The Rev. Dr. Lizette Larson-Miller

Lizette Larson-Miller came to theology and liturgy from the field of music, which seemed a surprise at the time! Having studied music and church music at the undergraduate and graduate levels (University of Southern California and Hochschule für Musik, Vienna), she enrolled in an MA course of studies in liturgy (St. John’s University, Collegeville) in order to be a better church musician, but fell in love with the field of liturgical history. From there her interests moved to include liturgical and sacramental theology, and Eastern Christian liturgy, with a PhD in the same (GTU, Berkeley). She has taught at CDSP/GTU for 11 years, prior to that at the University of Notre Dame (South Bend) and Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles).

Mission Statement
Liturgy is the grace-filled act of response to God, the principled actor in our lives and in our liturgies. In the glorification of God which is our sanctification, I find all the interdisciplinary conversations in the academic field of liturgical studies connect as doxological theology, different ways to praise God. For the practical, pastoral areas of liturgy, knowing where we have been grounds us in the Christian ecclesial tradition and in the communion of saints, liturgical history as a living reality. Knowing why we do what we do in the liturgy incorporates all aspects of liturgical and sacramental theology, how we express and create meaning through sacramental encounter with the divine. Knowing where we are as we do liturgy engages us in the conversations of liturgical inculturation and context, language and symbol. Bringing the insights of the field of liturgy, studied and practiced, into conversation with the arts, with linguistics and with the environment opens up new possibilities in all conversations and reminds me what a dynamic field liturgical studies continues to be.