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You are here: Home / Archives for Joyce M. Bowers

A Personal Journey Into Lament

June 8, 2016 by Joyce M. Bowers

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, there has been renewed attention to the role of lament in public and private life. Lament involves the recognition that we are not in control. It is a healthy corrective in a culture which focuses on success (presumed to be attainable) and on being in control of our […]

Filed Under: Reclaiming Lament

Book Review: Spirituality of the Psalms

June 8, 2016 by Joyce M. Bowers

by Walter Brueggemann Minneapolis: Fortress, 2002.  75 pp. $6.00 Reviewed/excerpted by Joyce M. Bowers Walter Brueggemann is the William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia.  He is a prolific author; many of his books have been published by Fortress Press, notably Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy […]

Filed Under: Reclaiming Lament

Liturgy in the Service of Evangelism

June 7, 2016 by Joyce M. Bowers

The Witness of the Worshiping Community: Liturgy and the Practice of Evangelism by Frank C. Senn, Paulist Press, New York/Mahwah, NJ, 1993. A Synopsis Compiled by Joyce M. Bowers This book has particular significance to the theme of this issue.   Although it was written a dozen years ago when the church growth movement with its […]

Filed Under: A Discussion of Liturgical Norms

Other Spiritualities: A Travelogue

May 26, 2016 by Joyce M. Bowers

Manifestations of the supernatural outside the realm of typical Christian experience have piqued my curiosity for a long time. My interest began during missionary service in Liberia, West Africa, as I gradually became aware that African life was permeated with spiritual realities in ways that we Western missionaries could barely comprehend. A few years ago, […]

Filed Under: Spirituality

Nairobi Statement on Worship and Culture

February 11, 2015 by Joyce M. Bowers

This statement is from the third international consultation of the Lutheran World Federation’s Study Team on Worship and Culture, held in Nairobi, Kenya. 1. Introduction 1.1. Worship is the heart and pulse of the Christian Church. In worship we celebrate together God’s gracious gifts of creation and salvation, and are strengthened to live in response […]

Filed Under: Worship and Culture

ELCA’s Renewing Worship

February 11, 2015 by Joyce M. Bowers

Worship is central to who we are as Lutherans. I am very ecumenical, but I think it is important to maintain our Lutheran tradition. It isn’t only justification by faith that makes us Lutheran; how we carry that theme through our worship life is also central. Lutheran worship is really the Mass, and when you […]

Filed Under: Worship and Culture

The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith by Marcus J. Borg

February 11, 2015 by Joyce M. Bowers

Recently I picked up this book, curious after hearing a reference to it in a recent presentation on spirituality. I had heard about Marcus Borg before, but had been “turned off” by his participation in the Jesus Seminar. I had not thought about Borg in the context of spirituality, and was intrigued. About the Author […]

Filed Under: Churchwide Assembly 2007

20.1 Lent 2015

The Catechumenate

19.4: Advent 2014

Communion and Community

19.3: Ordinary Time 2014

Green coffee beans (top left), Nicaraguan red beans (top right), corn (bottom left) and millet, vital Nicaraguan crops, held in women farmers’ hands

Food and Justice

19.2: Pentecost 2014

Latvian Wheat by Dace Kiršpile

Growing Leaders

19.1: Epiphany 2014

archangel gabriel

Religion and the Arts

1996 – 2013

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