Chris Erdman has written a good post on the usefulness of the Christian calender and lectionary for forming missionary congregations. He writes,
To preach through whole books of the Bible while ignoring the way those who are listening are still being powerfully and unwittingly shaped by the time narratives (calendars) of the nonchristian or pseudo-Christian world may well be a dangerous blindspot in today's church . . .
Catechesis, forming congregations according to Jesus Christ, requires (especially in this post-Christian, postmodern setting) particular attention to all the ways we can immerse the disciple-community in the Story. Practicing the Christian Year seems to me to be a pretty powerful way not only to reclaim our sacred texts, but also to form a genuinely alternative community. There are very few disciples, who when asked when the Christian Year begins, will answer, "Somewhere around the end of November." The fact that most will say, "September" or "January 1" is clear evidence that there is another, and very powerful, narrative at work among our people that forms them in ways alternative to the gospel.
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