Description
Every Sunday around the world, Christians offer money and in-kind gifts to the church, traditionally known as alms. This act produces questions about what it means to offer God a gift when God has offered humanity the greatest gift in Jesus Christ, or the balance of favour or gratitude in the giving of these gifts. These very questions, and more, have had a significant influence on the liturgy, particularly in the offertory, within Anglicanism.
In Of Thine Own Have We Given Thee, Shawn O. Strout provides a comprehensive analysis of the offertory rites, including in his analysis other churches within the Anglican Communion, beyond the Church of England. Ordered historically, the book encompasses the sixteenth century through to current times, scrutinising the offertory and oblationary changes throughout their religious and historical contexts. Strout argues that the development of oblation in the offertory was neither arbitrary nor episodic but rather the result of sustained theological tension. Using liturgical theology’s tools of historical, textual, and contextual analyses, the book examines why these developments occurred and their importance for the church today.
About the Author
Shawn O. Strout is assistant professor of worship and associate dean of chapel at the Virginia Theological Seminary. He completed his Ph.D. in liturgical studies and sacramental theology at the Catholic University of America in Washington. He is a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy, Societas Liturgica, and the Society of Scholar Priests.
Contents
Abbreviations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Reform
2 Restoration
3 Revival
4 Renewal
5 Reorientation
6 Theological Analyses and Conclusion
Appendix A: The Secretae for Sundays and Major Feasts of the Temporale
of the Sarum Missal
Appendix B: The Offertory Sentences from the Historic Books of Common
Prayer
Appendix C: Comparative Analysis of the Offertory Rites among the
Churches of the Anglican Communion
Bibliography
Index
Endorsements and Reviews
This is a theologically life-changing book. For many, the ‘collection’ or the ‘offertory’ is simply the chance for the church to get some money to cover the costs of running the congregation. Shawn Strout’s masterful survey of the acts of oblation invites readers to see how this tradition evolved. Every congregational leader should read this book and ensure that the place of ‘giving to God’ is truly given an appropriate liturgical and theological place. Ian S. Markham, Virginia Theological Seminary
The treatment of offering and presence in the Anglican tradition has tended to center on the Prayer of Consecration. However, the ‘offertory’ was also a contested liturgical unit at the Reformation, and it has not received the extended treatment it deserves. In this study, Shawn Strout has filled the gap with a full historical and theological treatment of this liturgical unit as it has progressed and developed in Anglican prayer books. Scholars and students will benefit greatly from this study. Bryan D. Spinks, Yale Divinity School, emeritus
Shawn Strout presents a compelling examination of the offertory in Anglicanism by a thorough and penetrating historical analysis coupled with a profound theological exposition. This comprehensive study guides the reader through a fascinating development that facilitates a tradition-based understanding of this rite in today’s church. Mark Morozowich, The Catholic University of America
Shawn Strout’s book provides an excellent overview of the offertory reform in sixteenth-century Anglicanism. This important book also studies the new and dynamic ritual development that followed. This evolution was nourished by a variety of cultural contributions in Anglican Communion. Of Thine Own Have We Given Thee catalogues these developments and uncovers their theological roots and implications. It will serve as an indispensable resource for future study of the Anglican offertory for years to come. Dominic E. Serra, The Catholic University of America
