The Revised Common Lectionary
The readings at each week's worship service follow the Revised Common Lectionary, a series of readings from the Bible on a three-year cycle, with the years designated as Year A, B, and C. The Church Year begins in Advent. In 2005-2006, we are in Year B.
The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) was developed by a broad ecumenical group (Consultation on Common Texts) in 1992 after ten years of shared participation with the Common Lectionary. The RCL provides an Old Testament, Psalm, Epistle (letter), and Gospel reading for each Sunday and feast day in the year. There are daily readings as well, which can be followed in the box above.
At Westminster, the liturgist ordinarily reads the Old Testament and Epistle readings, and the congregation sings the Psalm. The pastor reads the Gospel reading, and preaches on it and/or the other readings in his sermon.
The goals of the lectionary are basic:
--To enable congregations to hear a broad range of texts from all areas of scripture in a three-year period.
--To follow the Church year, which is based on the life of Christ.
--To help congregations of various denominations share the reading of scripture together.
--To avoid the danger of ministers preaching on their favorite texts.
--To offer diverse resources to help in sermon preparation.
A good source for the lectionary readings for all three years is found at: http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/
