Thoughts on Lent

I still don’t make a big deal about Lent, and nor does our church.  We know it’s happening, and we sing songs about the Passion, but that’s about it.  I’m not sure what Reformed Christians should do about it, especially if we are trying to sift through the riches of the catholic tradition.   Here’s what one [...]

Liturgical Notes 1

Here’s the first installment of what will (Lord willing) be a regular feature of this web-site.  I’m writing little tidbits on liturgy and music in order to help educate our local congregation as we grow in our use and understanding of liturgical music.  Since we use the Cantus Christi , most of the material will be drawn [...]

Statement on Rome, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Reformed Catholicity

Trinity Reformed Church has posted a statement on Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Reformed Catholicity which captures our sentiments here at the RLI.

The Company of the Fathers

The Company of the Fathers is starting up again!  We are reading Tertullian’s Apology right now, and it is startling to realize that the Church has weathered all the same problems, hundreds of years ago.  Our economy may be in the tank, but the Church has been through all this many times before.  We suffer [...]

Liturgical Maturity

As many of us are seeking to reform our worship in accordance with all of the Bible, informed by all of church history, we would do well to remember how immature we are.  For instance, some churches may start reciting the Apostles’ Creed in their worship and believe they are tapping into the spiritual riches [...]

Patient Catholicity

“The sectarian compares the weakness of other churches to his own supposed strength, and pronounces them apostate on that basis.  The catholic notes the weakness of other churches, and because of that tries to work with them, and prays for them.  The sectarian thinks history has ended; the catholic realizes that it has not.  (If [...]

Society for the Study of Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism

As a follow-up to the last post, I just learned that The Society for the Study of Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism is starting up again.  Anyone interested in being on the mailing list should contact Brock Bingaman at Loyola University Chicago: BBINGAM@LUC.EDU
 

Baptismal Poem

A poetic inscription on the Lateran Baptistery in Rome gives a wonderful series of theological metaphors for baptism.  John F. Baldovin notes that the inscription is “often attributed to the mid-fifth century pope, Sixtus III.”  The inscription reads:
“Here is born in Spirit-soaked fertility/  a brood destined for another City,/ begotten by God’s blowing/ and borne [...]

Eucharist – Christ’s Action in the Church

“Indeed, as we have seen, since the Reformation the emphasis has been placed upon the meal, upon the act of communion and upon the real presence.  All this is quite right, but the almost exclusive insistence upon these aspects has tended to rivet the attention of theologians in the tradition of the Reformation, on the [...]

King’s Meadow Endurance Team

This Christmas, consider supporting the King’s Meadow Endurance Team.  George Grant is an advocate for substantive, classical Reformed liturgy, and they have exciting plans to expand into a full liberal arts college! 
Read a more detailed letter here.