Save the Date for ILS 2025
The 76th annual meeting of the Institute of Liturgical Studies (ILS) will be held at Valparaiso University from Monday, April 28 through Wednesday, April 30, 2025 – the Second Week of Easter in the Western liturgical calendar. Participants consistently report that their time at ILS is a welcome time of renewal following the intensity of Holy Week.
ILS 2025 – Rites of Passage: Engaging Occasional Practitioners in a Secular Age
The American religious landscape is characterized by declining participation in religious institutions, increasing uncertainty about matters of faith, and a growing population identifying as non-religious. Nevertheless, many people continue to turn to churches at some of the most significant moments in their lives—such as the birth of a child or the loss of a loved one—and many others show up to support them.
At last year’s Institute, Rev. Dr. Sarah Kathleen Johnson introduced the idea of occasional religious practice to describe a way of relating to religion that is characterized by participation in religious practices occasionally rather than routinely, most often in connection with certain types of occasions, including holidays, life transitions, and times of crisis. She encouraged us not to rush to judge occasional practitioners’ lack of involvement or to come to hasty conclusions about why they are seeking out these practices but instead to listen to and learn from them.
Most of our planning resources are directed at the Sunday assembly. Yet, baptisms, weddings, and funerals are liturgical events rich in their potential for service and outreach. How might we more fully consider the possibilities of these occasions to be better prepared to serve a decreasingly churched culture?
ILS 2024 in Review
Last April was the 75th meeting of the Institute of the Liturgical Studies (ILS). We gathered under the theme Creation, Not Commodity: the Church’s Liturgy in a Consumer Culture. Three plenary speakers addressed the theme from their vantage point.
Benjamin Dueholm, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in University Park, Texas, author of Sacred Signposts: Words, Water, and Other Acts of Resistance and a regular newsletter on Substack, led us off by calling our attention to the commodification of our liturgy inherent in the move to social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. He observed that while it is tempting to imagine that we are capturing the liturgy in the video feed, the actual event of communal worship is frequently off-camera and unscripted. You can see his presentation here.
Sarah Kathleen Johnson, assistant professor of liturgy and pastoral theology at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario, shared insights from her research conducted over three years. Johnson followed the participation of nonreligious and religiously diverse people who sought baptismal and funeral services at Anglican Churches in Toronto, Ontario. She called us to listen more carefully to the stories people bring to us when they seek the church’s services. You can see her presentation here.
Finally, Fr. Mark Roosien, a priest in the Orthodox Church in America and lecturer in liturgical studies at Yale Divinity School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, shared the story of a group of Eastern European émigrés that sought to combine social action with robust liturgical life in Paris on the eve of World War II. Roosien believes their story might inform ours for a time when smart technologies parse every moment of global catastrophes into bite-sized units used by market forces to exploit and monetize our attention. His talk “Let Us Be Attentive!” Liturgical Time and Market Time in an Age of Catastropheasks the question: How might the liturgy alternatively shape worshippers’ attention to engage a suffering world authentically? You can see his presentation here.
In addition to these recordings, video recordings of the Gathering Eucharist, Midday Prayer, and Sending Eucharist are all available on the ILS YouTube Channel with full credits.
Call for Brugh Emerging Leader Nominations
We seek nominations for the 2025 Brugh Emerging Leader Award. Intended for individuals in the first 10–15 years of their professional careers (regardless of age or previous occupations), the Brugh Emerging Leader Award is presented annually at the Institute of Liturgical Studies. It is designed to celebrate gifts, sensibilities, and capabilities demonstrated through faithful leadership and outstanding contributions to the liturgical life of the church. The award is accompanied by a stipend of $500.00 to be used by recipients for continuing education at their discretion.
Established in recognition of Lorraine (Institute director, 2004–17) and Gary Brugh, the award’s purpose is twofold: to honor and encourage individuals early in their vocation and to acknowledge significant gifts already made by these individuals for the good of the whole church through such activities as creation of content—writings, music, art, presentations, and more—that, among other considerations, nurture relationships within communities, demonstrate an ongoing commitment to education, and balance received wisdom with new and creative expressions.
To see a list of past recipients and submit a nomination, please visit the Institute’s website.
Exhibitor Registration is Now Open!
Registration for exhibitors at ILS 2025 is now open! Tables are reserved on a first come, first served basis.
Please email ils@valpo.edu with any questions. Exhibitors register here.
Do you listen to podcasts?
The Institute of Liturgical Studies is exploring the possibility of advertising on popular theology podcasts. If you follow a theological podcast, please identify it here.
Seeking Interfaith Speaker Recommendations
We’d like to present a workshop on interfaith weddings at ILS 2025. To that end, we’re seeking recommendation for non-Christian clergy with interfaith wedding experience who might be interested in presenting ILS. We’re especially interested in people from the metro-Chicago area. If you have someone to recommend, please send an email to ILS@valpo.edu.
Support the Institute of Liturgical Studies
The Institute of Liturgical Studies is grateful for the support of its donors. Gifts to the Institute may directed towards two funds:
INSTITUTE OF LITURGICAL STUDIES ENDOWMENT
Established in 1995, the Institute’s endowment ensures the long-term financial stability of the Institute and enables future growth, the ILS Endowment funds the planning and implementation of the annual meeting of the Institute of Liturgical Studies together with the support of registering participants and the in-kind support of Valparaiso University.
THE PETER J. L. PERELLA SCHOLARSHIP FUND
This scholarship fund no-cost registration for full-time students regardless of year of degree program. Established in 2014, the scholarship honors the memory of the Rev. Peter J. L. Perella, who contributed to the Institue as a member of its advisory council and served the wider church as director of worship formation and liturgical resources of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
If you would like to make a gift to ILS, please contact the Executive Director, James Wetzstein at james.wetzstein@valpo.edu or 219.464.6794 or send your check to:
Institute of Liturgical Studies
Helge Center for Calling and Spiritual Life
1600 Chapel Drive
Valparaiso, IN 46383