09 December 2009

A Perennial Question Pastors Face...

...in worship planning for December when Christmas falls late in the week is what to do on the Sunday following. Lutheran Service Book does not consider St. Stephen's (26), St. John's (27) or Holy Innocents (28) as "principal feasts of Christ" which "are normally observed when they occur on a Sunday," but as festivals which may or may not be observed according to local custom.

According to traditional practice, however, the propers for the Sunday after Christmas were not used if one of these three festivals fell upon the Sunday, but were transferred to a service later in the week. Thus, although our Lutheran Service Book leaves the matter up to local preference, should one's local preference be to follow whatever is traditional Western liturgical practice, the Saturday after Christmas this year would be celebrated as St. Stephen's and the Sunday as St. John's.

And if you are ever in doubt about what the traditional answer is when there is a conflict of days, the short and easy answer is to consult the deacon.

2 comments:

Rev. Eric J Brown said...

Oh, just delight in the liturgical freedom you have. . . options within the rubrics are a good thing! And when in doubt, observe the Saint's Day, it's good for people.

Chris said...

Ah, the glories of having a typicon in the Eastern Rite so that we never have to face these problems!

Good luck.