Upcoming Event
A Reformation Sunday worship service commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Accra Confession
October 27, 2024, 5:00 PM
Chalice and Loaf or Cups and Cubes
Our celebration of the Lord's Supper in the Reformed tradition is sometimes touched with uncertainty. Is there something sacred about wine, or is grape juice an acceptable option? Are there rules about whether the bread should be leavened or unleavened, store-bought or home-baked, white or wheat? Is a single chalice more meaningful than a tray full of small cups? Who should bring the elements to the table—and when? Does it make any difference what we do with leftover elements?
July 20, 2023
Sharing and Serving: The Lord's Supper
This fourth session is part of “Experiencing the Contours of Early Modern Worship,” a series of five linked sessions bringing current-day participants into the world of Reformation Europe. What was it like to attend worship in Wittenberg in 1530, Geneva in 1550, London in 1570, or Venice in 1590? When people in different confessional contexts joined in worship and participated in the sacrament in this period, what differences and similarities were there? Join Sue Rozeboom [Western Theological Seminary] and Karin Maag [Meeter Center] for an overview of the range of perspectives on and practices of this sacrament in the Reformation era.
February 10, 2023
Joining the Community of Worship: Baptism
This second session is part of “Experiencing the Contours of Early Modern Worship,” a series of five linked sessions bringing current-day participants into the world of Reformation Europe. What was it like to attend worship in Wittenberg in 1530, Geneva in 1550, London in 1570, or Venice in 1590? When people in different confessional contexts joined in worship and participated in the sacraments in this period, what differences and similarities were there? Join Lyle Bierma [professor emeritus of church history, Calvin Theological Seminary] and Karin Maag [Meeter Center] as they present John Calvin's theology of baptism and the practice of this sacrament more widely across the Reformation era.
February 8, 2023
A Coherent Ritual Life
What do our daily habits of home and work have to do with weddings, baptisms, or the Lord’s Supper? Dru Johnson and Cory Willson trace the biblical lines of ritual thinking, from the field, office, and factory to worship in the sanctuary and waters of baptism. Recording from the session held in July 2022.
November 9, 2022
Resources by N.T. Wright Related to Christian Public Worship
Nicholas Thomas Wright, known as N. T. Wright or Tom Wright, is an English New Testament scholar, Pauline theologian and Anglican bishop. He was the bishop of Durham from 2003 to 2010. He served as research professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at St Mary's College in the University of St Andrews in Scotland until 2019, when he became a senior research fellow at Wycliffe Hall at the University of Oxford.
July 19, 2022
Baptism as a Way of Life
How does the one-time act of receiving baptism connect to the everyday life of Christians? In this panel discussion, a group of pastor-theologians will reflect on the relationship of baptism as a worship practice and sacrament to baptism as a lived identity. This is a YouTube Video Premiere panel discussion.
November 16, 2021
Paul Turner on Presiding Artfully at Mass
In his new book, Ars Celebrandi, Paul Turner writes that “a well-prepared and celebrated liturgy is the church’s best response to crisis.” He offers fresh principles for how a priest’s presiding style can help the faithful participate more actively in the Mass.
March 18, 2021
Reflections on Online Sacraments
Both before and after the onset of COVID-19, Christian congregations around the world have been exploring the prospects and constraints involved in engaging the Lord's Supper/Eucharist and baptism online--inviting participation either through watching a celebration or participating as a communicant, prayer leader, baptismal sponsor, or in some other way.
February 16, 2021
Matthew Kaemingk and Cory B. Willson on Work and Worship
Many of us feel guilty for thinking about work during gathered worship. We don’t see a connection between what we do in worship and what we do at work. But a new book on work and worship describes biblical worship practices that help workers reclaim their place in the priesthood of all believers.
December 3, 2020
David L. Stubbs on the Multiplicity of Meanings of the Eucharist
In this episode, Western Theological Seminary professor David Stubbs talks about the multiplicity of meanings of the Eucharist and what it means to bring our whole selves to the Lord's table.
November 3, 2020
Kimberly Hope Belcher on Christian Unity and Communion
Ephesians 4 calls Christians to “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” unity. Yet many Christian traditions don’t allow full communion with other denominations. Kimberly Hope Belcher’s new book Eucharist and Receptive Ecumenism: From Thanksgiving to Communion, offers steps toward greater unity.
October 16, 2020
Shaping Worship During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Maintaining Community via Virtual Worship at St. Monica Catholic Community, Santa Monica, California
St. Monica Catholic Community aims to welcome and engage every member toward deeper participation in worship and parish life. In this edited conversation, Dale Sieverding explains how to keep members of a church community feeling connected even though they cannot commune together.
April 14, 2020