William S. Kervin

Bill Kervin 

Associate Professor of Public Worship

B.Sc., Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, 1981
M.Div., Atlantic School of Theology, Halifax, NS,1984
Th.D., Emmanuel College, Victoria University, Toronto, ON, 1994

Contact

Office: Room 216
Tel.: (416) 585-4546
Fax: (416) 585-4516
Email: w.kervin@utoronto.ca
Blog: www.billsworshipblog.blogspot.com

Teaching & Research Interests

William (“Bill”) Kervin teaches worship and liturgy in both the Basic (Masters) and Advanced (doctoral) degree programmes and serves as a faculty advisor for the worship life of the college. His research interests include liturgical history, United Church worship, Eucharistic theology and practice, Christian initiation, liturgical theology, worship and the arts, church architecture, liturgical inculturation, congregational song and ritual studies.

Bill was ordained as a minister by the Maritime Conference of The United Church of Canada, and has been active in the production of that denomination’s major worship resources, Voices United, Celebrate God’s Presence and More Voices. A frequent guest preacher and workshop leader, he also regularly serves as a liturgical and architectural consultant to various faith communities.

Currently Teaching

EMP 1101: Worship I

EMP 5120: Liturgical Theology

EMP 3106: Celebrate God’s Presence

EMP 3104: Contemporary Issues in Worship

Other Courses:

EMP 3100: Pilgrimage to Taizé

EMP 3135: Pilgrimage to Iona
EMP 3881/6881: Worship and the Arts

Reading Course (for admittands): Worship in the United Church

Selected Publications

The Language of Baptism: A Study of the Authorized Baptismal Liturgies of The United Church of Canada, 1925-1995. Drew University Studies in Liturgy. Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2003.

A Year of Grace: 365 Mealtime Prayers. European Edition: London, SPCK, 2003. American Edition: Peabody, Mass., Hendrickson, 2003.

“Forms of Service (1926): A Study in the Liturgical Ethos of The United Church of Canada,” Toronto Journal of Theology. 17/2 (Fall 2001): 315-229.

“Canada, Worship in the United Church of,” New Westminster Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship. Edited by Paul Bradshaw. (London: SCM Press, 2002; Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002).

“The Celtic Connection: The Iona Community and Contemporary Worship,” Touchstone. 21/2 (May 2003): 6-21.

“The Three Hymn Books of The United Church of Canada: The Dialectic of a New Song,” Touchstone. 19/2 (May 2001): 6-21.

“Beyond the Last Supper: The Institution Narrative Revisted.” Touchstone. Touchstone. 27/2 (May 2009): 21-31.

The regular column, “Worship Words” in the United Church worship resource Gathering.

Other Resources

Memberships:

North American Academy of Liturgy

Societas Liturgica

The Hymn Society

Royal Canadian College of Organists

Canadian Theological Society

Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church

The United Church of Canada

Other Interests:
cooking (and eating!), music (e.g., Irish trad.), percussion, travel, art & architecture, movies

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