Seminar Report 2026

Convener

Jan Schnell

Description of Work

Our seminar discussed Bruce Morrill’s Anamnesis as Dangerous Memory: Political and Liturgical Theology in Dialogue, beginning with contextualization from Bruce who drew connections among memory, narrative, and solidarity.

Tom McLean facilitated our discussion of two chapters from Marie Dominic Chenu’s writings: “Anthropology and Liturgy” and “Faith and Sacrament.”

Julie Canlis and Mark Lloyd Taylor led us in a highly embodied Godly Play session, “Invoking the Holy Spirit,” in which each of them crafted and did Godly Play illumining what calling on the Spirit means and does.

Vice President his VP address; he additionally gave a presentation on Christian Nationalism and worship in which he identifies, based on distinctive worship practices, three types of Christian Nationalists. We broke into three peer review groups to offer deep feedback on nine papers around the topic “Eucharistic Performance as Dangerous Practice,” which builds on the work Bruce did in
Anamnesis as Dangerous Memory and which we plan to publish in
some form.

The papers include:

• Bruce Morrill’s “Pursuing Anamnesis as Dangerous Memory:
  Several Decades into the Challenge”
• Amy Schifrin’s “Sing this in remembrance of me: Dangerous
  Memory, Glorious Hope”
• Julie Canlis and Mark Lloyd Taylor’s “Invoking the Holy Spirit to
  Transform Bread and Wine, and Community: Epiclesis, Eucharist,
  and Children”
• Jan Schnell’s “Epiclesis as Dangerous Anticipation”
• Cory Dixon’s “Epiclesis NOT as Dangerous Anticipation”
• James Starke’s “Recovering Symbolic Capacity through Invocation
  of the Spirit”
• David Williams’s “Dangerous Music: how congregational song
  forms disciples for justice in the world “
• Frank Senn’s “Proclamation as Political Speech”
• Joris Geldhof’s “The Subversion of the Eucharistic Prayer”

Other Work and Plans

James Starke will become our convener. We will continue our
pattern of reading several seminar papers from group members
and discussing an historic and a contemporary work. We are
interested in thinking about EDI in conjunction with another
seminar group, and again inviting the Vice President to discuss
their address.

Seminar Report 2022

Convener

Melanie Ross (melanie.ross@yale.edu) is Associate Professor of Li- turgical Studies at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and the Yale Divinity School. Conveners pro tem: Bruce T. Morrill, SJ, Professor of Theological Studies, Divin- ity School, Vanderbilt University, and Rhoda Schuler, Professor Emerita, Concor- dia University.

Members in Attendance

Bruce Cinquegrani, Todd E. Johnson, Bruce T. Morrill, Amy Schifrin, Rhoda Schuler, Thomas J. Scirghi.

Visitors in Attendance

Domenik Ackermann, Christina N. Condyles, Cory Dix- on, Hansal Goo, Sangwoo Kim, Kristian Kohler, Cheryl Lindsay, Andrew Stoe- big, David Williams, J.J. Wright.

Description of Work

We discussed a book written by seminar member Tom Scrighi. On Monday afternoon we attended a session titled “Adapting Worship for the Public Good: A Model from the Ecumenical Consultation on Protocols for Worship, Fellowship, and Sacraments,” hosted by Exploring Contemporary and Alternative Worship Seminar. In addition to the papers we discussed, we also used some time for an open conversation on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Papers and Presentations

• Bruce T. Morrill, “Tradition and the Roman Rite: The Ongoing Struggle.” Its theme, “the nature of tradition, and particularly liturgical traditions, as always evolving contextually,” engaged everyone.
• Nicholas Denysenko, “Liturgical Theology in Crisis—Twenty-First Century Version,” Worship 95 (October 2021). The author’s description and analysis of how great changes in higher education, plus unfortunate isolation of pasto- ral liturgical practice therefrom, require a new assessment of the contribution and even viability of liturgical studies within curriculums and institutions prompted a wide range of observations from seminar participants’ various academic and ecclesial settings.
• Frank Senn, “Embodiment and Entrainment in Music and Liturgy.” Discus- sion centered around ways in which our bodies are drawn into a unity of movement through synchronization; musicians especially experience this synchrony, as can liturgical assemblies when they move and breath in sync.

Other Work and Plans for the Future

We discussed the value of continuing the pattern of previous years: Discussing a book authored by a seminar member and a classic” writing on the topic of liturgical theology. There was consensus to con- tinue with the former item, perhaps following through with excerpts from Joris Geldhof’s recent publication Liturgical Theology as a Research Program, which had been planned for 2022.

Those present were lukewarm about the 2022 plan (abandoned) to discuss ex- cerpts from Evelyn Underhill. Todd Johnson is willing to lead this discussion, but as the newly elected president, he may not be able to present in our seminar. Another “classic” author named was Alexander Schmemann. Suggestions includ- ed excerpts from Porter Taylor’s Festschrift, We Give Our Thanks unto Thee: Es- says in Memory of Fr. Alexander Schmemann, 2019, including Bruce Morrill’s on Schmemann’s posthumously published journal (originally published as “The Liturgical Is Political: A Narrative-Theological Assessment of Alexander Schme- mann’s Work,” Questions Liturgiques/Study of Liturgy 98:1-2 [2017]).

Other suggestions/questions from our conversation included:

• Discussion of a published work by a member of the academy from a minority group as one concrete action toward DEI goals.
• Do we need to revisit liturgical theology methodology?
• Do we need liturgical theology 0, addressing the question of authority/ whose authority in light of DEI issues?

Seminar Report 2020

Convener

Melanie Ross, Associate Professor of Liturgical Studies, Yale Divinity School and Yale Institute of Sacred Music

Members in Attendance

Fred Ball, Lorraine Brugh, Hans Christoffersen, Bruce Cinquegrani, Cory Dixon, Doris Donnelly, Peter Fink, Joris Geldhof, Brenda Grauer, Christopher Grundy, Ching-Yu Huang, Martin Jean, Nathan Jennings, Todd Johnson, Hyung Rak Kim, Sangwoo Kim, Melanie Ross, Rhoda Schuler, Thomas Scirghi, Frank Senn, Tom Trinidad, Mark Wedig, Andrew Wright

Visitors in Attendance

Nathan Myrick, Jonathan Ottaway, Daniel Schlorff, Laura Steiner, David Williams

Description of Work

Our seminar discussed two books: Spirituals and the Blues (James Cone) and Liturgy and Secularism (Joris Geldhof). We also discussed three papers by seminar members: “Sacramentum Tantum: Liturgical signification in the thought of Louis Marie Chauvet” (Bruce Cinquegrani), “This is the World I Want to Live in: Toward a Theology of Practical Sacramentality” (Christopher Grundy), and “Worship, Liturgy, and the Brain” (Tom Trinidad).

Other Work and Plans for the Future

Looking ahead to the 2021 meeting, we decided to continue our pattern of reading two books (one “classic”, one “con- temporary”) as well as discussing group members’ works-in-progress. So far, two  members (Tom Trinidad and Hyung Rak Kim) have expressed interest in offering   papers in 2021.

Our classic author for 2021 will be Evelyn Underhill. The group decided that we will read the following parts of her writings:

• Worship (first published in 1937). We will be reading Part I of this book (chapters 1-9)
• The Mystery of Sacrifice (published in 1938). This book—a collection of Underhill’s retreat addresses—is out of print; however, copies are available online and in libraries.

Our contemporary author for 2021 will be seminar member Thomas Scirghi:

• Longing to See Your Face: Preaching in a Secular Age (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2017).

Finally, the group was eager to read and discuss Joris Geldhof’s forthcoming book, Liturgical Theology as a Research Program (coming out in April 2020); however, we worried that the price (currently listed as $84) was prohibitive. As a work-around, Joris has kindly agreed to send us his chapter on methodology as a PDF, and I will plan a generous chunk of time for discussion: less than we would spend on a full book, but more than we spend on a work-in-progress paper.