Crowning the Year: Liturgy, theology and ecclesiology for the rural church

by Tom Clammer

Crowning the Year offers a practical guide to celebrating the key moments of the liturgical year in rural multi-church contexts. It considers the nature and distinctiveness of the rural church, the patterns of its worship and its ministry, reflecting on the importance of place, local community, the church building and the occasions which rural communities celebrate. In doing so, it offers an attractive and welcome ecclesiology and theology of the rural church.Crowning the Year will equip all who lead or assist with worship in rural contexts, lay and ordained. It offers essential groundwork on liturgical theology, and a theology of ministry in rural, multi-parochial contexts. It then provides practical ideas and direction on how to prepare for and conduct worship for the principal feasts and seasons of the Christian year, with a special emphasis on Christmas, Holy Week and Easter and the occasions such as Harvest, Plough Sunday and Rogation that are especially significant in rural communities.

207 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 10, 2021

Reviews

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as part of an Anglican Liturgy course in seminary.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone who plans or organizes liturgy for their worshiping community. Tom offers perspective on the practical aspects of liturgical ministry in churches that fall outside the expected norm of large urban churches with full time clergy.
His writing is informed by his experience as a priest of multiple, small, rural parishes.
Some particular points from the book:
1- A small church is not a failed large church.
2- Physical geography matters, we start from where we are.
3- The liturgical planning matrix from chapter 2 is an especially useful too.