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Overview
The book extends the usefulness of denominational "occasional services" books and other resources by suggesting ways to build a rite around a central symbolic action, pointing out issues of ritual honesty and ethics, and identifying skills and attributes necessary to preparing and leading a rite. Numerous narrative examples help to flesh out the principles and illustrate the key argument: that rituals are necessary means to enable human growth and maturity, both through times of suffering and times of transition, and that ritual-making leaders are central to the ongoing health of the church.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780800697365 |
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Publisher: | 1517 Media |
Publication date: | 08/01/2012 |
Pages: | 160 |
Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.00(d) |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction. Workship as Ritual: Understanding and Claiming Ethical Christian Ritual 1
What is "Ritual"? 1
Four Attributes of Ritual Practice 4
Reasons to Create Caring Liturgies 9
1 Creative Rites: Assessing Pastoral Ritual Need 19
Joanie's Story 22
The Problem of Resistance 24
Resistance as a Dilemma between Theology and Experience 27
Ritual Creativity: Solving Dilemmas through the Third Way 34
Resistance as Unrecognized Vulnerability and the Need for Empathy 36
2 Ritual Midwives: Planning and Leading Ritual 43
Engaging a Caring, Competent Community for Ritual Planning 43
Four Attributes Necessary for Ritual Planning 46
Roles Necessary to Planning a Ritual 51
Roles Necessary to Conducting a Ritual 53
Speaking or Acting "On Behalf Of" 59
3 Metaphors and Symbols: Linking a Person's Story to the Christian Story 65
Arriving at a "Defining Metaphor" 66
How Metaphor Works 69
Entering the World of the Metaphor 71
From Metaphor to Symbol 75
From Symbol to Sacrament: The Sacramental Principle 77
Using Symbols Sacramentally 79
People as Symbols 81
Effective Symbols: Symbolic Rupture 84
Using Symbols Ethically 86
4 Ritual Honesty: Holding Truthful Tension 89
Five Aspects of Ritual Honesty 89
1 A Ritual Sets a Dominant Feeling-Tone 91
2 Acommodating a Wide Range of Feelings and Thoughts 93
3 Ritual Symbols Must Be True 99
4 Ritual Involves Everyone Present 101
5 Allowing the Creative Tension of Opposites to Abide Together 103
5 Holy Sacrifice: Mediating the Labor Pains of Change 109
A Brief Christian Midrash on Sacrifice 111
Labor as an Expression and Integration of Holy Sacrifice 115
6 The Paschal Mystery: The Crux of Caring Ritual 123
Centerpiece of Christian Living: The Paschal Mystery of Christ 124
1 Paschal Mystery as Ritual Spirituality of Baptism 128
2 Paschal Mystery as Lens Through Which to See Life 132
3 Paschal Mystery as Both Call and Commitment of the Baptized 133
4 Death to New Life as the Critical Criterion 135
Conclusion 138
Notes 139
Index 147