At St Aidan’s we use the Revised Common Lectionary to guide our selection of weekly readings. These readings are not often thematically connected, but they do lead us through through majority of the Bible over a three-year cycle.
I prefer to call the “sermon” a “reflection,” but we already have a section called “2-minute reflections,” so I will use the traditional name here. Each sermon draws on scholarship, reflection, and the life of St Aidan’s to help us think about the relevance of the readings in today’s context. I often say we do need to understand the context in which it was first heard – otherwise we will be reading our own issues into the stories – but without making the connection to today’s life, this is all academic.
The other section is the prayers and hymns. Liturgy takes us on a journey. We acknowledge who we are and whose we are. We listen to the stories of God’s people and think about what it means for us today. Finally, we prepare to go out into the world and live our response to what we have heard God saying to us in this time. There are times when we need help finding words, or we want to connect to what has been prayed in a community. I offer these liturgies as a tool for your prayer life, if you find them helpful.
All the hymns referenced in the liturgy are from Together in Song, unless otherwise. noted. Also referenced are any prayers that come from other sources.
You are welcome to use these liturgies with acknowledgement.