There will be many items on the agenda besides sex when the General Convention meets in Denver July 5-14. One such item is a proposal by the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to adopt the Revised Common Lectionary as a replacement for the lectionary for Sundays and holy days now found in the Book of Common Prayer.

The proposed beginning date is the first Sunday of Advent, 2001 (Year A). This should not be a surprise, for this lectionary has been authorized for trial use for some time in its various revisions. I suspect that most people are not even aware that the lectionary, though bound with the Book of Common Prayer, is not part of it and can be changed as are the canons by the action of one General Convention.

I was ordained a priest on May 30, 1971. On August 1 of that year I became the rector of a small Anglo-Catholic parish in Los Angeles. We immediately began the use of Services For Trial Use, including the eucharistic lectionary contained therein. Much of the excitement and a major selling point of that lectionary was the ecumenical dimension, especially that it was based on the recently adopted Roman Catholic lectionary. It was wonderful to know that at the Roman parish down the street they were (usually) reading the same lections at Sunday Mass as were we.

As the years rolled by, I became increasingly aware that many other Christians in the communities I served were using a similar lectionary but that they called it the Common Lectionary. In 1982, the parish I served became a test congregation to see if a revision of the Common Lectionary would work in Episcopal Church settings. I left that parish soon after that trial began to serve in my present congregation. A few years ago, the sermon aids I had used from the time they were available began to be based primarily on something called the Revised Common Lectionary and the bulletin service we used began to be based on that same lectionary. Though it was clearly similar, it was often different. So began this congregation's use of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL).

To say that the use of the RCL has created an uproar or even a ripple in the congregation in the three years we have used it would be to vastly overstate the differences. The persons who notice it most are the ones who read next week's lessons using the citations in the BCP, like the persons I bring communion to week by week in their homes. I have learned to supply the citations we are using to supply clergy or visiting preachers. What has been noticed most is the increased use of stories about women and scripture which expands the imagery of God. These are quite intentional.

In addition to the above, there are other differences to note. There is an increased use of the Psalter. There are many changes in the second readings. An early revision of the Common Lectionary proposed the use of semi-continuous readings from the Hebrew scriptures as a more honest use of those scriptures than the typological use of Hebrew scripture to support the gospel reading found in our current lectionary. The proposal which will come to General Convention uses more appropriate Hebrew scriptures to support the gospel readings in the "green" seasons. At the same time, it provides semi-continuous readings as an alternate. In this way we can more authentically know David, Ruth and Naomi, Job, and some of the Wisdom literature. I am looking forward to having viable alternatives this year during August, when the gospel reading gives us four weeks of the "bread of life" discourses.

I am aware that many worship aids such as the Psalter pointings, hymn suggestions, etc., will need to be reworked. At the same time, the RCL will offer even more riches in the scriptures we read week by week.

My friend the Rev. Joe Russell of the Diocese of Ohio, offers these reasons for the adoption of the Revised Common Lectionary:

1. The Revised Common Lectionary is a truly ecumenical endeavor.

2. Availability of resources.

3. Women's role in salvation history is highlighted in the RCL.

4. Language of worship, more gender inclusive/image expansive.

5. Improvements in the appointed texts based on long experience and evaluation from a broad range of faith communities and Anglican provinces.

6. A common lectionary may lead to a more ecumenical approach to Christian education.

7. Most major Christian faith communities and provinces of the Anglican Communion are now using the Revised Common Lectionary. o

The Rev. H. Clifford Gain is the rector of Holy Nativity Church, Westchester, Los Angeles, Calif., and adjunct professor of liturgics at the Episcopal Theological School in Claremont.