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Christ's Time for the Church Calendar

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First, I must admit that I read this book as a student of the author. That said, I have to say that this is one of the most clearly written, understandable, and yet educated discussions of worship I have ever read. If you are an interested layperson, head of a worship committee, in charge of a special service (Advent, Lent, Ash Wednesday, Pentecost, whatever), pastor, musician, or all of the above, this book will educate you. Stookey is, I think, on target in his (re)assesment of the relative importance of the various holidays and seasons of the church year. He will make you think and you'll like it!

Laurence Hull Stookey's book, `Calendar: Christ's Time for the Church', seems to be written for a primarily Protestant readership. There are many clues to this, but perhaps none more telling than the Appendix subtitled This Book in a Nutshell. As I go through each of the pairs of ideas, I find that my upbringing and training has concentrated more on the right column (the column Stookey invites readers to consider as an alternative) rather than the `assumed teaching' column. Thus, one of my tasks was to think about how the `assumed teaching' came about in some traditions, but not my own. Certainly there are historical, developmental reasons for this. As evidenced in class discussions, there can still be a great deal of resistance to ideas such as lectionary cycles or liturgical years. These things seem natural to me, however, and would be greatly missed if not present.

Stookey does not delve too deeply into the historical minutiae of how different denominations' calendrical cycles were shaped. While he does discuss differences in catholic, orthodox and protestant practices at times, these are relatively few in number, and even more rarely presented as part of a developmental line. Does this indicate a anti-catholic bias in the author (which I consider unlikely) or in the potential readership? (Stookey's own preferences sneak into the text occasionally, such on page 143, where rather than stating that Charles Wesley has a separate day from John Wesley in the United Methodist sanctoral cycle, he states that `Charles is rightly given a separate commemoration...' [emphasis added].)

The overall theological framework for the discussion of the calendar is set out in the first chapter. `As Christians, we ought continuously to be aware that we live at the intersection of time and eternity.' (p. 17) How this is lived out involves forging a connection with a creator who is always active in creation, not a remote observer. How this is enacted liturgically involves anamnesis and prolepsis. In my Anglo-Catholic tradition, the idea of anamnesis, that `the liturgical observance of past events somehow brings them into our own time', is strongly maintained in the way the Eucharist is understood as being the real presence, and that the communion service is not simply a memorial or even a re-enactment, but an ongoing participation. (p. 29) The same holds true for prolepsis, that the future is already made real for us in liturgy. `Liturgical anamnesis and prolepsis constitute a primary means by which we maintain contact with past and future.' (p. 33)

Stookey talks about the yearly cycle, beginning with a discussion the week and of Sunday. Stookey mentions the daily office, but fails to speak of it as a possible practice for those outside of cathedral/monastic settings. Stookey presents Sunday as

`...the first day of the week and the eighth day of the week are the same day. Yet even in that there is meaning: The creation of the cosmos (which God began on Day One) and the new creation are not antagonistic to each other; we do not have to leave the physical world in order to participate in the new creation in Christ...' (p. 41)

Stookey argues for a consideration of the recovery of the Hebraic way of reckoning days (with the day beginning at sundown, rather than sunrise, or some point in the middle of the night), particularly for Sunday.

`Such a reordering of Christian thinking, contrary as it is to prevailing cultural customs, could be the beginning of a new way of seeing the whole of Christian faith as a reinterpretation of commonly accepted ideas and values.' (p. 48)

Could Saturday be seen in terms of being a true Sabbath, and Sunday, beginning the sundown before, as a true day of the Lord? At my monastery in Michigan, Sunday is considered to have begun at sundown Saturday. The evening meal is thus somewhat grander in fare, and things become more relaxed as the community prepares to celebrate the Lord's day the next day. This is easier to accomplish in a monastic community than in a parish or even within a family practice, but is worthy of consideration in such settings.

Stookey's framework of the film, `Places in the Heart', and his use of hymn texts throughout help shape and support his argument that liturgy is a pattern in which we are connected, past, present and future, to the community and to the divine. `Events that occurred only once nevertheless become contemporaneous with us because the Risen One holds all time in unity.' (pp. 31-32) This connection can only be lived out in connection with the community (however this may get refined in actual practice), the communion of saints past, present and yet to come.

Stookey's work is a must read. He effectively communicates the gospel message of Jesus as he writes in an accessible style. The author's stated intent was to write so that anyone could read it and he accomplished his goal. This book would be a great book for any worship leader, pastor, or seminary student. Others who are interested in the liturgical year will find some of the terms foreign to them but Stookey quickly defines theological terms. Stookey's point of view is very helpful especially to those who come from a tradition where liturgy seems foreign. I found as I read that my eyes were opened to an entirely new world where marking time through the Church calendar is something to be desired and not something to react against. It is a shame that more churches are not intentionally marking time through observances Stookey describes. This book challenged me to teach a Sunday School class through the four Sundays of Advent. The response to the material was great and warmly received an environment where liturgy is foreign.

This has guided my understanding of the liturgical Christian year. Stookey's scholarship is greatly evident, as well as his deep love for the Church and for Christ. This enchanting blend brings an edification of widest breadth in this field of understanding. Because of this, the readily apparent readability of his work proves helpful and allows the reader to feel no shame for being ignorant of the practices the Church has performed for centuries. He takes the reader on a journey of understanding the theory of why the Christian calendar is so, and then walks us through the rationale for why the Church has sought to worship God the way it has for centuries. What is also very helpful is the pragmatic index, for example, where one will find a useful Advent-Christmas and Lent-Easter calendars from 1997 - 2020 CE.

The thesis of the book is that Christian people living in the present ought to be mindful (ie connected and engaged) of the Church's past and seek to remain connected to it through the understanding and practice of the liturgical calendar.

The chapter I was most interested in was chapter 2, titled, "The Year of Our Risen Lord." It begins with familiarizing the reader with why Sunday (the first and the eighth day) was the chosen day to worship God. It then moves to helping the reader understand the significance of the Week and how to reorder our lives (and schedules) to make Sundays a day of refreshment for ministry during the rest of the week. Then the author moves to the broader category of what the Year of the Lord means and explains the Christian calendar. This chapter helped give me the framework and understanding of what is important in the Christian year and lectionary, so we may appropriately worship God in a way that is consistent historically.

Calendar is, perhaps, one of the most important books to enter the read-field in the area of liturgical studies, and I would postulate, pastoral theology. In Stookey's classic logical fashion, and his easy readability, he demonstrates the essential nature of understanding the events of the Christian year; in typical Jesus fashion, "You have heard it said, but I tell you...", Stookey helps us to see that our fulcrum for time has been placed in the wrong balance. Indeed, preparation for and the experience of Resurrection are the pivotal events for a Christian life, and it is from these events that all time is derived. His style is inviting and his content is convincing. This book will become a mandate for a new generation of ministerial leaders, both clergy and lay.

This is one of many books that explain about the "proper" use and historic development of the tradition of the liturgical or Christian year. What sets this book apart from the masses of prose on this topic is that it draws the reader into the spiritual appology for why the use of the Christian year in worship is so important. Christmas is not just about the baby Jesus lying in the manger and the cattle lowing. It is about God's humiliation to take on human form (the Incarnation) for the purpose of the redemption of all creation. When we remember the saving works of God through Christ as the centerpiece of our faith from which everything else stems, then we celebrate Christmas in a way that strengthens our individual and corporate faith. Each of the seasons of the Christian year can equip us to spiritual growth if we look to the purpose for God's acts rather than simply the history of the events that we commemorate. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is responsible for planning corporate worship experiences.

All of the information was accurate and well-researched, but it was presented in a style that was dry and sometimes confusing. As a catalogue of the elements of liturgical time, it functions nicely; as a book, it leaves something to be desired.

If you're going to buy one book on the Christian year, this is the one to buy. This great resource was on the required reading list for a class I was taking on the Christian year. Coming from a denominational tradition that doesn't emphasize much of the Christian year (Christmas and Easter, but not much else), Stookey's book gave me a readable, well-balanced overview of the subject. I highly recommend it!