Liturgy, Worship and Spirituality

5 Credits

Module Content:

1. Offering time.
   The relationship between doctrines of creation/Trinity and Christian theology of worship and prayer. The development of the liturgical year and the daily office. Different traditions of prayer eg Benedictine, Franciscan, Reformation, contemporary. Patterns of prayer today (including all age worship, participation of children in worship, worship and youth).
2. Means of grace
   The nature and theology of sacraments. Ritual and symbol. The theology and development of rites of Baptism and the Eucharist in the early Church, the Protestant Reformers, liturgical renewal among Catholics and Protestants in the 20th century. Ecumenical statements eg WCC Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry. Baptism and Eucharist in the contemporary life and mission of the Church. Worship and inculturation. Rites of passage eg Marriages, Funerals.
3. Making space
   The Christian theology of space, and its implications for church buildings. The use of church buildings in relation to the mission of God expressed through the Church.
4. Worship and the Word
   The Ministry of the Word. A critical grasp of the history of homiletics, including close study of examples eg Augustine, Thomas Cranmer, Lancelot Andrewes, John Wesley, Martin Luther King. Patterns and models of homiletics for the context of 21st century Ireland. The ‘Word’ expressed in music and art. The relationship between Word and Sacrament.
5. Ministers of faith
   Theology of the whole people of God, and within that the theology of ordination. How such theology is expressed in rites of ordination, historical and contemporary. The minister as person, private, public and holy. .Spirituality for ministry; the practice of spiritual direction, in history and contemporary examples; gender, spirituality and ministry.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this module students will be able:

• To understand and appropriate the history, theology and liturgical praxis of baptism, eucharist and ministry.
• To appreciate the significance of both time and place in Christian worship and mission
• To be able to articulate the way in which liturgies can both reflect and challenge social norms
• To engage critically with the history of homiletics in the creation and delivery of sermons.
• To display knowledge of the diversity of approaches to spirituality found in the history of the Church; to appreciate the theory and practice of spiritual direction against the background of the history of Christian spirituality; to show awareness of the relationship between different personality types and different paths in Christian spirituality; to demonstrate appreciation of the need for a minister to develop a personal spiritual discipline.

Methodology:

Part-time Mode A:

This module will be taught through a series of lectures and student-led seminars. Students will be required to participate and lead class seminars and also to take part in collaborative small groups and independent study.

There will be a joint seminar with each of the other two strands – Biblical Studies and Theology.

Part-time Mode B:

This module will be taught through workbook and DVD lectures. Students will also contribute to online seminars and will be required to engage in independent study of set texts. Students will also be required to take part in collaborative small groups and independent study.

There will be a joint seminar with each of the other two strands – Biblical Studies and Theology Assessment: 2,500 words of coursework (e.g. essay or project as agreed by course leader)

Contact Hours: 20 Student Work Load: 100 - 120 hr