Juan M. C. Oliver – författare

Launched at 2009 General Convention, Juan Oliver's definitive look at the history and potential future of Latino ministry in the Episcopal Church came at an opportune time. With Latino ministries growing around the country in all traditions, and with increasing resource and programmatic offerings being allocated to serve those communities, this highly descriptive handbook profiles the culture, faith, and importance of this emerging minority. Within the book chapters, Oliver surveys topical areas, such as:Who/What is a Latino? Latino Biblical Interpretation Worship in a Latino congregation The spiritual lives of Latinos Latino authority and governance Latino administration and stewardship The Latino priest: Factotum or Specialist? The Latino deacon The Latino bishop Non-Latinos in Latino ministry

A plain language exploration of the theology of worship Professional theological terminology is often inaccessible to the average Christian. A House of Meanings presents liturgical theology in accessible ways, free of technical language. The book is designed for individual reading and structured to be a resource for a series of parish workshops, especially during the Easter season. Chapters conclude with a discussion guide intended to assist parishioners in developing their own sense of the value of worship and its relationship to our daily lives. Dedicated to deepening parishioners’ understandings of the Church and how it has both gathered and sent into service to the world, A House of Meanings will be useful not only to congregations, but to seminarians and anyone planning or evaluating worship.

A House of Meanings, now available in Spanish. Author Juan Oliver presents liturgical theology in accessible language, free of technical jargon. The book is designed for individual reading and structured to be a resource for a series of parish workshops, especially during the Easter season. Chapters conclude with a discussion guide intended to assist parishioners in developing their own sense of the value of worship and its relationship to our daily lives. Unique and refreshing, La Liturgia/A House of Meanings will be useful not only to congregations but to seminarians and anyone planning or evaluating worship.

The newest book in the Little Books on Liturgy series, focused on the intersection of liturgy and formation.Juan Oliver, Custodian of the Book of Common Prayer, outlines why rituals and liturgy have great meaning in forming individuals and communities. His work is focused on topics such as the sacraments, worship, mystery and the sacred. Ideal for group or individual study in churches, seminaries, and schools of ministry.Praise for Juan Oliver's previous work:"Juan Oliver offers us the gift of 'disclosure of meaning' in this most helpful volume."—Louis Weil, James F. Hodges Professor of Liturgics Emeritus at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific" . . . invaluable to parish clergy . . . "—J. Neil Alexander, Dean, Sewanee School of Theology

The church is shrinking. What seeds must we sow for the future church and where might we find them?The end of Christendom calls for a re-examination of our understandings of the church, but even more importantly, of church practice. At the very least, the church’s relationship to society has changed profoundly in recent decades. The world around us, certainly in the Northern Hemisphere, is no longer Christian. Protestant or Catholic, Right or Left, Christians are now a minority. Will the church cease to exist in the face of this profound change even as it struggles to sustain its institutional apparatus? Even if it survives for another century, we will increasingly have to make adjustments. But according to what criteria? The Thriving Church strives to identify the fundamental characteristics of being the Church, even amidst decline, so it can re-emerge and thrive without compromising either its traditions or its contemporary significance. The book explores these seeds of the future church as they were lived out and enacted in the first three centuries of Christianity, not because older is necessarily better, but because our relationship to society is now similar to that of the first Christians. Engaging the earliest history, theology and practice of the church, Juan Oliver sketches a path forward, arguing that the Church needs to re-embrace physicality in its rituals. This process also inevitably questions some assumptions inherited or developed over centuries about the nature of the church, its mission, evangelism, formation, membership, liturgy, leadership and outreach.