Incorporating Children in Worship - Paperback

by Michelle A. Clifton-Soderstrom (Author), David Bjorlin (Author), Will Willimon (Foreword by)

Incorporating children in worship is a powerful and overlooked mark of God's kingdom. This book argues that children's full participation in worship signifies not only a vibrant, faithful communion but also offers a critical window into the Spirit's work of linking the church to Christ. Children have a vocation in worship. They embody the theological virtues in distinct ways that enrich the worship of the whole church. Moreover, incorporating children reflects the difference in unity that is God's triune life. Receiving children in their difference moves the worshipping body toward the telos of worship--glorification of God and sanctification of humanity--and habituates the worshipping body to incorporate other, often more threatening, kinds of difference.

Author Biography

Michelle Clifton-Soderstrom is Associate Professor of Theology and Ethics at North Park Theological Seminary. She is ordained to word and sacrament in the Evangelical Covenant Church, and author of Angels, Worms, and Bogeys: The Christian Ethic of Pietism.

David Bjorlin is a doctoral student in liturgical studies at Boston University School of Theology, where he is focusing on the theology of Christian hymnody. He is also a pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church.