This book presents three liturgical rights within an Afro-Baptist oral tradition of worship: the Wednesday night prayer meeting, the Deacon's devotion, and the Congregational worship. This examination provides one foundational study necessary to the creation of a liturgical theology of African American Christianity, through the study of sacred ritual within the lived experience of members of a community of traditional orallity and contemporary literacy, which together create a unique collective encounter of the Holy.

"Bond has written a fine phenomenological interpretation of some events in the congregational life of the Salem Baptist Church in Atlanta. Summing Up: RECOMMENDED. Advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and specialists in the field." - CHOICE