Many
denominations have liturgies that they put forth for weddings, funerals, and
other services. Sometimes these are mandated; sometimes they are one option. If
you are of the latter group, you may be helped by A Contemporary Handbook
for Weddings and Funerals and other occasions (revised and updated edition) edited
by Aubrey Malphurs, Keith Willhite, and Dennis Hillman.
As
one would expect from the title, the first two – and major – sections of the
book deal with weddings and funerals. Each presents a variety of contemporary
liturgies, sample “messages,” and “helps” such as prayers and other “incidentals.” The funeral section also includes perspectives
on death and dying that may be helpful in counseling and service preparation.
The
third section deals with other occasion, liturgies, and issues that may
arise: What if you use a bread machine
to make the communion bread? How should Christmas be celebrated? There are
sample “messages” for Mother’s Day and earth day, the installation of a minister,
and the closing of a church, etc.
This
book came out of the request from Dallas theological seminary from students and
others to provide “fresh” liturgies (13).
The
book contains a list of contributors, resources, and a Scripture index.
I
have three responses to this book:
First,
I am not against new liturgies, so long as they are biblical and appropriate to
a worship service.
Second,
in using this book, I would not neglect knowing older liturgies and
understanding why they were written as they were.
And
third, I would caution those who use this book not to simple preach the “messages”
in the book. They are there for inspiration and guidance, not to be plagiarized.
That
being said, this can be a helpful manual as ministers seek to preside at
weddings, funerals, and other occasions.
I
received this book for free from Kregel Academic in exchange for an honest
review.
[This
review appears on my blog, Amazon.com, Kregel.com, and Goodreads.com].
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