Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission

The Council of Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission (APLM) began with a small group of clergy in the early 1940s, seeking to “do something about Sunday morning.” They perceived that although their church buildings were full, their congregations too often remained indifferent to the claims of the Gospel on daily life.  They sought to recover the wisdom of the Church throughout the ages, expressed in Holy Baptism as incorporation into the Mystical Body of Christ, and the Holy Eucharist as the central act of worship on Sundays.  

Members of APLM made major contributions  to the creation of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, as both scholarly writers and pastoral practitioners of the Church’s liturgy and mission.  APLM has championed Baptism as the foundation for Christian ministry and has worked for the restoration of the Catechumenate within the life of the church, and has been a major advocate of the recovery of a distinctive diaconate in ordained ministry as it has promoted a deeper understanding of all orders of ministry, both lay and ordained.

We continue to develop and promote worship that shapes, defines, and empowers the church to live in the midst of the world as a sign, foretaste, and instrument of the promised and immanent reign of God. We believe that innovation and enculturation of the liturgy must be deeply rooted in a robust understanding of tradition. New initiatives like “Becoming the Story We Tell” aim to provide a foundation for liturgical renewal in local settings.

- Jason Haddox

www.liturgyandmission.org