Modern History of Worship

Conveners: Katharine E. Harmon (kharmon@marian.edu) is Assistant Professor at Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. She specializes in pastoral liturgy and the history of modern liturgical renewal in the United States.

Members in Attendance: Sarah Blair, Rychie Breidenstein, Kent Burreson, Martin Connell, Timothy Gabrielli, Katharine E. Harmon, William Johnston, Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero, Shawn Strout, Karen Westerfield-Tucker

Visitors: Hilary Bogert-Winkler, Allan Ferguson

Description of Work: The History of Modern Worship seminar welcomes papers exploring the liturgical history of the modern era (c. 1500-present) by considering its theological, socio-cultural, and practical/pastoral aspects. We are committed to dialogue and interface between denominations, which greatly enriches our seminar’s work. At this meeting, we found exciting intersections across our work regarding the theme of participation. Our first paper considered the practical and theological impact of online liturgies for Christian worship; then, we received a consideration of how Roman Catholic liturgical pioneers linked “active participation” to “salvation,” along with a paper which contextualized the “liturgical movement” within the wider banner of “Social Christianity.” We discussed the liturgical aspects of the diary of 17th-century Anglican, Samuel Pepys. Our final paper presented a history of the revision of the Church of England’s liturgical books, with consideration of its impact for the contemporary Episcopal Church. As is our custom, we began our meeting with brief reports on our current work and research projects, and concluded with plans for next year’s work.

Papers and Presentations:

• Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero, “Online Liturgies.” This essay overviews the historical trajectory of technology’s role in worship, and considers theological opportunities, challenges and recent debates put forward by online liturgies.

• William Johnston, “Liturgical Pioneers and their Motivation.” This paper presents the driving concern of liturgical movement pioneers as focus on God’s glory and people’s salvation, rather than active participation alone.

• Katharine E. Harmon, “Liturgical Movement: Introduction.” The liturgical movement is best understood as a Christian and sacramental social response to the needs of the modern world, described as a movement within “Social Christianity.”

• Martin Connell, “Preying in Church: Christian Worship in the Diary of Samuel Pepys (1660-1669).” Pepys’ work gives us a look at Christian liturgy in England in times of religious and liturgical change.

• Shawn Strout, “Liturgical Reform in the Church of England and its Influence on the Episcopal Church.” Liturgical revision in the Church of England shows how significant shifts in authorization processes for liturgical resources have already occurred.

Other Work and Plans for the Future: At present, proposed projects for next year include:

• Hilary Bogert-Winkler: Church of Ireland prayer book history in the 17th century

• Martin Connell: A presentation on liturgy and literature

• Kent Burreson: A selection from a forthcoming work on Martin Luther and/ or a “grassroots” approach to liturgy

Rev. Shawn Strout, Ph.D. was elected as the new convener.