September / October 2009

Worship and Vocation

 
Vocational Resources for the Assembly's Worship [ ] ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
Vocational Resources for the Assembly's Worship
by Jennifer Phelps Ollikainen
The writer, an ELCA worship specialist, identifies the rich variety of Evangelical Lutheran Worship resources that support Christian vocation. Centered on the baptismal covenant, the worshiping assembly is shaped, strengthened, and sustained to extend God's mission in the world.
From Ashville, Ohio, to New Orleans: One Pastor's Story [ ] ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
From Ashville, Ohio, to New Orleans: One Pastor's Story
by Rachael Reed
Through text and photos and through the eyes and insights of her pastor who traveled with youth to several gatherings, our author tells the story of youth from her congregation joining thousands of others in New Orleans in late July for "Jesus, Justice, Jazz."
Vocation in Worship: A Theological Foreword by Craig Satterlee [ ]
Vocation in Worship: A Theological Foreword
by Craig Satterlee
Through the lens of Scripture, liturgy, and The Use of the Means of Grace, our author looks at ways to celebrate our baptismal vocation in worship and to equip the baptized in "giving thanks and praise to God and bearing God's creative and redeeming word to the entire world."
God and the Other Six Days by Laura Kaslow [ ]
God and the Other Six Days
by Laura Kaslow
Three congregations tell about their intentional worship focus on members' everyday callings. Their efforts affirm God's valuing of the ordinary as extraordinary.
Occupational Therapy for the Soul by John Trump [ ]
Occupational Therapy for the Soul
by John Trump
The author, a professional playwright, describes how one congregation uses chancel dramas to connect faith with daily vocations. In drama, the laity — both adults and children — are preachers of the gospel.
Upholding Gottesdienst: Preaching Vocation in Luther's Day and Ours by Michael Bennethum [ ]
Upholding Gottesdienst: Preaching Luther's Vocation in Luther's Day and Ours
by Michael Bennethum
Preachers today carry forward Luther's encouraging message that each Christian serves the neighbor through her or his varied and particular roles and in varied and particular contexts, All the baptized are called to the vocation of being Christ's presence in the world.
One Vocation, Multiple Shapes by Michael Bennethum [ ]
One Vocation, Multiple Shapes
by Michael Bennethum
As the quotations from Luther's sermons in my article demonstrate, love for one's neighbor, the center of Lutheran ethical teaching, was not an abstract concept for Luther. He was very clear in pointing out that Christians respond to their neighbors' needs in concrete ways that grow out of the particularities of their daily places.