The Wisdom of the Seasons

Charles M. Olsen

doi:10.5771/9781566996778

Summary

The church year is often seen as a framework for church programs, but well-known Alban author Charles Olsen shows readers how it can be a prism through which congregations more deeply understand their own stories. By weaving together our narratives and those of Christian tradition, a congregation can clarify its identity, grow in wisdom, and discover a new vision and ministry. Olsen draws parallels between the church seasons and practices of spiritual formation--letting go, naming and celebrating God's presence, and taking hold. He shows us how these movements are expressed in the three major cycles of the church year--Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost. Focusing on communal narratives, he presents a process for telling a story and forming a corporate memory of the story, and then deepening and reflecting on it by exploring the season of the church year that captures its character.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2009
ISBN-Print: 978-1-56699-396-8
ISBN-Online: 978-1-56699-677-8
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 204
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. Foreword No access
3. Preface No access
1. Letting Go No access
2. Naming God’s Presence No access
3. Taking Hold No access
Chapter 1. The Eternal Rhythm in Spiritual Practice No access Pages 9 - 30
1. In the Moments of a Worship Hour No access
2. In the Hours of the Day No access
3. In the Days of the Week No access
4. In the Seasons of the Church Year No access
1. The Lead Step: Waiting and Yearning No access
2. The Follow Step: Naming and Celebrating God’s Presence No access
3. The Close Step: Proclaiming and Sending No access
4. Waltzing to the Eternal Rhythms No access
1. To Love Is to Remember No access
2. They Returned by Another Way No access
1. They Raised Three Bells No access
2. And Then They Buried the Altar No access
3. Are We Dead Yet? No access
1. A Season of Purposeful Stillness No access
2. Let the Silence Do the Heavy Lifting No access
1. Reframing Old Stories No access
2. The Mystery of Story in Trinity No access
3. Trinitarian Spiritual Formation No access
Chapter 8. When the Story Becomes a Song No access Pages 161 - 182
Appendix A. How to Use This Book No access Pages 183 - 190
Appendix B. Giving Testimony No access Pages 191 - 194
Notes No access Pages 195 - 200
For Further Reference No access Pages 201 - 204