Celebrating the Rites of Initiation: A Practical Ceremonial Guide for Clergy and Other Liturgical Ministers, Revised and Updated

The definitive guide to the practice of rites of initiation in the church, revised and updated to reflect the changes of the 2022 Book of Occasional Services.

In a new and updated edition, James Turrell offers a guide to the celebration of the rites of baptism, confirmation, and communion. He provides readers with notes and background thinking on planning the ideal time to undergo these important rituals. Through careful guidance, Turrell leads clergy members and other church leaders through the steps of major Christian ceremonies. Reflecting a more inclusive society, he writes on recent changes to the catechumenate and the restructuring of rites for preparing for confirmation or reception. This new edition is revised to included updated information from the 2022 Book of Occasional Services.

James F. Turrell teaches liturgy at the School of Theology of the University of the South, where he also serves as dean. He has served on the Episcopal Church’s Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, where he led a committee that revised the rites for the catechumenate in the Book of Occasional Services. He is a priest of the Diocese of Bethlehem in Pennsylvania. He lives in Sewanee, Tennessee.