Would you change the lectionary if you could?

The lectionary has its uses and its faults.  It is also only a guideline, not a "must do".  So we can freely ignore it for a season or a week or a year.

One of my friends gfrew tired of the lectionary after many cycles and so he created his own for a year.

i like using the lectionary, for a couple reasons.  One, the kids will have the same story as their parents, children's time will complement the sermon, maybe illuminate the adults a little? i day dream that they go home and have dicussions and devotional about it as a family :p

but for kids who come rarely, is it useful to teach them a story about ex 1 Kings 19 Elijah and the still soft Voice, (which, btw, I really enjoyed meditating on recently, i got carried away with different ways I could present it at children's time) or would it be more helpful to teach the rudiments of Christainity without sequencing btw weeks?  Lectionary based lessons are always stand alone for that week. 

I thought more posters would have some thoughts.

Crazyheart - I agree with you about the lectionary, and the fact that some of the best stories for children are in the summer months when few children are apt to be present.  It's a few years now since I was directly involved in Christian Education.  When I did I tried to provide programming for children year round and to let the parents and children know that exciting, important things were happening during the summer.  Also, five hours a day, five days a week of Vacation Bible School compares well in time with 3/4 hour in Sunday School once a week through a season or two.   Imagine spending a session every morning and every afternoon for a week on the Parables of Jesus, with related songs and crafts and practical application to the lesson in today's world.  But it just didn't happen that way very often. 

At about the same time you started this thread, I started a thread in Parenting about teaching Bible stories to children.  Two things prompted this.  One was a statement at the recent seminar I attended that 'the Bible was never intended for children'.  I agree.  I also think that there is some importance in exposing children to the stories of our faith.  And, someone in our congregation, is phoning parents and teens asking what they want from Sunday School.  I wondered what a parent (or grandparent) or children would want.

I didn't mean to take anything away from your thread.  I put mine in Parenting because I thought it would reach more parents of Sunday School aged children there and that parents would be interested in what their children are learning.    Another question, perhaps for another thread sometime, would be why teach our children Bible stories at all?  and What is the purpose of Sunday School?

Thanks seeler. I was hoping you would stop by.

LKG,

only if the church school is using a lectionary-based curriculum.  Most curricula are not.  And even then it is of questionable value in my experience.

The lectionary is religion.

By which you mean??????

Since we don't use the lectionary I really have nothing to contribute. I tried to think of a way to join in the conversation but came up blank.

I mean Christianity is relationship with Jesus Christ.

Religion is all the other unimportant stuff that has nothing to do with Christianity(relationship with Jesus Christ) like: lectionary, order of worship, pipe organs, stained glass, what color of candles to light, infant baptism... Blah, blah, blah religion.  Things people make up to do religiously, instead of relationship with Jesus Christ.

* lectionary based lessons are usually stand alone...

Why must they be mutually exclusive?  Why is this a question of "either/ or"?

While I agree with you that the key thing is the relationship, I also think it quite possible that God is using the lectionary as a tool in leading some of His people. Why do you believe God cannot speak through the lectionary. Is not our God omnipotent.

I think a big question here is how closely are we bound to the lectionary?   In the UCC congregations I've been associated with it has been used as a guide.  As a guide it suggests four different scripture passages that the worship leaders might choose to follow.  Some do it quite regularly, calling on the Spirit to enlighten them and with the guidance of the spirit deciding which passage to emphasize on a particular Sunday.  They are always open for the Spirit to lead them different ways.  This past Sunday, one of transition when the minister led his final service and then introduced the new minister, the lectionary was not used.  Instead he choose a few verses from the opening chapter of Luke and the closing of John and delivered a very effective and meaningful message to a full house.  (Well, there were empty seats in the balcony.)

The children's time during the service was well related to the service.  The worship leader talked about traditions in her family while opening a suitcase to show items that had been passed down from generation to generation - a tapestry, a piece of china, a book of Christmas traditions, and a very large, very old Bible.  Then she talked about traditions of the religion and of the church - how stories and traditions have been passed down from generation to generation and how the traditions of our congregation will be passed on in the weeks, months and years to come.   

The children then went out to Sunday School.  I don't know what happened then - did they have a structured lesson or did they continue on with the theme introduced in the service? 

God speaks through his word, lectionary is just added religion.

Oh, I think that God speaks in any number of different ways. The Bible itself tells us that God speaks to us through nature. Let's not try to box God in.

seeleer,

did you say the outgoing minsitere introduced the new minister?   That doesn't sound right...

The outgoing minister was not the one being replaced - he was a retired minister serving a ten month term while the search committee called for a new minister. 

Just to return to the OP for a moment, the lectionary was created for the sake of the church year, not necessarily for Sunday School ciiriculum.  While I like the intent and aims of  "The Whole People of God', for example,  it just didn't seem to work out well for some reason with the teachers I knew who used it.  Dunno why; maybe they just didn't like the odea.

I use the RCL, because it makes planning ahead a bit easier, and it nakes me wrestle with passages I wouldn't otherwise take much notice of.

I seem to recall in the old green UCC worshipbooks there was a 3 year lectionary as well.  Anybody ever use it, or have any experience with it?

One thing I like about the lectionary is that on any given Sunday, my catholic friend and some other faiths will also be using the scriptures from the lectionary.