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    Book Review: The Circle of Seasons by Kimberlee Conway Ireton

    Comments (3) Published December 9th, 2008 under Book Review

    		I grew up in liturgical Church communities (as part of the Presbyterian Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church). As a child and a young teen, I did not appreciate the liturgy nor the rhythm of the church calendar. As a young adult, I threw aside most of the liturgy and the celebrations of the church year that had been a part of my formation. But in the past few years, I have grown to re-embrace and truly appreciate the Church calendar.

    In The Circle of Seasons, Kimberlee Conway Ireton invites us to meet God in the Church Year. She explains how the Church calendar is divided and how each of the various seasons have been traditionally celebrated in the history of the Church.

    I just finished reading the section on Advent, Christmas and Epiphany and I have a deeper appreciation of looking for God in this season. For example, I was struck that many believers embrace the discipline of fasting during Advent as a discipline that stresses the theme of “waiting” during this season.

    As one who is in campus ministry, the rhythm of the academic year tends to have a more impact on me than the Church year. That in itself is not a bad thing, but I would say that the Church calendar presses us to consider God a bit mroe fully than the academic one.

    I look forward to using this book as a companion in my spiritual journey in the upcoming year. In fact, in 2009, I will probably be reading through the Bible using the lectionary.

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    Commentary:


    Comment from bo December 10, 2008 at 9:31 am

    cool eddy. last year i used the divine hours as my prayer book. i loved it. i’ve noticed that many people in our generation, and especially those who have been very active in ministry are turning to more liturgical practices to connect with god. i think there is something about doing physical and tangible act of worship that helps people connect with god and be in his presence.

    Comment from Tyler Watson December 11, 2008 at 11:46 am

    I too have come to embrace the church calendar. I like the emphasis of seasons. I’ve been in churches that use the calendar and others that go so far to say, “Shouldn’t we celebrate Easter every day?” which is to say they never did. At this point in my life, I would prefer following the calendar more closely. The church where I serve doesn’t follow it much aside from Advent, Christmas, and Holy Week. Of course, what church calendar we use is also up for grabs. Churches outside of more liturgical traditions must ask themselves will they celebrate the “big holidays” like Lent and Pentecost or will they also celebrate all or even some of the feasts for saints?

    Like most any tradition in church, when I actually learned the history and meaning behind the liturgical calendar and lectionary, I came to really appreciate them. It seems like we have to remember to tell the story behind our practices, otherwise they become the things we always do just because we’ve always done them.

    Doesn’t the “A Guide to Prayer for Ministers” follow the lectionary? For what it’s worth, the lectionary won’t get you through the Bible in a year. The lectionary is a three-year cycle and even then, some parts are skipped.

    Comment from Eddy E December 11, 2008 at 12:44 pm

    “A Guide to prayer” does follow the lectionary on Sundays and then adds stuff of the same theme during the week. What I’m thinking of doing is just focusing on the lectionary passages (so maybe 2-3 passage a week, rather than one every day)

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