Why is good liturgy important? -- Ways of assessing liturgy -- Principle I: good liturgy is honest -- Principle II: good liturgy is joyful -- Principle III: good liturgy celebrates community and expresses our identities -- Principle IV: good liturgy facilitates engagement -- Principle V: good liturgy is inclusive -- Principle VI: good liturgy is based in the creation -- Principle VII: good liturgy prioritizes the marginalized -- Principle VIII: good liturgy avoids clutter -- Principle IX: good liturgy follows the pattern of the incarnation -- Principle X: good liturgy is open -- Conclusion: why liturgy matters.
Summary:
We all want to celebrate the liturgy well, to experience good, uplifting, and meaningful worship. But what is the best route to follow? In The Rites and Wrongs of Liturgy, Thomas O'Loughlin offers a way forward that strengthens faith, builds up Christian community, and points toward a new direction based on liturgical principles that are rooted in our natures as ritual beings as well as in the gospel. The Rites and Wrongs of Liturgy explains why good liturgy is important, how to recognize it, and how to assess liturgy in terms of a larger vision of the Christian life. O'Loughlin, a seasoned theologian and teacher, identifies ten principles that make for good liturgy. Such liturgy must be honest, open, joyful, inclusive, celebrative of community, facilitative of engagement, based in creation, attentive to the marginalized, free of clutter, and true to the pattern of the incarnation. Since good celebrations build faith and bad liturgy weakens it, these principles promise to bring new life and meaning to every celebrating community.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.