Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life Paperback – November 1, 2016

Incorporating a lot of these mindful small changes to the way I think and do things in the small moments of my every day has renewed the way I understand how we were designed. A really great book that is deep and simple all at the same time.

Mundane, routine, and unspiritual. For many I know, those words describe how their everyday life feels. They hope for more, but due to the pace of life and the quality of life they are seeking to maintain or achieve, a life of meaning and a closer connection with God seem reserved for pastors and monks. Yet, it is precisely in those moments that seem ordinary, routine, and un-sacred that are the very places ripe with opportunity. That’s the take-a-way from Tish Harrison Warren’s book Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life.Tish, an Anglican priest, examines the mundane and the struggles that we inevitable encounter on a daily basis to connect our daily liturgy with the Sunday liturgy. While such an inspection could lead a book that comes across preachy, Tish’s book instead feels like a candid yet principled look at a normal day with its moments that reveal our brokenness and daily circumstances that invite us toward abundance.The way Tish achieves this is by chronicling her daily routines to uncover how it serves as a formational liturgy. Tish connects our weekly worship liturgy, “a ritualized way of worship” (no matter how high or informal a church you attend, there is a rhythm that constitutes a liturgy or), with our daily routines and activities that are more formative than our Sunday liturgy. She rightly notes the purpose of the Sunday liturgy, “[to] teach us a particular idea of the good life, and we are sent out into our week as people who bear out that vision in our workaday world” (31). However, our everyday habits often form us with a different aim or vision of the good life. Tish builds on a question from the work of James K. A. Smith, “What kind of people is our liturgy forming us to be?” (31). Thus, Tish seeks to uncover how her daily activities shape her for a life lived in God’s presence.While not preachy, Tish is brutally honest with the readers, “I’m a pacifist who yells at her husband” (76). Such candor makes Tish’s book relatable. This makes her critiques and insights more palpable. Tish observes that “In contemporary America…daily formation is often at odds with our formation in Word and sacrament” (73). It is no wonder then that too often and for too many of us the sacraments in worship come off as irrelevant and the sermon as dry. Perhaps it is not the fault of worship or the sermon, but perhaps it is our lack of formation. Tish’s exploration is revealing of her faults which gives us the safety to examine our own routines. While mostly descriptive, Tish is prescriptive at times as well, giving us a way of recovering practices that might help us live into what our worship and sacraments teach.While I share a life-stage (parent) and career (pastor), the daily habits Tish inspects are habits we can likely all relate. Like Tish, many of our morning routines begin with the “digital caffeine” of checking our smartphones. What makes Tish’s book so beneficial is taking these observations and then connecting them with how these habits form us in ways we might be unaware. “How I spend this ordinary day in Christ is how I will spend my Christian life” (24).An example comes from chapter five entitled, “eating leftovers” which she uses to contemplate justice issues. “Despite what a culture of consumerism may lead me to believe, my leftovers are not theologically neutral” (70). By contrast, “the economy of the Eucharist calls me to a life of self-emptying worship” (72).Though some connections might be novel for some, many times she voices moments of reflection that we’ve all probably pondered. While attempting to enjoying a glass of tea, she’s trying not to be distracted by the many other chores clamoring. This leads her to consider, “Tea and an empty hour can feel frivolous or frittering. I feel guilty about not doing something more important with my time, like laundry or balancing the checkbook or meeting my neighbors or working or volunteering or serving the poor” (136).The real benefit to Tish’s work is in exposing how we can and should be theologically reflective about the life we are called to live without romanticizing that call. I knew this book was for me when I read the title of chapter 4, “losing keys” and chapter 8 “sitting in traffic.” For me, such moments are when I am tempted to seek an escapist attitude and am tempted to believe that I could be more holy if I didn’t have to bother about these sorts of activities. But Tish’s observation is biting, “We tend to want a Christian life with the dull bits cut out” (22). She reinforces what I believe but not what I want. I want sanctification that happens instantly. But what we believe as Wesleyans is that sanctification is precisely through the daily stuff of life, when connected to who we are called be in by our baptism and from our communion liturgy, that real growth occurs.She is even able to note how our sleep rituals reveal. “Our sleep habits both reveal and shape our lives. A decent indicator of what we love is that for which we willingly give up sleep” (142). Thus, she confesses, “My disordered sleep reveals a disordered love, idols of entertainment or productivity” (142).The critiques Tish does offer are not cynical but rather are offered to reveal how these habits we too easily fall into, as a church and as individuals, mis-form us for kingdom living. As it relates to how our worship does or does not form us, “I worry that when our gathered worship looks like a rock show or an entertainment special, we are being formed as consumers - people after a thrill and a rush - when what we need is to learn a way of being-in-the-world that transforms us, day by day, by the rhythms of repentance and faith” (34-35). Reflecting our how our dietary habits relate to our desires and the church’s consumer based program model: “The contemporary church can, at times, market a kind of ‘ramen noodle’ spirituality. Faith becomes a consumer product - it asks little of us, affirms our values, and promises to meet our needs, but in the end it’s just a quick fix that leaves us gluten and malnourished” (69). And again, “I am either formed by the practices of the church into a worshiper who can receive all of life as a gift, or I am formed, inevitably, as a mere consumer, even a consumer of spirituality” (69).As biting as her critiques might be she articulates a reality that is desperately needed, “Biblically, there is no divide between ‘radical’ and ‘ordinary’ believers” (84). While a consumerist society that dulls our senses might shape us into desiring an “edgy faith”, Tish proclaims, “the kind of spiritual life and disciplines needed to sustain the Christian life are quiet, repetitive, and ordinary” (35).As you can probably tell by now, I would highly recommend this book to church leaders and laity a like. This book includes discussion questions and suggested practices for each chapter, making it great for groups. If you have a class or are in a class looking for book to connect spirituality and the every day, I think Tish’s book is a great starting point.Though not explicitly Wesleyan, this book fits seamlessly with Wesley’s ideas of building holy tempers. Tish has done the church a great service by reflecting on and critiquing her implicit liturgy for all to learn from and become more aware of how to live a sanctified life.

Well-written and sensitive. By an urbanite Anglican pastor. Anglicans arose from the English Reformation, but did not discard liturgical traditions such as Holy Communion. The author brings the concept of liturgy into everyday life in quiet, simple, ordinary circumstances, even arguing with her husband.Solidly Christian, but her approach is reminiscent of some of the modern Buddhist writings I've read ... and that's a compliment, because Buddhism is far more a philosophy of life than any sort of religious faith.

I’ve been aware of Liturgy of the Ordinary for a long time, but resisted reading it because of the cover, a peanut and jelly sandwich. I get the image and how it relates, but to me it seemed to convey another “baby food” Christian book. And it has been very popular. After reading Prayer in the Night, a substantive book on Theodicy, I was eager to read this earlier work. Both books were cited as “books of the year” by Christianity Today.This would be an easy book to read in a week, but noticing how every 2 or 3 pages there was a section division, I decided to read a section a day as part of my devotional “quiet time.” I’m glad I did; her observations have stayed with me. Tish Warren shows how biblical truth is as relevant as tomorrow’s newspaper. It touches the real and often messy world we’re in. And her reflections are profound. They’re simple enough for anyone to grasp, yet deep enough to encourage seasoned theologians. A simply wonderful book.

From Salvation testimonies to missionary stories, christian have seen God work in extraordinary ways. But it is often easier to see God in the grand than the grind. This book invites you to brush your teeth, respond to emails, drive,...engage in the every day as acts of worship, revelations of faith, and opportunities for spiritual transformation. Several times while reading this book I was so struck that I stopped reading and meditated. This book was both challenging and exciting; definitely a 5 star read!This book is the first one I recommend, for weary overwhelmed friends, for women's studies looking for something both practical and meaty, for people who are struggling to see the value of the monotony,... I read it as a pregnant mother of three under 8. I felt exhausted, insignificant in the big picture and overwhelming indispensable at home. This book breathed life and joy into my days! I was challenged to be more intentional; I was encouraged to rest in Christ more. Seriously whoever you are, read this book. It is an added perspective that your everyday needs.“We don’t wake up daily and form a way of being-in-the-world from scratch, and we don’t think our way through every action of our day. We move in patterns that we have set over time, day by day. These habits and practices shape our loves, our desires, and ultimately who we are and what we worship.” Pg 30“At the end of every day, we lie in our beds. Even the most ordinary of days has shaped us–imperceptibly but truely. By a grace we do not control, we yield to sleep. We rest. Our muscles release. Our jaws slacks. We are exposed and weak. We drift out of consciousness. Yet we are still held fast. Our Guard and Guide has called “beloved,” and gives his beloved sleep” Pg 153

This is one of the best books I read this year. The writing is beautiful and captivating. I had a hard time putting it down! I love the way she reminds us that every part of life is a place where we can meet with God and nothing we do during our day is a waste or "less important" than something else. This is a challenge as we've been told in so many ways that certain types of work or activities are more valuable than others - which can leave us with the feeling that most of our lives are pointless. After reading this book I have a renewed understanding that all of my life matters to God and everything I do can be an act of worship to Him and blessings to others.

Excellent book, very helpful. If you feel like you are just living an ordinary life it helps you to find Jesus in every little action we do as part of our daily routine. Eveything we do has an important meaning."There is no task too small or too routine to reflect God's glory and worth."

This is an outstanding book which just breathes life into the mundane thus teaching us how to adopt a lifestyle of Christlikeness and glorify God through our simple daily habits of waking, sending mails, drinking tea, resolving conflict and sleeping. Highly recommended.

This is a short read, but a well worthwhile one. Many little nuggets of wisdom that had me nodding along in a "yeah, I feel that" kind of way. I recommend it as a short and uplifting read, to walk alongside Jesus with greater awareness of what that means.There is little that should be revelatory in this book, but it succinctly describes how to be aware of God when doing mundane stuff, like cleaning our teeth or being stuck in a traffic jam on our way to work.If you would like practical and relatable experiences of how to follow Jesus in the moments between the bigger things, this book offers it well. And if you want to work at setting aside worries and frustrations which provide little forward momentum for change, this book can help with too.

Have just started reading this but am loving the approach of taking something - like making the bed or cleaning teeth - and expanding that out until it is clear that every aspect of our lives - no matter how small - can be a liturgical moment - the making the bed chapter is really a very grounded and tangible consideration of how we start our day and how those choices continue to impact the day. I'm excited about spending more time reading this book and letting it creep into my own practices - like the author - I don't really get the point of bed-making but she has made me reassess my view:)