlehem and author of The Anglican Family Prayer Book
"The community of Grace Church is fortunate to have leadership courageous enough to plan and offer a liturgy so inclusive of its youngest members, and now we all can benefit from their adventurous spirit, hard work of figuring out what works, and generosity in sharing the fruits of their efforts. Many in the church have talked about inviting children into fuller participation; Grace Church has done it."
- Kate Gillooly, Minister for Christian Formation and Program, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
"Dennis Northway and Shawn Schreiner offer their wisdom gained through experience and a treasure trove of resources, both liturgical texts and music, honed over years of celebrating the Eucharist with people of all ages. This book shows the way for those eager to design worship that welcomes even the youngest children as full participants in the worship of God."
- Ruth Meyers, Dean of Academic Affairs and
Hodges-Haynes Professor of Liturgics,
Church Divinity School of the Pacific
"If a parish is truly serious about full inclusion of children into their faith community, especially during corporate worship, this is the book for them. Shawn and Dennis have asked and answered all questions with such complete liturgical thoroughness that there is no reason why The Rite Place can't be placed next to every copy of the Book of Common Prayer that is all ready in your church. This is the right step to insure that our children of today will be fully vested in the Episcopal Church now and in our future."
- Kellee Wattenbarger, Director of Christian Formation, St. Christopher's Church, Springfield VA