The Liturgical Arts Adventure 2001

Schedule

Ritual Tracks

Lighting the Way into the New Millennium
Kevin Yell
How do we design this season of beginnings to enable the liturgical year to unfold? As we explore the way in which light will travel through this Advent to the stable, through the sky and into our lives, we will create ritual space that will be prayerful, effective and integral to the rituals of the community. It will give us pointers for the rest of the year of Matthew. No experience is necessary but bring active imaginations and open minds. (Scissors, glue, paints, etc. are also useful!)

Dancing Church “Advent”ures
Michael Mansfield
What are the movements of Advent? Personally? Communally? Together we will explore the themes of Advent Week One, Advent Evensong, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Christmas and Epiphany. Empowering the Advent and Christmas liturgies, rituals and prayers so that they do justice to the seasons’ calls is the task of the dance minister. What will we birth into being out of our community this year? That is the dance of Advent and Christmas.

Unleashing the Power of Sung Prayer
Diana M. Kaulback
Strong music makes the rites flow; honest words touch our hearts. Let go of your fears and be vulnerable again to the power of sung prayer. God’s creative energy is already with you. Rediscover that power. Learn how to reshape familiar texts and melodies to serve the liturgy. Discover new music to enliven your worship. Renew your assembly’s passion for sung prayer. Get away and be creative. Go home re-created. Bring your instruments, bring your voices and bring your song.

In the Beginning Was the Word
Nick Wagner
Words have the power to create. The world and all its creatures were created through God’s word. We continue that creative act through our words of prayer, praise and proclamation. Explore how words create faith, quicken spirits and generate life. Learn to craft words into a liturgical experience. Let the Word become incarnate in you; give birth to the Word of life in your community.

Skillshops

Ritual Music
Diana M. Kaulback
The well-prepared liturgy should be a seamless movement of music, text and action. However the flow of our liturgies is more often like the stop and go of rush-hour traffic. Explore how music can unify the various parts of the Mass and enable the smooth flow from door to word to table and back out the door again. Learn how to script the rites with acclamations that facilitate the ritual. Look at the difference between ritual music and “plug and play” music.

The Word of the Lord
Nick Wagner
When God speaks, faith gets created. Lectors, presiders and others who speak in the liturgy need to be able to proclaim well. Master a few simple techniques that will help you communicate more effectively in the liturgical assembly.

Dancing in Church Again
Michael Mansfield
Salvation history is the dance history between God and creation. Therefore, all of us are born dancers and God is waiting for our partnership in the waltz of our life. Understanding the critical role of dance in our liturgical celebration of Word and Eucharist gives us keen insights into the seasons of the liturgical year, ritual and our own spiritual life. A complete look at the place of dance at Mass and in prayer.

Environment and Art
Kevin Yell
Tired of being asked to “decorate the church” for a season? Want some skills and ideas to integrate the space and the prayer life of the community? Guaranteed: 20 examples of interactive ritual environment ideas for prayer services. Sunday worship, liturgical seasons and special retreats that will catechize and transform. There will also be time for “Show and Tell” and participants are invited to being photo albums. “Question Time” will give you an opportunity to bring problems to the wisdom and experience of the group. Let’s share the inside track on choosing fabrics, talking with florists, designing around the liturgical year and other common concerns.

Faculty

Diana Macalintal Kaulback is a campus minister and parish music director with 20 years of experience in liturgical music. She is also the co-author of The Musician’s Book of the Mass and is currently working on a recording of original liturgical music.

Michael Mansfield is a teacher, artist, cultural worker and creativity activist who integrates ritual dance and drama into worship, education and theatre. On the faculty of UCS/Naropa and active in parish ministry, his focus is “faith that makes art that does justice” and his work has a definite kinesthetic bias.

Nick Wagner is editor of Ministry & Liturgy magazine and is the author of ML Answers the 101 Most-Asked Questions about Liturgy and Meaningful First Communion Liturgies is active in parish ministry and is a former diocesan director of worship.

Kevin Yell, a native of Great Britain, divides his time between pastoral ministry and visual arts. He is a hospice chaplain and popular retreat leader. His paintings and ritual installations range from the profound to the whimsical. He encourages active and artistic engagement in the divinely inspired creative process of life.