Professor of Liturgical and Practical Theology, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity

Stephen teaches at Pilgrim Theological College. Research interests include intersections of feminist, postcolonial and liturgical theologies, and liturgical spirituality and renewal.

Stephen studied at the universities of Durham (BA hons, MA, PhD) and Cambridge (MLitt) in the UK. He was ordained deacon and priest in the Church of England and is an ecumenical minister in placement in the Uniting Church in Australia.

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Publications

BOOKS

o   Anglican Theology: Postcolonial Perspectives (coed. with James Tengatenga; London: SCM Press, 2024)

o   Feminist Theologies: A Companion (coed. with Kerrie Handasyde and Katharine Massam; London: SCM Press, 2024)

o   Conversations about Divine Mystery: Essays in Honor of Gail Ramshaw (coed. with HyeRan Kim-Cragg; Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress Press, 2023)

o   Explorations in Twentieth Century Theology and Philosophy: People Preoccupied with God (Ann Loades; ed. by Stephen Burns; London: Anthem Press, 2023)

o   Feminist Theology: Interstices and Fractures (coed. with Rebekah Pryor; Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress Academic Press, 2023)

o   From the Shores of Silence: Conversations in Feminist Practical Theology (coed. with Ash Cocksworth and Rachel Starr; London: SCM Press, 2023)

o   Queering Christian Worship: Reconstructing Liturgical Theology (coed. with Bryan Cones, Sharon Fennema and Scott Haldeman; New York, NY: Seabury Press, 2023)

o   Grace is Not Faceless: Reflections on Mary (Ann Loades; ed. by Stephen Burns; London: DLT, 2021)

o   Twentieth Century Anglican Theologians: From Evelyn Underhill to Esther Mombo (coed. with Bryan Cones and James Tengatenga; Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2021

o   Grace and Glory in One Another’s Faces: Preaching and Worship (Ann Loades; ed. by Stephen Burns; Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2020)

o   When We Pray: The Future of Common Prayer (coed. with Robert Gribben; Melbourne: Coventry Press, 2020)

o   Fully Conscious, Fully Active: Essays in Honor of Gabe Huck (coed. with Bryan Cones; Chicago, Ill.: LTP, 2019)

o   Liturgy with a Difference: Beyond Inclusion in Christian Assembly (coed. with Bryan Cones; London: SCM Press, 2019)

o   Liturgy (SCM Studyguide) (London: SCM Press, second edition, 2018), 219pp

o   Postcolonial Practice of Ministry: Leadership, Liturgy, and Interfaith Engagement (coed. with Kwok Pui-lan; Lanhan, Md.: Lexington Press, 2016)

o   Pastoral Theology for Public Ministry (New York, NY: Seabury Press, 2015), 143pp

o   Public Theology and the Challenge of Feminism (coed. with Anita Monro; Abingdon: Routledge, 2015)

o   Home and Away: Contextual Theology and Local Practice (coed. with Clive Pearson; Eugene, Ore.: Pickwick Publications, 2013)

o   Liturgical Spirituality: Anglican Reflections on the Church’s Prayer (ed.; New York, NY: Seabury Press, 2013)

o   The Art of Tentmaking: Making Space for Worship (ed.; Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2012)

o   Pilgrim People: An Invitation to Worship in the Uniting Church (Adelaide: MediaCom, 2012), 243pp

o   Worship and Ministry: Shaped Towards God (Melbourne: Mosaic Press, 2012), 249pp

o   Christian Worship: Postcolonial Perspectives (coauthored with Michael N. Jagessar; Sheffield: Equinox, 2011 [republished: Abingdon: Routledge, 2014]), 169pp

o   Presiding Like a Woman (coed. with Nicola Slee; London: SPCK, 2010)

o   Christian Worship in Australia: Inculturating the Liturgical Tradition (coed. with Anita Monro; Sydney: St. Pauls, 2009)

o   The Edge of God: New Liturgical Texts and Contexts in Conversation (coed. with Nicola Slee and Michael N. Jagessar; Peterborough: Epworth Press, 2008)

o   Exchanges of Grace: Essays in Honour of Ann Loades (coed. with Natalie K. Watson; London: SCM Press, 2008)

o   Journey (ed. Stephen Burns; Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2008)

o   Word (ed. Stephen Burns; Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2008)

o   Liturgy (SCM Studyguide) (London: SCM Press, 2006), 198pp

o   Worship in Context: Liturgical Theology, Children and the City (Peterborough: Epworth Press, 2006), 237pp

CHAPTERS AND ARTICLES

o   ‘Acknowledging First Peoples’. In Black Theology: An International Journal 23.1 (2025): 19-38

o   ‘Ampersand, Et Cetera’. In Australian Journal of Liturgy 20.1 (2025): 35-51

o   ‘Christ, Calendar and Lectionary’. In Journal of Contemporary Pasifika Theologies 1.1 (2025): 107-123

o   ‘Thinking Around the “Hierarchical Array”: Ecumenical Explorations’. In Sacrosanctum Concilium: Exploring Liturgical Futures, ed. by Clare Johnson, Gerard Moore and Peter Williams (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2025), 41-59

o   ‘Christa/x’. In Feminist Theologies: A Companion, 175-182

o   ‘The Congregation is Not an Audience: 20 Years of Uniting in Worship 2’. In Australian Journal of Liturgy 19.2 (2024): 5-22

o   ‘Gale A. Yee’. In Anglican Theology: Postcolonial Perspectives, 221-235

o   ‘Liturgical Theology’. In The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology Since 1918, ed. by Rachel Muers and Ash Cocksworth with David F. Ford (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2024), 434-446

o   ‘Liturgy and the Search for Deeper Communion’. In Liturgy 39.1 (2024): 46-56

o   ‘Manual Acts, Mass Confusion?’ In Uniting Church Studies 26.1 (2024): 61-72

o   ‘A Special Interest Subject?’ (with Katharine Massam and Kerrie Handasyde). In Feminist Theologies: A Companion, xiii-xxiv

o   ‘To See Ourselves as Others See Us’ (with Andrew Wymer). In Liturgy 39.1 (2024): 1-4

o   ‘Worthy of God’s Trust?’ (with James Tengatenga). In Anglican Theology: Postcolonial Perspectives, ix-ixx

o   ‘Announcing the Gospel’. In Worship 97 (2023): 196–203

o   ‘Celebrant: Sheezus Christa’. In Queering Christian Worship, ed. by Bryan Cones et al (New York: Seabury Press, 2023), 69–84

o   ‘A Crowded Dining Room, A Quilt, A Grove’ (with HyeRan Kim-Cragg). In Conversations about Divine Mystery, xxiii-xliv

o   ‘Deterrence: Crucified People’. in Feminist Theology: Interstices and Fractures, 179–198

o   ‘Ecumenical Winter, Ordinary Time’. In Australian Journal of Liturgy 18.3/4 (2023): 197-203

o   ‘Enjoying the Conversations’ (with HyeRan Kim-Cragg). In Conversations about Divine Mystery, xlv–liii

o   ‘Exploring the Boundaries of Speech’ (with Ash Cocksworth and Rachel Starr). In From the Shores of Silence, 1–22

o   ‘The Grace of Intelligence’. In Explorations in Twentieth Century Theology and Philosophy, 1–8

o   ‘A Personal Note’. In Explorations in Twentieth Century Theology and Philosophy, vi–ix

o   ‘A Postcard from Narrm’. In Liturgy 38.1 (2023): 9-18

o   ‘Secure Among the Mysteries’. In International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church 25.3 (2023): 255-268

o   ‘Top Hat and Overalls? A Stole for the Assembly’. In Worship 98 (2023): 293–301

o   ‘With All Due Respect’. In Feminist Theologies: Interstices and Fractures, 1–5

o   ‘Liturgy, Gender, and Identity’. In The Lively Oracles of God: Perspectives on Liturgy and the Bible, ed. by Gordon Jeanes and Bridget Nichols (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2022), 227–250

o   ‘Silence’. In Bordered Bodies, Bothered Voices: Native and Migrant Theologies, ed. by Jione Havea (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2022), 186-201

o   ‘With Many Voices, From Below: Explorations in Decolonial Liturgy’. In International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church 22.3 (2022): 183-194

o   ‘Covenantal Relationships and Queer Bodies’ (with Aneka Jensen and Katecia Taylor). In Contemporary Feminist Theologies: Power, Authority, Love, ed. by Kerrie Handasyde, Cath McKinney and Rebekah Pryor (Abingdon: Routledge, 2021), 145-157

o   ‘Graced and Courageous’. In Grace is Not Faceless, 1–15

o   ‘Prayer and Pastoral Ministry’. In T & T Handbook of Christian Prayer, ed. by Ash Cocksworth and John C. McDowell (London: Bloomsbury, 2021), 635-653

o   “‘So debatable a subject, and viewed with so much suspicion”: Theology in the University—Australia’. In International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church 21.3/4 (2021): 266-281

o   ‘Ann Loades (1938- )’. In Twentieth Century Anglican Theologians, 157-166

o   ‘Carter Heyward (1945- )’ (with Bryan Cones). In Twentieth Century Anglican Theologians, 175-183

o   ‘Confessing More than Sin’. In When We Pray, 277-302

o   ‘Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957)’. In Twentieth Century Anglican Theologians, 44-53

o   ‘Faithfulness or Betrayal? Tradition in “Geriatric Assemblies”.’ In Theological and Hermeneutical Explorations from Australia: Horizons of Contextuality, ed. by Jione Havea (Lanham, Md.: Lexington Press, 2020), 95-110

o   ‘Kenneth Leech (1939-2015)’. In Twentieth Century Anglican Theologians, 167-174

o   ‘Kindness and Clout’. In Grace and Glory in One Another’s Faces, vii-xv

o   ‘Liturgy After the Abuse’. In Vulnerability and Resilience: Body and Liberating Theologies (Theology in the Age of Empire, Vol. 4), ed. by Jione Havea (Lanhan, Md.: Lexington Books), 173-186

o   ‘Un/usual Suspects’ (with Bryan Cones). In Twentieth Century Anglican Theologians, viii-xx

o   ‘With Others’. In When We Pray, 15-26

o   ‘Acts of Uniformity’. In Liturgy with a Difference, 19-32

o   ‘Introduction: Postcolonial Perspectives’. In Liturgy 34.3 (2019): 1-2

o   ‘No Participation, No Liturgy’. In Fully Conscious, Fully Active, 2-12 

o   ‘Ordination Services After the Abuse: Postcolonial Proposals’. In Liturgy 34.3 (2019): 46-58

o   ‘The Very Nature of the Liturgy’ (with Bryan Cones). In Fully Conscious, Fully Active, vii-xii

o   ‘The Vivid Richness of God’s Image’ (with Bryan Cones). In Liturgy with a Difference, xiii-xix

o   ‘Pastoral Ministry Today’. In A Pastoral Handbook for Anglicans, ed. by Bradley Billings (Alexandria, NSW: Broughton Books), 1-25

o   ‘A Prayer Book for Australia: That Was Then, This is Now’. In Australian Journal of Liturgy 16 (2018): 20-40

o   “‘Learning Again and Again to Pray”: Anglican Forms of Daily Prayer, 1979-2014,” Journal of Anglican Studies 17 (2017): 9-36

o   ‘From Evelyn Underhill to Sarah Coakley: Women Teaching Theology in UK Contexts’. In Sarah Coakley and the Future of Systematic Theology, ed. by Janice McRandal (Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress Press, 2016), 203-226

o   ‘Introduction: Postcolonial Practice of Ministry’. In Postcolonial Practice of Ministry, 1-18

o   ‘Liturgy in Migration, Migration in Liturgy’ (with HyeRan Kim-Cragg). In Church in An Age of Global Migration: A Moving Body, ed. by Joshua Ralston, Susanna Snyder and Agnes Brazal (New York, NY: Palgrave, 2015), 113-129

o   ‘Which Public? Inspecting the House of Public Theology’ (with Anita Monro). In Public Theology and the Challenge of Feminism, 1-14

o   ‘A Prayer Book for the Twenty First Century?’ (with Bryan Cones). In Anglican Theological Review 96 (2014): 136-160

o   ‘When Seminaries Get Stuck’. In Liturgy in Postcolonial Perspectives: Only One is Holy, ed. by Cláudio Carvalhaes (New York, NY: Palgrave, 2014), 255-266

o   ‘A Fragile Future for the Ordo?’ In Worship and Culture: Foreign Country or Homeland? ed. by Gláucia Vasconcelos Wilkey (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2014), 143-161

o   ‘From Women Priests to Feminist Ecclesiology?’ In Looking Backward, Looking Forward: Forty Years of Women’s Ordination, ed. by Fredrica Harris Thompsett (New York, NY: Seabury Press, 2014), 99-110

o   ‘Ministry’. In An Informed Faith: The Uniting Church at the Beginning of the 21^st Century, ed. by William Emilsen (Melbourne: Mosaic Press, 2013), 37-68

o   ‘Formation for Ordained Ministry: Out of Touch?’ In Indigenous Australia and the Unfinished Business of Theology: Cross-cultural Engagement, ed. by Jione Havea (New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), 151-166 

o   ‘The Impact of Sacrosanctum Concilium on Protestant Traditions’. In Vatican Council II: Reforming Liturgy, ed. by Carmel Pilcher, RSJ, David Orr and Elizabeth Harrington (Adelaide: ATF Press, 2013), 253-269

o   ‘Introduction’. In Liturgical Spirituality, ix-xi

o   ‘Liturgical Formation for Ordained Ministry’. In Uniting Church Studies 19 (2013): 8-15 

o   ‘Modes and Moods of Prayer’. In Liturgical Spirituality, 2-6

o   ‘Sacramental Actions’. In Liturgical Spirituality, 72-78

o   ‘Seasons of Celebration’. In Liturgical Spirituality, 152-157

o   ‘Wandering’. In Home and Away, 84-103

o   ‘Introduction’. In The Art of Tentmaking, x-xv

o   ‘Spaces for the Twenty First Century’ (with Gerard Moore). In The Art of Tentmaking, 41-59

o   ‘We Carry Each Other’. In I Believe in God, ed. by William Emilsen (Sydney: UTCP, 2012), 51-59

o   ‘Yearning Without Saying a Word: Unembarrassed Presiding in Liturgy’. In Worship 86 (2012): 1-16

o   ‘Christ’s People Fed at Her Own Hand: Feminist Styles of Presiding’. In Women of Faith: Imaging God in the World, ed. by Charles Sherlock (Kincumber: MOWatch, 2012), 18-21

o   “‘Limping Priests” Ten Years Later: Formation for Ordained Ministry’. In Uniting Church Studies 17 (2012): 1-18

o   ‘Worship, Formation and Small Seminary Communities’. In Australian Journal of Liturgy 12 (11): 51-59

o   ‘Four in a Vestment? Feminist Gesture for Christian Assembly’. In Presiding Like a Woman, 9-19

o   ‘School or Seminary? Theological Education and Personal Devotion’. In St Mark’s Review 110 (2010): 79-95

o   “‘Trusting God with Our Lives”: Missional Process in the Liturgy’. In Australian Journal of Mission Studies 4 (2010): 23-31

o   ‘Liturgy and Justice’. In International Journal of Public Theology 3 (2009): 371-389

o   ‘Over the Ocean’. In Christian Worship in Australia, 17-32

o   ‘Presiding Like a Woman: Feminist Gesture for Christian Assembly’. In Feminist Theology 18 (2009): 29-49 

o   ‘Worship, Mission and the Public Square: A Primer’. In Australian Journal of Mission Studies 3 (2009): 21-29

o   ‘Experiences of Travail’. In Uniting Church Studies 14 (2008): 1-2 

o   ‘Faithful Prayer on Parched Land’ (with Anita Monro). In Uniting Church Studies 14 (2008): 80-96

o   ‘Grace Dances: Liturgy and Embodiment’. In Exchanges of Grace, 224-235 

o   ‘Heaven or Las Vegas? Engaging Liturgical Theology’. In Mass Culture: The Interface of Eucharist and Mission, ed. by Pete Ward (Oxford: Bible Reading Fellowship, 2008), 95-112

o   ‘Hymns Old and New: Towards a Postcolonial Gaze’ (with Michael N. Jagessar). In The Edge of God, 50-67

o   ‘The Journey Through the Liturgy’. In Journey, 1-13

o   ‘The Treasures of the Bible’. In Word, 1-18

o   ‘Liturgical Studies and Christian Worship: The Postcolonial Challenge’ (with Michael N. Jagessar). In Black Theology: An International Journal 5 (2007): 38-59 

o   Embracing the Day: Exploring Daily Prayer (Norwich: Canterbury Press), 32pp

o   ‘Fragments of a Postcolonial Perspective on Christian Worship’ (with Michael N. Jagessar). In Worship 80 (2007): 426-453 

o   Living the Thanksgiving: Exploring the Eucharist (Norwich: Canterbury Press), 32pp

o   ‘Some Liturgical Perspectives’. In Doing December Differently: An Alternative Christmas Handbook, ed. by Rosie Miles and Nicola Slee (Glasgow: Wild Goose Publications), 121-123

o   ‘Creating a Kingdom Scene’. In Epworth Review 32 (2005): 51-59

o   Immersed in Grace: Exploring Baptism (Norwich: Canterbury Press), 32pp

o   ‘Mission-Shaped Worship’. In Anvil 23 (2005): 185-201

o   ‘Forgiveness in Challenging Circumstances’. In Forgiveness in Context: Theology and Psychology in Creative Dialogue, ed. by Fraser Watts and Elizabeth Gulliford (London: Continuum, 2004), 144-159

o   Welcoming Asylum Seekers (Cambridge: Grove Books, 2004), 28pp

University Appointments

Professor of Liturgical and Practical Theology (Pilgrim Theological College)

External Affiliations

• The Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education, Birmingham, UK (International Research Consultant)