I’m working up several things to show you all, but none of them are quite ready yet… I keep writing things, but they’re not quite finished yet, and then life happens, so several things are in the queue.
This is an easy one, though… I was asked about a csv file with the current contents of Lesser Feasts & Fasts, 2018. I do have such a file and am sharing it here. Naturally, it meets my needs, providing the month, day, title, and collects (Rite I and II) for each liturgical observance of Optional Observance. (I.e., it contains no Sundays or Holy Days, only those observances falling within section 5 of the BCP’s Calendar breakdown.) Nor does it contain biographies or biblical lections as the latter are intended for Eucharists, not as replacements for the Daily Office in-course lections which only give way to Holy Days.
As is well known by anyone who has read these pages for any amount of time, the current Episcopal concept of sanctity is rootless, fragmented, and ultimately incoherent. I literally laughed-out-loud when last I ran across the flavor text at Church Publishing for LLF2018 which informs the buyer that: “Lesser Feasts and Fasts has not been updated since 2006. This new edition, adopted at the 79th General Convention (resolution A065), fills that need.” Both of these lines are quite incorrect.
In the first line, LFF has received a lot of work since 2006—it’s just that none of the items produced has satisfied the complex and contradictory demands of both houses of General Convention. And Liza and I have the files and correspondence to prove it!
In the second, LFF2018 was not “adopted” flatly as the text suggests but is in a period of trial use. Furthermore, the current text is not what was proposed, but is a mash-up up several offerings that actually miss the point of what Liza and the sanctoral team was trying to accomplish with what they did submit.
What is an improvement here is the overall quality of the collects. Not all of them received the treatment they needed, but a few of us did manage to do some solid work on several of them that needed some serious repair. In particular, I tackled many of the saints in the first millennium when I was overhauling things for Great Cloud of Witnesses, and then addressed several more as final drafts of LFF2018 were going before the Legislative Committee at GC. So—I’d like to see more attention paid to the collects here.
Enough chatter—here’s the file: Episcopal_LFF2018_DAO
Thank you very much for tackling this and helping to “operationalize” LFF 2018 and putting it into the hands of the People of God who are, the church living in faith and with liturgy, and “praying with the saints” every day, perhaps unceasingly!
Question about the csv file which I can’t open on my Mac – is it the same as the pdf file of LFF 2018 from the national church?
A comment – I too find all the versions of our calendar very confusing – especially when planning diocesan liturgies and the bishop is preaching on a lesser feast – there are several versions of lections and some commons suggested.
I really appreciate all you do in the liturgical world – thank you!
I’m already in your email system.
Grace and peace,
Darby Everhard+
I’m glad you’re working on this, Derek. I’m really unhappy with LFF 2018, (And I’ve been around for a LONG time — I still have my copy of LFF 1963, and remember when official incorporation of “Lesser Feasts” was a new big deal. But I really don’t understand what’s going on with LFF 2018. (1) I have no serious objection to any of the people who are included. After all, they are all optional! But a lot of them I have never heard of. Maybe I should have, but they’re pretty obscure for American Episcopalians. (2) A number of saints who have been in the calendar since 1963 (and informally, long before, and in many other Anglican calendars) are not included — just referred to in the list of commemorations from Great Clouds. (I’m sorry if they don’t like St. Hilary! Get over it!) (3) I’m old enough to remember the convoluted classification system for ranking saints’ days that the Missale Romanum used to have. (They got over it!) We also need a little more flexibility. My suggestion: 1. Major Feasts (the current Prayer Book Holy Days); 2. Lesser Feasts (mostly the same folks we’ve been celebrating all along, as important in Catholic, Anglican, and American tradition); 3. Commemorations (all those people from all over the world and throughout history who are worth remembering and celebrating, but are not as widely known and not at Level 2, at least not yet.) I don’t know where we get input to the SCLM, but they need to know that LFF 2018 still needs A LOT of work!