Greetings, Calendar Cooperators:

So, every Sunday I announce the liturgical week as if it matters. Yesterday was the 20th Sunday after Pentecost, which references the prescribed scriptural texts for the day within a repeating three-year cycle; we are currently in year B of the Revised Common Lectionary, which focuses predominantly on the Gospel of Mark. Last year (A) drew primarily from the Gospel of Matthew, and next year (C) will bring us through the Gospel of Luke. John’s Gospel is sprinkled through the three-year cycle, dropping in on the Advent Season, Lent and some Sundays after Easter.

Protestant use of any Lectionary of prescribed texts arose during the 1970s and '80s when the Consultation on Church Union (COCU) built on the ecumenical vision of two mid-century organizations, the World Council of Churches (1948) and the National Council of Churches (1950). As a side architectural note, the stained-glass windows behind the Communion table in our Ashland Chapel represent the seals of the World (left) and National (right) Council of Churches. The center window is the seal of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, a predecessor to our current denominational affiliation, the Presbyterian Church (USA).

COCU was first envisioned in 1960 after Eugene Carson Blake, moderator of the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church, delivered a sermon at Grace Episcopal Cathedral in San Francisco at the invitation of Bishop James Pike. The sermon called for the formation of a single Protestant voice, a superchurch if you will, that would encompass Protestants of all traditions coming together as one. In May of 1966, COCU announced a 13-year timetable by which ten major denominations would meld as one. The grand uniting vision broke down, however, when Presbyterians and Episcopalians were unable to settle their differences over the role of bishops. COCU voted to dissolve in 1999, forming the Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC). For the past two decades CUIC has worked in shared denominational commitment to both ecumenical and racial reconciliation. Currently their website homepage is incomplete and fails to fully load.

What does endure from last century’s ecumenical zeal is the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). Released in 1994, the RCL reworked the Common Lectionary with more continuity in the readings of the Hebrew Scriptures. Each Sunday’s readings include a Psalm, a portion of Hebrew Scripture, an Epistle reading and a selection from one of the four Gospels. The intent of these selections is two-fold: first, permitting worshipers to hear the voice of four distinct expressions from scripture; and second, encouraging Christians from nearly fifty denominations worldwide, even though we’re not in the same buildings, to be on the same page.

I’ll continue to announce the liturgical date each Sunday. I do so to acknowledge a flow of time distinct from the rhythms of secular and civil observances. It’s a nod to other Christian communities with whom, despite our divisions, we are loosely unified in our weekly readings.

A special shout-out today to our Canadian friends who celebrate Thanksgiving today, forty-five days ahead of schedule. Unity is hard.

Marking time, I remain,

With Love,
Jonathan Krogh
Your Pastor