Book: Worship Without Words: The Signs and Symbols of Our Times

Patricia S. Klein. Brewster, Mass.: Paraclete Press, 2000. 208 pp. $12.95.

A handy mini-encyclopedia of terms associated with worship spaces and liturgical worship. Chapters on such topics as “Sacred Places, Sacred Spaces,” “The Liturgical Year,” and “Vestments” cluster the terms and concepts around themes, offering brief biblical and historical roots of many traditions. For example, the chapter “The Cross” (6 pp.) includes twenty-six drawings of different traditional forms of the cross. Every term defined or described is in boldface, and can be easily found in the alphabetical index. Klein writes from an Episcopal liturgical tradition with much warmth, sometimes including devotional pieces. A good beginning reference work for those who wonder about the origins of signs and symbols.

Reformed Worship 64 © June 2002 Worship Ministries of the Christian Reformed Church. Used by permission.