"Lectionary mods" from the Open Source Lectionary
Of the four projects I focused on in my article on alternate lectionaries, Eric Lemonholm's Open Source Lectionary arguably got the least attention—the fewest words, the fourth slot of four. But that's not because I found it to be the least interesting or significant.
Instead, I gave the Open Source Lectionary less ink because it's a different kind of project. It doesn't create an entire lectionary or lectionary year from scratch; it proposes a shift in the way we think about and use the lectionary we have. And I placed Lemonholm's work last mostly just to pivot tidily to the article's conclusion. Which is to say that I generally agree with him.
In the article I mention that Lemonholm's website offers several examples of series that might be used to "move outside the lectionary for a season." He calls these "lectionary mods"; his point is not to replace the RCL but to use it more flexibly. "Being able to choose series mods," he told me, "would allow congregations to focus in on a book or theme over time, and build an awareness of the full biblical story."
Lemonholm's all about flexibility and context, so he presents his lectionary mods less as resources for others to use than as examples of what they might create themselves. But I'm tempted to try a couple of them:
- A summer series on Genesis, focusing first on the early chapters and then on Jacob
- A semi-continuous John year that hits the RCL's Holy Week weekday readings late in Lent
- Reading through Luke 1 as the Year C Advent Gospel readings
- A modification and extension of Revelation's appearance in Year C Eastertide
Simple ideas but useful ones. Read more here.
