A "lectionary" is basically just a list of Bible texts.  The Christian church has been using lectionaries, in one form or another, to guide its study and reflection on holy scripture for almost 2,000 years. Using such a system is helpful to churches for advance planning for services, because they know long in advance what the theme will be for any given Sunday, but it is a lot more than that. Through use of the lectionary, thousands of Christians everywhere are thinking and praying about the same parts of God's word at the same time.  That is a source of great spiritual power.

    The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) we use here is one of many lectionaries used throughout the world.  Like many lectionaries, the RCL includes weekly Bible readings chosen from the Hebrew Testament (traditionally called the "Old Testament"), the New Testament, and the Psalms.  Our weekly reflections are normally based on one or more of these three readings for the particular week.

    The lectionary readings occur in three one-year long cycles.  That is why you will see references to Year A, Year B, and Year C.  At the end of Year C, you go back and begin with Year A again.  However, the year used for the cycle is the church year, not a calendar year.  The church year begins with Advent, the season of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ, and ends during the week just before Advent begins again.  That is why you'll see links grouped on our web site so that they run from one November to the next.