With the tenacity of detectives, Simpson and Eatman have uncovered and present to us here a treasury of startlingly beautiful work.".

This book is the first ever written on the meaning and value of using art forms in the ministry of spiritual direction. The use of art by spiritual directors has the capacity to deepen understanding and enrich the full experience of spiritual direction. Included are the biblical, theological, and very practical aspects related to the use of art: how these truths are expressed in various genres of art and in ways that bring depth of knowledge, wisdom, and guidance in understanding one’s relationship with God and others, as well as the possibilities for further growth and maturity in those relationships. The text is written for spiritual directors, their mentors, and supervisors, and for those receiving the ministry of direction. It provides encouragement and is instructive for all those desiring to increase their knowledge, understanding, and level of experience in the profound opportunities for individuals’ spiritual formation, conformation, and transformation in the ministry of spiritual direction.

A comprehensive history of the origins and development of Christian worship, from ancient times to the present day, provides a defintive study of the evolution of Christian liturgy, theology, church history, artistic influence, and social and cultural contexts, covering such topics as Russian Orthodoxy, Women in Worship, Liturgical Music, and the Apostolic Tradition.

Partly in a desire to defend divine freedom and partly because it is seen as the only way of preserving a distinctive voice for theology, much contemporary theology has artificially restricted revelation and religious experience, effectively cutting off those who find God beyond the walls of the Church. Against this tendency, David Brown argues for divine generosity and a broader vision of reality that sees God deploying symbols (literary, visual and sacramental) as a means of mediating between the divine world and our own material existence. A sustained argument for divine interaction and more specifically the ways in which God speaks in the wider imaginative world, this volume calls for a careful listening exercise since symbols are richer and more open in their possibilities than their users often suppose. Not only is this true of the imagery of Scripture, even inanimate objects like buildings or hostile but creative artists can have important things to say to the believing Christian. An ideal introduction that also moves the conversation forward, this volume addresses foundations, the multivalent power of symbols, artists as theologians and meaning in religious architecture.

For centuries, Westminster Abbey has inspired and challenged poets to try to capture and contain the spirit of its haunting beauty and worship-full reverence. This anthology includes poems written between 1413 to the present day, poems which contribute to the greatest epic imaginable in English, Westminster Abbey.

One of the four particular dimensions of the church's worship addressed in the ELCA's Principles for Worship (Renewing Worship, vol. 2) is worship space. Using the principles developed in this volume, Foy Christopherson shares with the reader what Lutherans care about when thinking about space for worship, and why they care about it. Centers of liturgical action (assembly, font, ambo, altar-table) and concepts of sacred, formational, and missional space are discussed, as well as architectural, environmental, historical, and local considerations when planning or renewing worship spaces.