A small seminar of people who read and react to one another’s scholarship, focusing on the intersections of liturgical studies with recent discourses such as but not limited to post-modernism, post-structuralism and critical theory.
Convener
Seminar Report 2022
Convener
Rev. Gerald C. Liu, PhD, Director of Collegiate Ministries, Initiatives, and Belonging for the Global Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church.
Members in Attendance
Gerald Liu, Kim Belcher, Layla Karst, Ruth Meyers, Ricky Manalo, Nathaniel Marx, Gabriel Pivarnik, Rebecca Spurrier, Kristine Suna-Koro, David Turnbloom, Sarah Johnson (virtually), Jason Smith (virtually)
Visitors in Attendance
Hansol Goo. J. J. Wright, Kat Olson, Ken Amadi, Samantha Slaubaugh
Description of Work
For 2022, we focused our time upon papers and respondents focusing upon the question, ‘What is Liturgy?’ and we also discussed Ritual at World’s End: Essays on Eco-Liturgical Liberation Theology by Claudio Carvalhaes. Paper presenters included Layla Karst, Jason Smith, Gabriel Pivarnik, and Kristine Suna-Koro. Respondents included David Turnbloom and Hansol Goo. Kristine Suna-Koro, Rebecca Spurrier, and I helped to introduce the work of Carvalhaes and Carvalhaes also spoke about his publication.
Papers and Presentations
- Claudio Carvalhaes, “Ritual at World’s End: Essays on Eco-Liturgical Liberation Theology
Gabriel Pivarnik, “What is Liturgy in a World Where the Symbolic is Disappearing?”
Layla Karst, “What is Liturgy? A Roman Catholic Response”
Jason Smith, “The Liturgy of Sports: Or How to Celebrate Contingency Without Believing that God Loves Tom Brady More than Everyone Else”
Kristine Suna-Koro, “What is liturgy, then? Five Theses From the SpaceTime of Pandemic: A Thinkpiece”Respondents with formal but untitled presentations were David Turnbloom, Hansol Goo, Rebecca Spurrier, and Gerald Liu.
Other Work and Plans for the Future
We have proposed discussing rites and response to personal, social, and ecological crisis and/or a discussing writing(s) of Mary Douglas.
Seminar Report 2020
Convener
Gerald C. Liu, Assistant Professor of Worship and Preaching at Princ- eton Theological School, United Methodist Elder of the Mississippi Annual Con- ference and Minister in Residence at the Church of the Village in Manhattan
Members in Attendance
Martin Connell, Layla Karst, Gerald C. Liu, Jason Smith, Stephanie Budwey, Sarah Johnson, Kristine Suna-Koro, Tony Alonso, Jonghyun Kim
Visitors in Attendance
Kat Olson, Nick Peterson, J. Terry Todd
Description of Work
We discussed the following papers and held a joint session discussing Liturgy and Pain with the Liturgical Hermeneutics Seminar.
Papers and Presentations
- Sarah Johnson, “Religion as Practice, Ethnography as Theology, and Dialogue between Sociology of Religion and Liturgical Studies.”
- Jason Smith, “Sin and Liturgy in Political ”
- Kristine Suna-Koro, “Liturgy and Lament: Postcolonial Reflections from the Midst of a Global Refugee ”
- Stephanie Budwey, “Liturgies of livability or liturgical violence: What kind of space are we creating for non-binary individuals?”
- Layla Karst, “Symbolizing Sin and Sanctity: A Holy, Sinful Church?”
- Martin Connell, “Born in a Wreck: Baptism, Original Sin, and Godparenting in The Violent Bear It ”
- Gerald Liu, “The Illusory Association of Piety to Patterns of ”
Other Work and Plans for the Future
For our next session, we plan to discuss 10–12 page papers responding to the question, ‘What is liturgy?’
Seminar Report 2019
Convener
Kimberly Hope Belcher, Tisch Family Assistant Professor of Theolo- gy at the University of Notre Dame, where she teaches sacramental and liturgical theology and ritual studies.
Members in Attendance
Antonio Alonso, Kimberly Hope Belcher, Stepha- nie Budwey, James Farwell (by Skype), Sarah Kathleen Johnson, Layla Karst, James Marriott, Martha Moore-Keish, Jason Smith, Rebecca Spurrier, Kristine Suna-Koro
Visitor in Attendance
Jaewoong Jung
Description of Work
We had two closely related themes this year: inclusion and exclusion in the liturgy, and multiple liturgical belonging. Papers considered ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, intersex persons’ perspectives, migration and liturgical identity, and worship as intervention and suicide prevention, using a mix of systematic and qualitative methods. We held two joint sessions with the Comparative Liturgical Theology seminar on how Comparative theology should consider liturgical practice as a mode of belonging.
Other Work and Plans for the Future
We enjoyed the joint sessions with Comparative Liturgical Theology and plan to do more joint sessions in the coming years. Next year our theme is sin and pain in the liturgy, and we will have a joint session with Liturgical Hermeneutics on pain.