The SELK in Germany has decided to adopt the reworked six year lectionary. The Pastors’ Convention of the FELSISA has decided to follow suit.
From the 1st of Advent 2019, the new six year lectionary will be implemented in those congregations who are using it. The other congregations are free to continue using the one-year or three-year lectionary.
The church year has a fixed rhythm: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent and Easter, followed by the Sundays after Trinity. Adhering to the church year helps us to remember all the significant events from the Bible, on which our faith is founded.
In the church year, every Sunday has a specific theme. The Introit, the readings from the Old Testament, Gospels and Epistles, the hymns and the watchword for the week are all tied to this theme.
The Bible readings and recommended sermon texts for each Sunday are occasionally reworked to fit the theme for the Sunday better. This also gives us the opportunity to hear new and different Bible readings in the church service.
Some FELSISA congregations follow a six year lectionary series along the lines of our sister church in Germany, the SELK. Other FELSISA congregations adhere to the one-year or three-year lectionary which is commonly used in our sister church in the USA, the LCMS.
Those FELSISA congregations that use the six year lectionary series will soon notice a few slight changes, as this lectionary series has been reworked.
Some changes are:
- The number of sermon texts from the Old Testament has been doubled.
- The number of Sundays after Epiphany used to be variable, but is now a fixed number. As a result, the number of Sundays before Lent (there used to be three) will be variable.
- On a small number of Sundays, you might hear a new epistle or gospel reading.
Dr Heinz Hiestermann, Greytown
