Lectionary Use in ELCA

[Fish and Bread]

So, my understanding is that official lectionary used in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America is the Revised Common Lectionary, which is an ecumenical lectionary used by several different churches or denominations. I've never really been clear on how rigidly you all stick to that, though.

Is it mandatory that pastors follow the lectionary percisely in determining what is read at services, using the lectionary for that day for all the readings exactly as stipulated every service all year long, or can they deviate from it? If they can deviate from it, how much can they deviate and what are the guidelines that exist, if any? Could a pastor just throw out the lectionary and do his or her own readings every Sunday for a year? Or is, say, the lectionary Gospel mandatory but not other parts, or maybe the pastor can do his/her own thing once in a while at a service, but only once or twice a year?

I've kind of wondered about that for years. I sort of get the impression that Lutherans do not stick to the lectionary to the same degree as Roman Catholics or Episcopalians, but stick to it more than Methodists or the United Church Christ, but I am not sure I am right about that, or what exactly the rules are in practice.

I figured this would be a good place to ask.

 

[AngCath]

It is the official lectionary and appears in our hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Worship. That being said, ELW is not 'mandatory' and some congregations still use the previous hymnal. The ELCA congregation where I work as the business manager does not always follow the lectionary. The Senior Pastor will occasionally choose a different reading here or there because he thinks it better suits what he is preaching on, etc.

Unless someone here knows something more specific, I believe that we adopted the RCL but that no one must follow it precisely.

 

[Arcangl86]

You do not need to use the RCL at all is my understanding. It is definitely the norm, but not required. Fo rinstance, many pastors are now switching to the Narrative Lectionary out of Luther Seminary.

 

[Melanchthon]

So, my understanding is that official lectionary used in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America is the Revised Common Lectionary, which is an ecumenical lectionary used by several different churches or denominations. I've never really been clear on how rigidly you all stick to that, though.

Is it mandatory that pastors follow the lectionary percisely in determining what is read at services, using the lectionary for that day for all the readings exactly as stipulated every service all year long, or can they deviate from it? If they can deviate from it, how much can they deviate and what are the guidelines that exist, if any? Could a pastor just throw out the lectionary and do his or her own readings every Sunday for a year? Or is, say, the lectionary Gospel mandatory but not other parts, or maybe the pastor can do his/her own thing once in a while at a service, but only once or twice a year?

I've kind of wondered about that for years. I sort of get the impression that Lutherans do not stick to the lectionary to the same degree as Roman Catholics or Episcopalians, but stick to it more than Methodists or the United Church Christ, but I am not sure I am right about that, or what exactly the rules are in practice.

The vast majority of congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America follow the Revised Common Lectionary, which is printed out along with the proper collects in the Evangelical Lutheran Worship hymnal. During his ten year tenure I've only know our pastor to substitute a different gospel reading maybe a maximum of only four or maybe five times! One year during the fall stewardship campaign he substitured a different gospel reading to use as his sermon text. On those sundays the old testament reading, the psalm, along with the epistle reading as appointed in the Revised Common Lectionary for those Sundays were all used. The commercial "Lectionary Leaflet" for those Sundays published by Augsburg Fortress Publishing Company, which are inserted in our worship bulletins folders had those readings printed, so we didn't substitute in any thing different.

I have heard of a couple of congregations that are using the aforementioned Narrative Lectionary published by Luther Seminary in St. Paul, but they are the exception. In fact this past winter when a Sunday morning blizzard forced all of the churches it town to cancel, I was able to use my computer and "tune in" a radio station offering streaming audio on the internet and listen to a 9:00 a.m. worship broadcast from a Lutheran church two states away, where storm had gone through a day and half earlier. That church was one that used the Narrative Lectionary readings. Not being familiar with that cycle of readings the service seemed a bit weird. Fortunately, that 9:00 a.m. service was followed by another Lutheran church broadcast at 10:00 a.m. in which the traditional readings were used.

Since you asked, I might also add that Revised Common Lectionary in the season after Pentecost provides for an optional cycle for continuous old testament readings, as opposed to the traditional old testament passages selected to fit in with the theme of the gospel reading. While these are listed in the Evangelical Lutheran Worship hymnal, they are not printed on the "Lectionary Leaflets" published by Augsburg Fortress Publishing Company, which many congregations stuff into their bulletins. Consequently, I do not know of any, or have heard of any Lutheran congerations that use or have used them.

However, one summer and fall 4 or 5 years ago the Episcopal church I'm the assistant organist at used the "Continuous Old Testament Readings" which were printed on the "Lectionary Leaflets" they purchase from Morehouse Publishing. These readings tended to be very long passages for a one hour Sunday morning Mass (I don't think the lectors liked reading them) and included biblical passages (so I don't think congregation liked listening to them, particularly during the summer when people are away on vacations and didn't hear the "prior passage" the week before). I have not seen these "Tract 1" readings printed out on the Morehouse publications or read since then.