THESIS
“A Dream of Common Prayer”?: A Case Series of Eucharistic Prayers in Their Context, 2021.
The idea of common prayer has been a guiding framework since the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549. The emphasis on common, or standard, prayer has been affirmed to the present day, though the meaning of common has varied with the ages. The 1979 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) outlines that the Holy Eucharist is the principal act of Christian worship in the Episcopal Church. Thus, Eucharistic liturgy and practice are central to the expression of how common prayer throughout the Episcopal Church. While the 1979 Book of Common Prayer is the only authorized liturgical standard across the Episcopal Church, not all Episcopalians pray only out of the BCP. This project offers an exploration of the idea of common Eucharistic Prayer in practice by describing and comparing three parishes and their Eucharistic liturgies that are not found within the 1979 BCP. Interviews with clergy and bishops put the Eucharistic texts and practices into context, highlighting the importance of sociological insights and performance to understand written liturgy. This case series offers reflection on the role of ecclesial authority in relation to creativity, liturgical practice, lived theology, and dynamic interplay of the center and the edges in the Episcopal Church.
https://dspace.sewanee.edu/handle/11005/21752
ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS
Book Chapters
“Of God and Women: The Evolution of Theology in L’Engle’s Biblical Reimaginings” in Dimensions of Madeleine L’Engle, edited by Suzanne Bray (Jefferson, NC: McFarland Academic, 2016).
Journal Articles
“‘A Question Mark over my Head’: Experiences of Women ETS Members at the 2014 ETS Annual Meeting,” A Question Mark Over My Head: Special Edition Journal (Minneapolis: Christians for Biblical Equality, 2015).
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
“‘You Can’t Be Pregnant’: Women’s Bodily Wisdom and Biomedical Knowledge,” Works in Progress 2017 Conference: Regional Interdisciplinary Conference of Feminist Scholarship, Norfolk, VA, April 2017.
“‘Choosing to Stand Under Scripture’: Evangelical Women Scholars’ Scriptural Engagement and Hermeneutics,” SECSOR: American Academy of Religion Southeast Regional Meeting, Raleigh, NC, March 2016.
“Wading through Many Waters: Gender, Identity, and Theology in Madeleine L’Engle’s Biblical Fiction,” “The Public Life of Literature”: Conference on Christianity and Literature, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Mich., April 2012.
“Women between the Lines: Transcendent Narratives in Madeleine L’Engle’s Many Waters and Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent,” “Paradigms of Hope: Transcending Chaos & Transforming Culture”: C.S. Lewis Summer Institute at Oxbridge, Oxford and Cambridge, England, July 2011.
“‘It’s All in Your Head’: The Messages Women Migraineurs Receive,” “Emancipatory Knowledge: Women’s and Gender Studies Now!” Ninth Biennial ACS Women’s and Gender Studies Conference, University of Richmond, Va., April 2011.
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