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Celebrating the Eucharist: A Practical Ceremonial Guide for Clergy and Other Liturgical Ministers. By Patrick Malloy. New York: Church Publishing, 2007. ix + 218 pp. $25.00 (paper).
A book claiming its roots in pastoral experience as much as academic study. Celebrating the Eucharist is the newest how-to book for the Eucharist in the Episcopal Church. Unlike its predecessors (including Ritual Notes, The Ceremonies of the Eucharist, The Crafting of Liturgy, and A Priest's Handbook), this volume is specifically addressed to lay people as well as the ordained.
Malloy first presents two masterful essays as opening chapters, one on ritual generally and a second on rubrics and liturgical history. Next he lays out ten clear principles for making liturgical decisions. Here, too, Malloy's work differs from earlier guides. Steeped in the essence of the liturgical movement, these principles recognize that those who plan and enact worship in today's church do, in fact, need to make many decisions. The principles provide guidelines for making decisions based on the context of the...