The Soul in Paraphrase

Prayer and the Religious Affections

1980

An exploration of prayer and poetry, examining how language and form give expression to the ineffable, drawing from classical and contemporary spiritual writers.

The life of prayer is a double journey into the reality of God and the depths of our common humanity. These pages attempt to show how such formation in a particular pattern of religious affections is theological and not merely "subjective" or experiential. To say we love God but without love of neighbor, or to speak of God without gratitude or pain over injustice and suffering is not to have understood how prayer, experience and theology are related.

The Soul in Paraphrase: Prayer and the Religious Affections

1980

by Don E. Saliers (Author) Format: Hardcover

The Soul in Paraphrase: Prayer and the Religious Affections by theologian Don E. Saliers is a book about how Christian prayer shapes a person's inner emotional life and connects it to theological truth.

The book borrows its title from George Herbert's famous 17th-century poem, "Prayer (I)," which uses the phrase "the soul in paraphrase" to describe how prayer translates the deepest, otherwise unutterable parts of the human soul to God.

The Double Journey: Saliers argues that a life of prayer is a simultaneous two-part journey: moving deeper into the reality of God while simultaneously moving deeper into the depths of our common humanity.

Pentecost 2 (Proclamation 2, Aids for Interpreting the Lessons of the Church Year, Series B)

1982

by Schuyler Brown (Author), Don E. Saliers (Author) Format: Paperback

Pentecost 2 (Proclamation 2, Aids for Interpreting the Lessons of the Church Year, Series B) by Don Saliers is a liturgical resource book designed to help preachers and worship leaders study, interpret, and preach the biblical texts assigned during the middle portion of the Pentecost season.

Published by Fortress Press as part of a highly regarded 24-volume commentary series, this book specifically serves clergy utilizing the Revised Common Lectionary (or its predecessors) during "Series B" of the three-year church calendar cycle.

Considered a foundational text, this work explores the profound connections between liturgical practice and personal spiritual formation, drawing on ecumenical traditions and contemporary theological insights.

Soul in Recital delves into the aesthetic and theological dimensions of sacred music, offering a rich reflection on the role of art in worship and the human experience of the divine.

The word "spirituality" is frequently used to try to get at what we mean by a living faith in daily life. One of the aims of this book is to reconnect the word with the patterns and practices of Christian worship. In particular the author to reclaim the necessary connection between authentic Christian worship —whether liturgically "high" or "low" — and the distinctive shape of the Christian life.

From Hope to Joy: Services of worship and additional resources for the seasons of Advent and Christmas with introduction and commentary (Supplemental worship resources)

1984

by Don E. Saliers (Author) Format: Paperback

From Hope to Joy: Services of Worship and Additional Resources for the Seasons of Advent and Christmas by Don Saliers is a liturgical resource book designed to help Christian congregations plan and experience worship during the seasons of Advent and Christmas.

Published in 1984 as part of the Supplemental Worship Resources series, the book provides a thematic theological and practical guide for moving congregations spiritually from the expectant waiting of Advent ("hope") to the celebration of the Nativity ("joy").

The Lord Be With You: A Visual Handbook for Presiding in Christian Worship

1990

by Charles D. Hackett (Author), Don E. Saliers (Author)

The Lord Be With You: A Visual Handbook for Presiding in Christian Worship (co-authored by Don E. Saliers and Charles D. Hackett) is a practical and theological guide focused on the art of leading liturugical worship.

Published in 1990, the book addresses the visual, bodily, and spatial dimensions of how a pastor, priest, or liturugist "presides" over a church service.

Core Themes and Content

• Beyond Words: Saliers and Hackett argue that leading worship is not just about reading text or speaking clearly. It is an "incarnational" act that involves the leader's entire physical presence—posture, gestures, movement, and eye contact.

• The Power of Liturgical Gestures: The handbook details how specific movements (such as extending hands during the Eucharistic prayer, lifting the bread and cup, or offering a blessing) visually communicate the hospitality, gravity, and grace of God.

The New Handbook of the Christian Year: Based on the Revised Common Lectionary

1992

The New Handbook of the Christian Year: Second Edition, by Hoyt L. Hickman, Don E. Saliers, Laurence Hull Stookey, and James F. White. Lectionary, prayers, responses, and Communion services updated for consistency with books of worship from several denominations. Includes: glossary of Christian symbols, glossary of liturgical terms, annotated bibliography, index of Scripture readings, index of Psalms, and an ecumenical service for the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

Worship as Theology: Foretaste of Glory Divine

1994

In Worship As Theology, Don Saliers discusses how worship is both theological (God-centered) and anthropological (embodied and embedded in specific human and cultural contexts). He illuminates worship as a theology "prayed, sung, and enacted." At the same time--by focusing upon specific dimensions of liturgical action such as praising, thanking, invoking, confessing, proclaiming, interceding, and blessing--he addresses the differences between the liturgical/sacramental and the "free-church"/evangelical church traditions.

Worship Come to Its Senses

1996

This volume champions a holistic understanding of worship, integrating sensory experience with theological depth. Explores the tactile, auditory, and visual dimensions of communal prayer.

What makes Christian worship both true and relevant to ever-changing human circumstances? How can our gathering about the Scriptures, the Table of the Lord, and the waters of baptism shape and express authentic Christian faith in the world of everyday life? In this book, Don Saliers finds a fresh way of answering these questions by exploring four "senses" of God: awe, delight, truth, and hope. Why are wonderment, surprise, truthfulness, and expectancy so often missing or diminished in Christian liturgy today, whether Protestant or Roman Catholic, "high church" or "low church, " "traditional" or "contemporary"?

Human Disability and the Service of God: Reassessing Religious Practice

1998

by Nancy L. Eiesland (Editor), Don E. Saliers (Editor)

A living religious tradition continually reassesses its practices. In our contemporary situation, the task of reassessment must attend to the presence of persons with disabilities who are increasingly taking part in public life and therefore in the worship and work of the churches. What questions, insights, and perspectives should be advanced if people with disabilities, in all their diversity, were placed at the center of religious life and education?

A Song to Sing, A Life to Live

2005

In A Song to Sing, a Life to Live, Don and Emily Saliers help readers see the connections between Saturday night music and Sunday morning music by exploring the spiritual dimensions of music itself. They tell the stories of their own lives in music, and they share what they have learned and observed about the power of music in human life. They help us appreciate the joy of music and also how music carries us into places of sorrow, where we must go if we are to live with honesty about ourselves and compassion for others.

A collection of essays and reflections on the power of hymnody in shaping Christian life and thought, emphasizing the communal and personal impact of sung theology.

Sounding Glory

2006

For many years, Saliers has been choirmaster and organist at Emory University's Cannon Chapel. He has contributed to the United Methodist Hymnal, The Book of Worship and the Upper Room Worship book. In 2007, Saliers served as the editor of Sounding Glory, a hymn collection published by Oregon Catholic Press.

Music and Theology (Horizons in Theology)

2007

Music and Theology will be a volume in the Horizons in Theology series. It will offer a relatively brief but highly engaging essay on the major concerns and questions regarding Music as it intersects with theology—past and present. Don Saliers is a senior scholar in this field, one who is able to address in a clear and concise style the scope and contours of this question as it relates to theological inquiry and application. He will sketch the nature and significance of the subject, the history of reflection, the current lines of inquiry, and his own contribution to the discussion.

Don Saliers-Themes and Variations Book

2020

by Gia Publications (Contributor)

Themes and Variations: Music and Imagination by theologian and musician Don E. Saliers is a collection of over 70 short, reflective essays exploring the profound connection between music, human life, and faith.

Originally written as a series of columns for The American Organist magazine, the book bridges the gap between music-makers and music-lovers by examining how the passages we experience in music mirror the passages we experience in life.

Something Happens Here: Reclaiming the Distinctiveness of Wesley's Communion Spirituality in Times of Divisiveness

2022

by Stephen P. West (Author), Don E. Saliers (Contributor)

The United Methodist Church is at a crossroads, and nothing is more important than reclaiming our sacramental distinctiveness in times of great divisiveness. This book takes a fresh look at Wesley’s core teachings on the Lord’s Supper, letting each unique feature of Wesley's communion theology become a lens to navigate troubled waters. The author explores the historical background of each characteristic, finds evidence in writings of John and Charles Wesley, and applies them to the struggles of present-day United Methodism. He concludes with signs of life emerging in divisive and uncertain times, as people come back to the table to move forward into the future.

The Conversation Matters, Second Edition: Why Christians Should Talk with One Another

2025

How can Christians talk with one another about things that matter? How can we make an argument without having an argument? This book offers a way forward. Drawing on John Wesley as well as contemporary thinkers, Knight and Saliers show how doctrines—those things we teach and believe—directly shape Christian life and faith and should be the subjects of regular conversation in our churches and denominational assemblies. They also show that how we talk about the things we believe, including issues of controversy, is itself a witness to the gospel we profess.

Belief

"A Theological Commentary on the Bible"

"Psalms"

2026

An exploration of prayer and poetry, examining how language and form give expression to the ineffable, drawing from classical and contemporary spiritual writers.

The life of prayer is a double journey into the reality of God and the depths of our common humanity. These pages attempt to show how such formation in a particular pattern of religious affections is theological and not merely "subjective" or experiential. To say we love God but without love of neighbor, or to speak of God without gratitude or pain over injustice and suffering is not to have understood how prayer, experience and theology are related.