The lectionary. It’s that beautiful rubric of collects and scriptures that guide us through three years of Sunday services. It’s safe to say that most of us don’t bother to think about the appointed scripture readings before we actually show up to church. But do you need to be a priest to take advantage of this Episcopal pocket technology? I don’t think so.
The Run Down:
The Lectionary app does exactly what you think it will with no added fluff. Turn it on and “Bam!” The appointed collects and scripture readings lay before you! (according to the Book of Common Prayer: Revised Common Lectionary 2007) Scripture readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition.
- Price: $4.99 (December 2012)
- Special Features: You can specify weather you’d like to view traditional or contemporary collects, which lessons, and font color/size in the settings menu.
- Add-Ons: For an additional $1.99 you can also view the appointed readings of the Daily Office.
Three Good Reasons:
- Corporate worship isn’t always so corporate. Sometimes worship needs to leave the building such as when we visit a sick or home-bound member. Weather you are taking someone home communion or just checking in for a visit, having access to the appointed prayers and scripture readings for the week can make us all feel more connected to the church at large.
- Personal Devotions. For an additional $1.99 you can add-on the readings of The Daily Office. Which, if you have a prayer book handy, will be everything required to work your way through Morning and Evening Prayer.
- Pulling it Together. Are you a regularly scheduled Lector (reader)? Increase your confidence by getting your act together ahead of time and practicing the lessons. Everyone knows we should, but few ever dust off our complementary copy of the Revised Common Lectionary, ask ourselves “What year is it?,” answer ourselves with a letter instead of a number, and actually get to work. With the Lectionary app you can practice by simply tapping your touch-screen while sipping your morning coffee.
The Bottom Line:
Overall, this is a useful app for those with formal worship responsibilities or an affinity for the the Daily Office. The seven bucks it costs for a fully operational version of what the app can offer is a less expensive alternative to the hard-copy publication which runs between $12 and $23.
[ Description & Reviews from Apple’s iTunes App Store ]
This review has been specifically for the “Lectionary” app by Geoffrey Young for iPhone.