Foundations of Christian Worship
Published: Fall 2022
Description
Foundations of Christian Worship is the core introductory course of the program in liturgical studies at Yale. The course focuses on theological and historical approaches to the study of Christian worship, with attention paid to cultural context as well as contemporary issues. Foundations of Christian Worship, as the gateway course to the program in liturgical studies, should be taken prior to all other liturgy courses. The course is especially recommended for students preparing for ordination and/or other forms of worship leadership, and is an essential course for all students interested in graduate work in liturgical or ritual studies.
Course Takeaways
- Gain essential insights into Christian worship through theological and historical lenses, preparing you to lead worship with depth and relevance in diverse contexts.
Meet the Instructors
Professor Berger teaches in the fields of liturgical studies and Catholic theology; she holds doctorates in both. Her scholarly interests for many years lay at the intersection of these disciplines with gender theory. More recently, Professor Berger has turned her attention to questions of liturgy and creation, and to liturgical practices in digital worlds. Her most recent publications include an edited volume, Full of Your Glory: Liturgy, Cosmos, Creation (2019), and a monograph titled @ Worship: Liturgical Practices in Digital Worlds (2018). Earlier publications include Gender Differences and the Making of Liturgical History (2011); Fragments of Real Presence (2005); and a video documentary, Worship in Women’s Hands (2007). Professor Berger has also written on the hymns of Charles Wesley and on the liturgical thought of the nineteenth-century Anglo-Catholic revival. She coedited, with Bryan Spinks, the volume Liturgy’s Imagined Pasts (2016) as well as the collection of essays The Spirit in Worship–Worship in the Spirit (2009) and served as editor of the volume of essays titled Liturgy in Migration: From the Upper Room to Cyberspace (2012). An active Roman Catholic, Professor Berger regularly writes for the liturgy blog “Pray Tell.” Originally from Germany, she has been a visiting professor at the Universities of Mainz, Münster, Berlin, and Uppsala. In 2003, she received the distinguished Herbert Haag Prize for Freedom in the Church.
Biography
