Description
Public worship is core to the Church's identity: public worship nurtures and shapes the faithful; public worship plays a central role in forming new disciples; public worship is the shop window through which those on the outside may see the Church at work; public worship, in the form of baptisms, weddings, and funerals, may reach out into the wider community in acts of service and mission. The book has been designed to engage with the ordinary experience and ordinary theology of Christian disciples as they work to develop and deepen their discipleship learning. In so doing it links the reader's everyday experience with the key influences that have shaped the Church's understanding of public worship, with the Scriptures, with Christian doctrine, with Church history, and with the landmarks in Christian liturgy. This book explores the themes raised by a serious and thoughtful consideration of public worship by engaging in conversation with three Christian disciples who came from very different backgrounds and who have very different experiences of and expectations for public worship.