From birthday cakes and anniversary dinners to summer vacations at the beach, each family has its own ways of marking the days and seasons of its life. For the Christian family especially Episcopalians it s no different. With an array of colors and an assortment of rich traditions, Episcopalians move through the Church year, marking the days and seasons that tell the story of Christ in our lives in history and today.

This book written for newcomers to the Episcopal Church as well as lifelong members takes readers by the hand and leads them through the Church year, from the first Sunday of Advent through the last Sunday of Pentecost, answering questions like Why do we use purple in Lent? and What does Maundy Thursday mean? In an easy-to-read conversational style, Welcome to the Church Year introduces readers to the traditions of the Church seasons and explains why we do what we do. But it does more than offer interesting trivia about church vestments and pageantry. Its insights can help readers participate in the liturgies of the Church year in a deeper, more meaningful way."

This book invites newcomers into a deeper engagement with Scripture. Many new Anglicans may be nervous about opening the Bible, which can seem foreign or irrelevant; others simply don't know how to begin. One of the often overlooked gifts of the Anglican church is that the texts and doctrines of the Bible are embedded in our prayers, liturgies, and creeds. Thus, Anglicans tend to know the Bible better than they realize - they just don't know chapter and verse. Making that knowledge explicit and placing it in context can help to overcome the 'disconnect' many Anglicans feel with the Bible, and can open the way for further and more in-depth study.

In this guide for newcomers as well as lifelong Episcopalians, author Vicki Black helps readers navigate the currents of Anglican liturgy and discover its richness and beauty. As we use the Book of Common Prayer, Black says, we discover we are not alone, and this liturgical current of worship, prayer, and praise will indeed take us where we want to go union with the God we seek to love. Welcome to the Book of Common Prayer shows readers everything from where to find the Sunday collect to how to pray the Daily Office. But it s more than a how-to. It offers history and background that help make the prayer book a more meaningful part of the worship life of individuals and congregations. With thoughtful reflection questions, this is a perfect volume for parish study groups. "

Part of the well-established Welcome to... series from Morehouse Publishing, this book addresses church history from the grassroots perspective of how Anglicans have prayed, thought about, and lived out their faith through the centuries.

The flourishing website known as the Episcopal Cafe (www.episcopalcafe.org) produced by the Diocese of Washington attracts several thousand visitors a day. Its popular column Speaking to the Soul, which contains a concise, well-developed spiritual reflection for every day of the year, draws from many different sources, including scripture, church history, saints biographies, books of prayers, liturgies, and ancient and contemporary theologians and spiritual writers.

This daily reader grew out of that column. It follows the Episcopal Church s liturgical seasons and includes observation of major feast days as well as saints days.

The reading for a particular saint s day might be taken from the saint s writings, prayers, or biography, or might develop a theme such as martyrdom or growth in the spirit. Other readings focus on particular emphases of the seasons (the Incarnation during Advent and Christmas; spiritual disciplines during Lent); or speak more generally to the Christian life (prayer, discipleship, ministry, the sacraments, conflict and reconciliation, and so on).

Readings are taken from every century of the church s life, with particular attention to how the writings and experiences of earlier Christians can shed light on the difficulties, joys, and concerns of the church today. Excerpts are long enough to give a satisfying and complete context of the writer s intended meaning. "