Some of my earliest memories growing up involved my sitting at my mother’s knee where I would listen to her read to me many of those wonderful Bible stories from the Old Testament. Beginning with Genesis, I listened spellbound to the tales of Adam and Eve, Noah and the ark, the Tower of Babel, and all the adventures of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and his many sons.

My enthusiasm continued through Exodus, where we read the story of Moses and Pharaoh, and of the grumbling Israelites, whose wilderness wanderings were detailed throughout the next several books. Next came Joshua, with the account of their (warlike) entry into the Promised Land, followed by Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1& 2 Kings, whence I learned of the many successes and failures of Israel’s early rulers and kings.

Despite the fact that I have been preaching for more than twenty years, I have yet to give a sermon on most of these foundational Bible stories. Why? Because the majority of them are not found in our Sunday morning Scripture readings.

That is about to change. Beginning this Advent, we will be moving to a new Sunday lectionary known as the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). Devised in the late twentieth century through an ecumenical collaboration between Roman Catholic and Protestant scholars, this lectionary (with some adaptations between denominations) is the most widely used collection of Sunday Scripture readings in all of Christendom. Our adoption of it (which is denomination-wide) will allow us to reflect upon the same passages of the Bible each week as our brothers and sisters in many other denominations.

What changes should we expect? Actually, for the Epistle and Gospel readings, very few. Our present lectionary follows the RCL fairly closely in these passages, with only minor departures. The same can be said for many of the Old Testament readings during Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter.

It is during Epiphany and Pentecost seasons that these will depart from the present approach in which the Old Testament is thematically related to the other two readings, usually through a prophetic oracle. Instead, these readings will progress semi-continuously through the Bible stories mentioned above. Year A (2007 - 2008) will focus on the Patriarchal/Exodus narrative, Year B (2008 - 2009) on the Monarchal accounts, and Year C (2009 - 2010) on the Prophets.

In the coming years, I look forward to revisiting with you many of these old Bible stories of my childhood - stories that you as well may not have heard for many years. They represent perhaps the most “human” part of the Bible, demonstrating both the joys and the trials that result from our mortal efforts to walk in the pathways of the Lord.

We were very pleased with the initial comments we received at the Building Committee presentation back in September. If you were unable to attend that session, a video of it can be viewed online at http://www.pohick.org/building.html or by picking up one of the DVDs available in the Common Room. Also available in both places are the drawings of the conceptual plans along with a feedback sheet. We ask each member of the congregation to take some time to look over all these materials and then write your suggestions and concerns on one of the sheets. Once these have been collected in the parish office, the Vestry, Building Committee and Architects will review every one of them, incorporating (or replying to) them as best as possible. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!