Music and the Arts in Christian Worship

Book excerpt: "The opening section of "Music and the Arts in Christian Worship" offers an overview of the current worship practices of most of the major denominations in this country, each prepared by a person active in that particular church. Read individually, they furnish a wealth of fresh ideas; collectively, they give evidence that, while each denomination remains theologically focused on its tradition and centers its worship on the familiar, there is hardly one which is not actively re-examining its worship philosophy and experimenting with new forms, music, and visual art. Style is becoming more and more eclectic, and there is a healthy regard for the special contribution that every individual may make. Worship, once almost the property of the officiating clergyman rigorously hewing to a prescribed pattern, has rightly become the responsibility of every person." " Philip Beggrov Peters, Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan