Readings, Lectionaries and Collects

Readings, Lectionaries and Collects are a fundamental part of a church service - here you can learn a little more about them, and where to find them if you're asked to help with that.

Going Deeper

The Common Worship Lectionary is not just one book, but a system of readings that can be accessed in several ways:

Useful resources

  • See the Worship text and resources on the Church of England website (free) – there is a ‘copy to clipboard’ button at foot of each page. The full library of Common Worship, Book of Common Prayer and other centrally authorised/approved services and prayers for use in the Church of England are online and free to access since 2000 – as voted for by General Synod. The Church of England has explicit permission from copyright holders for these texts to be made available free on the Church of England website, alongside the official book/eBook resources from which these texts are derived, which are also published/maintained by Church House Publishing (in consultation with the Liturgical Commission).
  • Visual Liturgy Live is the latest version of the highly successful and user-friendly software package used by thousands of churches to plan and prepare services. See the Church House Publishing for more details.
  • Visit the Bible Gateway website mentioned in the video and use the search box at the top to find the verses you want. Enter the book, chapter and verse like this: Matthew 9:9-12.
  • Many churches use Roots on the Web resources for lectionary material.

Ask what else your own clergy use.

Related sessions

A stack of green hymn books with a service sheet slotted between the pages in each one

Go back to see more from Supporting regular church services
A male organist in white church robes playing an organ with his back to the camera

Move on to the next video: Hymns, songs and copyright
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