Featuring
• Gordon Lathrop, keynote speaker
• John Marty, workshop presenter
• Susan Palo Cherwien, workshop presenter
• Joseph Crippen, workshop presenter
• National Lutheran Choir

People who think about Christian worship have paid a great deal of attention in the last half century to “the shape of the liturgy.” But a further implication of that important question is to urge us to consider how the liturgy also shapes us. These plenary lectures will consider the ways in which our liturgical practices shape our ideas about God, our ways of reading the Bible, our experiences of community, our understanding of the world, and our response to our neighbor’s needs.

The conference begins on Friday evening, January 13, at 7:30 p.m. with a hymn festival, “Liturgy Shapes.” Leadership will be provided by Mount Olive Cantor David Cherwien, The National Lutheran Choir, and author and poet, Susan Palo Cherwien.

On Saturday, January 14, hear keynote speaker Gordon Lathrop discuss how liturgy shapes our believing and how liturgy shapes our sending.  Participants will be invited to choose from three workshops which will explore this topic further.  Senator John Marty will lead a workshop on the ways in which liturgy influences our public lives. Susan Palo Cherwien will offer a session on worship and language. Joseph Crippen, pastor of Mount Olive, will offer a presentation on children and the liturgy. The day will open with Morning Prayer at 9:00 a.m. and close with Evening Prayer at 4:00 p.m.

We invite all participants to join us for the Holy Eucharist on Sunday, January 15, at 8:00 or 10:45 a.m. Gordon Lathrop will be the guest preacher.

Hymn Festival

The Conference on Liturgy begins with a hymn festival, “Liturgy Shapes.” Through the creative mingling in spoken reflections, congregational singing, and imaginative and interpretive organ improvisations, the voice of God’s people becomes one body, mind, and spirit. The National Lutheran Choir, in addition to contributing to the creative hymnody, will offer some of the finest of choral literature.

The National Lutheran Choir is under the artistic direction of Dr. David Cherwien. The choir performs literature from the entire spectrum of sacred choral music, with and without instrumental accompaniment. The choir's rich and diverse repertoire ranges from early chant to new compositions and from simple folk anthems to complex orchestral masterworks.

The National Lutheran Choir seeks to strengthen, renew and preserve the heritage of sacred choral music through the highest standards of performance and literature.

SPEAKERS

The Rev. Dr. Gordon Lathrop is Charles A. Schieren Professor of Liturgy, Emeritus at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Pennsylvania. Previously, he taught at Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa; was campus pastor at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington; and served as parish pastor in Darlington, Wisconsin. He has been a Lutheran pastor for 41 years, twenty of which have been spent at the Seminary in Philadelphia.  He has written several books, including a trilogy on the meanings of Christian worship: Holy Things: A Liturgical Theology; Holy People: A Liturgical Ecclesiology, and Holy Ground: A Liturgical Cosmology.

The Rev. Dr. Lathrop will offer two plenary addresses Saturday, “Liturgy Shapes Believing,” and “Liturgy Shapes the Sending.” He will also  preach at both Eucharists on Sunday, January 15.

Senator John Marty has been a Minnesota state senator for 25 years and is a strong advocate for government ethics, environmental protection, economic justice, and affordable health care for everyone.  His presentation will address how faith shapes who we are, not just on Sunday mornings, but seven days a week.  In a democracy, with government "by the people," how does our faith affect our civic involvement and our political decisions?

Senator Marty will present 2 sessions of the workshop, “How Liturgy Influences our Public Lives.”   Our faith shapes who we are, not just on Sunday mornings, but seven days a week.  In a democracy, with government "by the people", how does our faith affect our civic involvement and our political decisions?

The Rev. Joseph Crippen serves as pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church. A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN and Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, he served parishes in Cleveland and Northfield, MN before coming to Mount Olive. A father of four, pastor of congregations of differing shapes and sizes, and teacher of all ages, he is deeply interested in faith formation of children and adults, and the way the Triune God works in our worship and prayer to form us into new people. He has directed children’s choirs and written curricula for confirmation and catechetical instruction.

Pastor Crippen will offer 2 sessions of the workshop, “On Brows, Hands, and Hearts: Liturgy and the Children.”

Ms. Susan Palo Cherwien is a freelance writer/musician, who holds degrees from Wittenberg University and the Hochschule der Kuenste Berlin, and a Master of Liberal Studies from Mundelein College, where she focused on spirituality, ritual, and the arts. Susan has written numerous hymn texts which appear in denominational hymnals in the United States and Canada, and she is the author of O Blessed Spring: Hymn Texts of Susan Palo Cherwien (AugsburgFortress), Crossings: Meditations for Worship (Morningstar), To God Will I Sing (AugsburgFortress).

Susan will present two sessions of the workshop, “The Words of My Mouth: Worship and Language.”

MISSION

The mission of the conference on liturgy is to provide a forum for both ordained and lay persons to grow in their understanding of public worship. Specifically, the conference seeks to

• Lift up theological topics that are the basis of Christian liturgy.
• Provide edification for ordained and lay persons on various aspects of public worship, including liturgical prayer, the song of the people, the roles of the ministers of the liturgy, both lay and ordained, the art of ritual movement, proclaiming the Scripture using a variety of media, and proclaiming the Word through sacramental acts.
• Inspire creative thought and practice to put to use in various denominational settings. Mount Olive Lutheran Church is a congregation with a passion for liturgy and music. In this conference, we seek to gather people from every aspect of the church’s ministries so that the vitality of our worship might grow across the church. We warmly invite your participation.
  

SCHEDULE

View the schedule.

REGISTRATION

Register for The Conference on Liturgy by downloading this form and mailing it to:

Mount Olive Lutheran Church
3045 Chicago Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55407

DETAILS

To Mount Olive from Interstate 35W
Take the 36th St. exit. Go east to Chicago Ave. Continue north on Chicago Ave. to 31st St. Parking lot available. Mount Olive is handicapped accessible.

Hotel
The Sheraton Midtown Hotel stands two blocks north of the church. Sheraton Midtown reservations: 1-800-325-3535. Ask for the Mount Olive rate.

Questions?
Contact the church office: 612-827-5919 or welcome@mountolivechurch.org.

Saturday, June 9:
Morning and afternoon: Lectures and rehearsal on Cantata 75, Die Elenden sollen essen 4:30 pm; All Bach recital, oboe, harpsichord and organ

Sunday, June 10, 4:00 p.m.:
Cantata Vespers, including Cantata 75

Singers (and listeners) from everywhere and of any age gather annually in June to explore, rehearse, hear and learn about the music of Lutheranism’s greatest composer: Johann Sebastian Bach.

Manz Tage: The Journey Was Chosen
Friday–Saturday, October 28–29, 2011

A two-day conference on the life and ministry of Paul O Manz, Cantor at Mount Olive from 1946-1983, then at Christ Seminary/Seminex and St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church, Chicago. Simultaneous to serving these specific communities, he served the Church at large around the world mostly with his memorable hymn festivals. What can we learn from these vast and profound experiences? How do we carry this ministry on?

All are welcome. For information on conferences, contact us.

          RIC