Faith
About this blog
Thinking the Faith, Praying the Faith, Living the Faith is written by the PC(USA) Office of Theology and Worship.
Thinking, praying, and living the faith is at the core of ministry in the Office of Theology and Worship. In the following videos, learn more about what thinking, praying, and living the faith means to the leadership of the Office of Theology and Worship. Discover why it matters and what difference it makes in our lives, work, and worship.
Charles Wiley
Barry Ensign-George
David Gambrell
Christine Hong
Karen Russell
Recent posts
- Our Challenging Way: Faithfulness, Sex, Ordination, and Marriage
- Unity, Confessions, and the Book of Order
- Come and See
- Please and Thank You
- Back to Basics on Ash Wednesday
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- Theology (32)
- Worship (26)
- Faith (23)
- Spirituality (13)
- Leadership (11)
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Archives
Vatican 2 at Fifty
Last night I had the honor and joy of participating in a worship service at Bellarmine University to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the convocation of the Second Vatican Council. On October 4, 1962, the feast of Saint Francis, Pope John XXIII went to Assisi to pray for the council.
The service included the prayer that Pope John XXIII used to convene the council, subsequently prayed by the bishops at the opening of each session:
We stand before you, Holy Spirit,
conscious of our sinfulness,
but aware that we gather in your name.
Come to us, remain with us, and enlighten our hearts.
Give us light and strength to know your will,
to make it our own, and to live it in our lives.
Guide us by your wisdom, support us by your power,
for you are God, sharing the glory of Father and Son.
You desire justice for all.
Enable us to uphold the rights of others;
do not allow us to be misled by ignorance
or corrupted by fear or favor.
Unite us to yourself in the bond of love
and keep us faithful to all that is true.
As we gather in your name
may we temper justice with love,
so that all our decisions may be pleasing to you,
and earn the reward promised to good and faithful servants.
You live and reign with the Father and the Son,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.
September 18, 2012
Keep the Feast
Recently someone asked me why the word “festival” is used to describe all those “red-letter days” in the Christian year—like Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, but also Baptism, Transfiguration, and Ascension of the Lord, among others. A teachable moment!* We have nearly forgotten that “festival” originally meant “of or pertaining to a feast” (Oxford English Dictionary). We’ve come to think of “festival” in a more general way, as a grand gala or communal celebration—like a music festival or an arts festival. But a festival, at least in the original sense, is meant …- Posted at 2:18 p.m.
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September 8, 2012
I Love to Tell the Story
One of the things I love about the forthcoming (2013) Presbyterian hymnal, Glory to God, is that it is shaped by a story -- the story of our salvation in Jesus Christ.There are lots of ways to organize a hymnal: topical categories, theological doctrines, liturgical seasons, even alphabetical order (we tried that with the Worshipbook). But Glory to God is shaped by the story of salvation history.The first half of the hymnal, therefore, is all about Christian faith, telling the story of God's Mighty Acts. It begins before the beginning, with hymns and songs …- Posted at 9:45 p.m.
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September 2, 2012
The Church Needs a Table
On the way home from worship today I heard a (rerun) episode of America's Test Kitchen Radio. Host Christopher Kimball was interviewing Mary Roach, author of Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, about what and how astronauts eat in space. This exchange caught my attention:- Posted at 1:03 p.m.
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August 29, 2012
Sins, Debts, and Trespasses (and Church Politics)
More than any other Christian activity, worship can demonstrate the unity we have in Christ. Gathering around the table is a visible sign of our unity in Christ. At the same time, worship can expose the fault lines between Christians as well. That same gathering around the table can also show our divisions, as when Roman Catholics and Protestants cannot share the bread and cup together.- Posted at 4:23 p.m.
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