The current scheme won, featuring the Old Testament lesson and epistle in Morning Prayer and the Gospel lesson at Evening Prayer, in both polls. The margin was a 14% plurality over the other two options combined, on our main site, with 62 votes cast, and by a 55-45% majority on our Western blog. Both losing options would have included the Gospel twice a day.
We deeply appreciate your votes, comments and e-mails. The overall theme was that you like the ease of use our websites provide, and you are very supportive of our work.
We also take seriously the minority position, that you want the Gospel in every service – and we couldn’t agree with you more. Therefore I’m able to announce that we will make this change a year from now by Advent 1, 2012, including all three lessons in Morning Prayer and the Gospel alone at night. It will take us a year to make this change because in 2010, about this time, our thousands of Scripture files were corrupted by an electrical storm which destroyed our main computer. Since the Episcopal Church uses a two-year cycle of lectionary readings, it takes us that much time to get back up to speed, without horribly increasing our volunteers’ workload.
We appreciate your patience and the bottom line is this: everyone who voted wins. But then, everyone who comes here wins, every day. The most important thing is that we all take 5-10 minutes out of our day, whenever we can, to turn to God. Every time we do that, we win.
As my old rector Fr. Ben Tinsley used to say, Blessings on you.
Josh Thomas
The Vicar
Eve of All Saints, 2011
And once again, thank you Josh for the work you and your team do for all the saints! peace be with you.
Aw, Roberta, you’re making us blush.
josh
Why do people want the gospel reading at every office? I certainly want it every day but not at every office. Is there some notion that the gospel readings are more the word of God than Isaiah 53 or Isaiah 58 or the books of Micah and Amos? In any case, thank you for the on-line office and for the work you put into it.
Paul,
This is perhaps the most helpful comment yet received. I think we do tend to perceive the Gospels as being better than the rest of the Bible – though in its totality it’s all about the lovingkindness of God. Thank you for pointing that out.
I was weaned on Amos, Hosea and Isaiah, and your comment couldn’t be more timely as we move into All Souls’ Day, which I emphasize as the local feast of my first mentor Mr. Faulkenberry. I encourage the whole Congregation to remember their teachers of the faith.
Let’s all of us remember that the heart of the Daily Office is the Psalms, not the other Bible lessons. The Psalms worship, as they scream and beg, praise and pray; the other lessons are there for our instruction. We gather for the worship, more than the teachings.
Meanwhile my job is to consider that 45% of the People only come once a day, and they want to hear from Jesus more than his great cloud of witnesses.
josh
Chief Floor Sweeper