By Rev. Joe Zarro, Interim Senior Minister
One thing that was clear from our church surveys and listening sessions is that BCCUCC values strong preaching rooted in scripture. This has led me to update some of our worship planning for the coming program year. The Revised Common Lectionary is a well-known and widely used resource that helps churches root worship in scripture and the liturgical seasons. But it has its limitations, which is why Luther Seminary developed something called the Narrative Lectionary, which takes a chronological and story-based approach to the guiding scriptures for worship. I have used it very successfully in previous calls and will be introducing it to BCCUCC on Open Doors Sunday.
Here are some interesting things that set the Narrative Lectionary apart: Like most modern churches, it mirrors the school calendar begins in September instead of the first Sunday of Advent. Unlike the Common Lectionary, which has four scriptures (Old Testament, Psalm, Gospel, Epistle) it has two: A focus scripture and a complement scripture. The focus scripture is often a longer reading than the common lectionary, and – generally – flows chronologically from the Old Testament in the Fall, the Gospels from Christmas to Easter, then Acts and the Epistles until Pentecost in May.
This has the effect of focusing deeply on the Hebrew Scriptures in the Fall as we explore readings from Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, 2 Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Habakkuk and Esther. At Christmas, the focus text switches to the New Testament. The readings are based on a 4-year cycle, one for gospel account. This year will focus on Matthew (even though I prefer Luke!), and will tell the familiar story of Jesus’ ministry from birth and baptism to Resurrection and Ascension. Then we will focus on stories of the early church in Acts and the writings of Paul in the Epistle to the Romans.
Sermons will be carefully crafted around the focus scriptures, and the prayers, hymns and other music will echo the themes found in the scripture, reinforcing the importance of ancient wisdom in modern, daily life. I will also be piloting an online adult faith formation group on Monday nights at 7 p.m. that also follows the Narrative Lectionary and our Sunday worships services. “The Aftermath” group will be about 45 minutes where we reflect on the worship service that just happened (whether we attended in person or watched online). We’ll check-in and pray, learn about one or more of the hymns used on Sunday, receive a short lesson on the focus scripture, then discuss the scripture and sermon from Sunday. We will close by praying for those who asked for prayers during joys and concerns, and any other prayers we bring to circle.
If you want to know more about the Narrative Lectionary, visit www.narrativelectionary.org or reach out to me. If you are interested in joining the Monday reflection group, write me an email at joe@bccucc.org and stay tuned for a write-up in the next Bridge. Our first gathering will be Monday, September 14 by Zoom. I hope to see you all at Open Doors Sunday on September 13!
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Joe