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Suspending Weekly Newsletter

Friends and supporters,

It’s hard to believe that is has been over 4 1/2 years since I started curating resources for the Liturgy Letter Newsletter. I want to express how much I have appreciated your support. I hope it has been a helpful resource for worship planning and spiritual formation.

From the beginning, this project has been a labor of love, personal spiritual discipline, and an expression of my love for scripture, liturgy, music, and the church. My life and employment situation has changed and I am no longer able to balance these responsibilities with the time and energy it takes to curate and publish this resource on a weekly basis. I reluctantly feel the need to suspend weekly Liturgy Letter updates, but I still hope to write occasional posts here on liturgyletter.com.

My sincere thanks to all of those who subscribed to the weekly e-mail and expressed financial support through Patreon.

There are many ways in which the vision of the Liturgy Letter Newsletter can be continued and improved in the future, but for now I need a respite.

Please know that all previous posts/newsletters are archived here at liturgyletter.com, which will continue to be active.

Grace and peace,

Philip

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost 2020 (Year A)

Pulled from the Pit

The story of Joseph has many parallels with the life of Christ (Genesis 37:14-, 12-28). As Joseph was thrown into the pit by his brothers, so Christ was crucified by His own, descended into the dead, and was resurrected so that we might live. This is good news and we must tell others (Romans 10:5-15)! The life, death, and resurrection of Christ have fulfilled the allusions we find to him in the Old Testament (Psalm 105). He is the embodiment of peace, salvation, and justice (Psalm 85). Like Joseph and Peter, we need not fear when we are sinking. He has promised to be with us and will help us when our faith is weak (Matthew 14:22-33).

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Liturgy Letter Newsletter – First Sunday in Lent 2019 (Year C)

Trust in the Lord and Confess Jesus as Savior

Trust in the Lord and make him your dwelling place (Psalm 99:1-2, 9-16). God provides deliverance and salvation to his people. Therefore, we should offer God the first fruits of our labor to celebrate his provision. (Deuteronomy 26:1-11) All those who confess Jesus as Lord, and call on his name are counted among God’s beloved children and will be saved (Romans 10:8b-13). Jesus has done what we could not. He has fully rejected the temptations of the evil one in order to glorify God and secure our salvation (Luke 4:1-13).

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Prayers and Resources for Thanksgiving

A Prayer of Thanksgiving from The Book of Common Prayer

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
 
 
Thanksgiving Service
A Thanksgiving Service, attended by Canadian troops, being held in the Cambrai Cathedral (Notre-Dame de Grâce chapel) – 13 October 1918 – Canadian Expeditionary Force albums – Unknown photographer [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Fifth Sunday after Pentecost 2018 (Year B)

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Fifth Sunday after Pentecost 2018 (Year B)

A Calm Heart in Troubled Waters
“The Lord is our refuge and help in times of trouble (Psalm 9:9-20). With God, the impossible becomes possible (1 Samuel 17:1a, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49). What have we to fear, knowing God has power even over the wind and waves (Mark 4:35-41)? Let us open our hearts to the Lord, trusting him for all things (2 Corinthians 6:1-13).” -Thomas Oden, Ancient Christian Devotional   
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What is the Revised Common Lectionary?

The Revised Common Lectionary is a three-year cycle of Holy Scripture readings that follow the Sundays, festivals, and seasons of the Christian liturgical year.  It was compiled in 1992 by the ecumenical Consultation on Common Texts to provide a balanced scriptural guide for weekly worship that ensures exposure to the main themes of Christian faith and worship. It is ecumenical in nature and overlaps heavily with the Roman Catholic lectionary.

Four texts are assigned for each Sunday and festival:

  • The first reading usually comes from the Old Testament but is replaced by a reading from Acts during the season of Easter
  • Psalm(s)
  • A reading from an Epistle or other New Testament writing
  • A reading from a Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John).

The three-year lectionary cycle (A, B, and C) focuses on different portions of the Gospels in each year:

  • Matthew in Year A
  • Mark in Year B
  • Luke in Year C
  • John featured at certain times in each year

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Christ the King 2017 (Year A)

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Christ the King 2017 (Year A)

Our King and Shepherd

God made us and we are His (Psalm 100), the sheep of His pasture who worship Him and take comfort in his guidance (Psalm 95). Our Good Shepherd will look after, and search for, His lost sheep (Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24). We pray for wisdom and enlightenment so that we may know Christ better (Ephesians 1: 15-23), longing for Christ to come and say, “You who are blessed, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world (Matthew 25:31-46).”

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Holy Cross Day 2017

Today celebrates the cross as a symbol of Christ’s triumph over death. The history behind this day can be traced back to the time of Constantine. Holy Cross Day is celebrated on September 14th because it was on this day in 335 A.D. that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was dedicated in Jerusalem.

Lectionary Readings for Holy Cross

The Sign of the Cross

Many Christian traditions use the sign of the cross as a physical act of prayer that brings to mind Christ’s sacrifice and the continuing call to discipleship. This practice has a rich history. Here is an extended quote from James Keifer explaining its historical and biblical significance:

Sign of the Cross“Tertullian, in his De Corona (3:2), written around AD 211, says that Christians seldom do anything significant without making the sign of the cross. Certainly, by his time the practice was well established. Justin Martyr, in chapters 55 and 60 of his First Apology (Defence of the Christian Faith, addressed to the Emperor Antoninus Pius and therefore written between 148 and 155 AD), refers to the cross as a standard Christian symbol, but not explicitly to tracing the sign of the cross as a devotional gesture… Continue reading Holy Cross Day 2017

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Ninth Sunday after Pentecost 2017 (Year A)

The Liturgy Letter- Ninth Sunday after Pentecost 2017 (Year A)

God’s Mercy

Jacob deeply desired that God would bless him (Genesis 32:22-32). We can count on God to watch over those who love him with compassion and mercy (Psalm 17 and Psalm 145); Paul mourned that so many of the Jews did not acknowledge Christ (Romans 9:1-5). Jesus cares for our earthly needs and has power over all things, as evinced in the feeding of the five thousand (Matthew 14:13-21). -Thomas Oden in Ancient Christian Devotional 

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