Category: Ritual Studies
-
Brief Book Review: Human Rites
Dr. Melinda Quivik reviews Human Rites: The Power of Rituals, Habits, and Sacraments by Dru Johnson.
-
Devotional Prayer and Community
In early October, I was in Nairobi teaching at a program for contemplative nuns, and afterward I spent a few days with the Benedictine nuns at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery outside the city, in rural Kiambu. As I have written about before, this is still a fairly new community, and it is fascinating…
-
Monastery Spotlight: Queen of Peace Benedictines, Rutherfordton, North Carolina
While yet a small community, clearly these sisters cherish the beauty of monastic ritual.
-
Monastery Spotlight: Abbey of St. Walburga, Virginia Dale, Colorado
I recently had the opportunity to spend a week of retreat with the Benedictine nuns at the Abbey of St. Walburga in the beautiful rocky hills of northern Colorado. What a treat! I commend this community for your interest and support. Founded in 1935 from the historic Abbey of St. Walburga in Eichstatt, Germany, the…
-
Liturgical Expressions on the Hill
It’s been quite a week for those interested in the relationship between liturgy and the public life in Washington DC. The Department of State hosted the 2nd annual Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom that saw over 1000 international participants, not counting side events organized by NGOs and religious organizations. Alongside formal talks and round table…
-
The Scrutinies: Embodying the Serious Business of Belief
In the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, the prayers of the scrutiny rites attest to the resolve of the Elect to remain faithful, even in the midst of confusion, doubt, or rejection, reflecting the serious nature of faith.
-
Do we still have a king?
There is a curious feature in the Prayer of the Faithful for Episcopalians: we tend to give tremendous airtime to the executive branch. One might suspect that this is the result of some sort of residual effect of its historic relationship to the Church of England. But a look at the history of the texts…
-
Standing together: the solidarity of prayer
I am not attempting to erase differences between Christianity and Islam or even advocate for interreligious prayer, but I find it helpful to reflect on how a visual and kinesthetic practice embodying an Islamic lex orandi lex credendi may function as a call to reflection on Christian liturgy and the importance of solidarity in body…
-
Rituals for Secular People
The Atlantic has a piece that discusses the “Ritual Design Lab” in Silicon valley that will design rituals for births, deaths, and everything in between.