As you are browsing through the Daily Office of the 2019 Book of Common Prayer, you will run into an order of liturgy called “Compline.” Maybe you’re familiar with Compline and maybe you’re not. It doesn’t really matter… yet. In either case, this ancient prayer hour is prayed at the conclusion of every day and…
Fasting & Feasting in Lent
The penitential and preparatory season of Lent includes 40 days of fasting, but if you look at the calendar closely enough and do the math you’ll see that the actual season is a bit longer. Why? Because within those 40 days are excluded each and every Sunday. Sundays are feast days and cannot be fast…
Why Do We Kneel in Prayer?
O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! – Psalm 95:6 There used to be a time—and it wasn’t too long ago!—when pews or sitting furniture of any kind were completely absent from the sanctuary. Let’s be honest, we’re a bit removed from the ancient traditions of…
What is the Sunday Lectionary?
It is likely that you’ll hear a variation of the following words at an Anglican Church on Sunday morning, “Please be seated to be instructed from the Word of God.” It’s clear that the Bible is going to be read aloud for the purpose of teaching and formation, but who assigns the lessons? Is it…
An Intentional Lent
My social media newsfeeds are a flutter with posts about the beginning of Lent: Shrove Tuesday meals, Ash Wednesday services, Lenten disciplines and strong opinions about the relevance of the season. It seems that there are differing views and/or misunderstandings about the nature of the Lenten season. People write about Lent being “Roman Catholic” or…
