The advent of Advent tends to bring with it an increase of services during the week. In most parishes, this probably takes the form of a Wednesday evening vespers, but an increasing number of parishes seem to be offering mass in place of or in addition to the evening office. This year has probably also…
It was with some mild surprise that I found myself contemplating preparations for Advent. All Saints? This Sunday? I can’t imagine how this happened. So it goes. The approach of Advent frequently brings with it the planning of additional midweek services. And, as you may have guessed, the preliminary research for The Lutheran Missal has…
With the beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday (feria quarta in capite jejunii for you Latinists) rapidly approaching, it seems only appropriate to offer some suggestions on the mass for the day, as well as a rite for the blessing of the ashes. American Lutherans have quite a diversity of practices for Ash Wednesday. The author,…
Quite a lot of Lutherans today are accustomed to having additional services in the middle of the week, generally Wednesdays, during Advent and Lent. Usually this takes the form of a theme that is carried over from week to week. You might have heard a sermon series during Lent on the Arma Christi, the instruments…
As you may have read elsewhere, the Sunday lectionary and propers are the central axis around which the temporal calendar revolves. The lectionary of the temporal calendar, however, is not limited to Sundays, but provides Epistles and Gospels for Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year, as well as a full mass for every single day…