Becca Whitla uses liberationist, postcolonial, and decolonial methods to analyze hymns, congregational singing, and song-leading practices. By way of this analysis, Whitla shows how congregational singing can embody liberating liturgy and theology. Through a series of interwoven theoretical lenses and methodological tools—including coloniality, mimicry, epistemic disobedience, hybridity, border thinking, and ethnomusicology—the author examines and interrogates a range of factors in the musical sphere. From beloved Victorian hymns to infectious Latin American coritos; congregational singing to radical union choirs; Christian complicity in coloniality to Indigenous ways of knowing, the dynamic praxis-based stance of the book is rooted in the author’s lived experiences and commitments and engages with detailed examples from sacred music and both liturgical and practical theology. Drawing on what she calls a syncopated liberating praxis, the author affirms the intercultural promise of communities of faith as a locus theologicus and a place for the in-breaking of the Holy Spirit.

Settler churches across North America have committed to the work of conciliation and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Worship is a space in which these commitments are expressed and nurtured. As we are embraced by God’s reconciling love in worship, we are equipped to carry that reconciling love into our relationships beyond the worship space. Worship equips us for the work of conciliation, but the liturgy itself needs to be decolonized if it is to truly honor Christian commitments to God and neighbor. This book explores the reformed liturgy in its pattern of Gathering, Word, Table, and Sending, searching it both for colonial vestiges, and spaces of new possibility. Unsettling Worship invites the reader into a conversation about reformed worship in a setting of ongoing colonization. Worship should both unsettle us, and equip us for the essential work of making things right with Indigenous neighbors.

A passionate call for a new liberation movement, this time within the church in North America.... The genius of 'The Liberation of the Laity' is not so much that it provides new information or even an entirely original thesis, but that it lays piece after piece together until the pattern emerges for us, and we have the eyes to see the repetition and extension of that pattern in our own experiences of church life. Books and Religion The author, in this deeply felt and powerfully argued book, tackles the issues of the nature of ministry, priesthood, ordination, lay theology, a spirituality of life in the world. The argument is clearly expressed, draws upon a wide range of scholarship, the example of the early church as well as the experience of the author.... I cannot be dispassionate in recommending this book. It provides a model of what a theology of the people should be like in the way it argues the case for such a theology. Zadok Perspectives - a quarterly journal of the Zadok Institute for Christianity and Society (Australia). If I could have one wish fulfilled - I'd wish that Anne Rowthorn's 'The Liberation of the Laity' would be required reading for Christians everywhere! She is a voice for the church's voiceless. Irene V. Jackson-Brown 'The Liberation of the Laity' will irritate, inform, and inspire. And it should be read by all - lay and ordained - who are willing to have their eyes, and most especially their hearts, opened a little wider. Virginia Seminary Journal 'The Liberation of the Laity' is a provocative book that challenges the clericalist culture of the church, and provides practical advice and sound counsel toward a more inclusive future. Further, the book affirms the history and theology of the ministry of all baptized persons in a deep and thought-provoking way. 'The Liberation of the Laity' will spark conversation and reflection among those most concerned about the future of ministry, and the need for the church to support the vocations of all the baptized. Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook Director of Congregational Studies Associate Professor Episcopal Divinity School

Why do we search for Jesus the Galilean behind the Christ of Paul and before the politics of the earliest Christians? To recover a more humanistic, powerful healer, wondrous teacher, and courageous activist for social justice. Jesus could face the most dominant military force in his world with equanimity because he was living in God's Realm. This divine kingdom belongs to the people, especially the poor, the sick, the dispossessed, and the sinners, and it could never be conquered by the Caesars. This truth shakes the planet. It is the sublime light of freedom which streams from Yeshua when we liberate him from the superstitions and dogmas of religion. Freeing Jesus is the mission of this book. This book is also the story of Ron Mazur's experiences with Roman Catholicism, Unitarianism, Messianic Judaism, the Jesus Seminar, the Spirit of Yeshua Fellowship, and anti-war resistance. In addition it reveals the daring of Thomas Jefferson's quest for the authentic words of Jesus of Nazareth. With www.SpiritofYeshua.net, Free Jesus is virtually plugged into a website and the Internet, creating online interaction with its readers. This 21st century dawns with hope for a happier humanity.

The African church should be encouraged and supported as they rediscover their rich culture in worshiping God in a relevant, yet biblical manner.

Adam, Where Are You? is a factual book detailing the many problems faced by modern-day societies. It gives an in-depth look into why these problems are occurring and, more significantly, outlines the solutions needed to eradicate not some but all these replicating problems. This book opens the eyes and minds of its readers to seeing and admitting that the facets they claim that elevate them to being civilized are, realistically, birthing the barbaric nature that is currently engulfing the core of their societies: the children. Don't compromise!

What does it mean for music to be considered local in contemporary Christian communities, and who shapes this meaning? Through what musical processes have religious beliefs and practices once ‘foreign’ become ‘indigenous’? How does using indigenous musical practices aid in the growth of local Christian religious practices and beliefs? How are musical constructions of the local intertwined with regional, national or transnational religious influences and cosmopolitanisms? Making Congregational Music Local in Christian Communities Worldwide explores the ways that congregational music-making is integral to how communities around the world understand what it means to be ‘local’ and ‘Christian’. Showing how locality is produced, negotiated, and performed through music-making, this book draws on case studies from every continent that integrate insights from anthropology, ethnomusicology, cultural geography, mission studies, and practical theology. Four sections explore a central aspect of the production of locality through congregational music-making, addressing the role of historical trends, cultural and political power, diverging values, and translocal influences in defining what it means to be ‘local’ and ‘Christian’. This book contends that examining musical processes of localization can lead scholars to new understandings of the meaning and power of Christian belief and practice.