"Methodist worship is distinctive in many ways, yet it has never been the subject of a full-scale study. This book offers a comprehensive examination and analysis of Methodist practice, tracing its evolution from the earliest days up to the end of the twentieth century. Karen Westerfield Tucker looks beyond and behind the official liturgical texts to discover the processes and influences - ecclesiastical, social, and cultural - that motivated Methodists to rethink and reorganize their worship theology and praxis."--BOOK JACKET.