This jobs chart makes both Jimmy Carter and George W. look pretty good by comparison, doesn't it?

... to say nothing of Clinton and Reagan (just trying to be even handed). 

Thanks to Steve Thorngate ...

blogger at The Christian Century, for his kind expression of interest, and his question regarding possible implementation schedules for Year D. The short answer is that I have addressed this in Appendix C of Year D: A Quadrennial Supplement ... . The longer answer is that, while the book bears the subtitle Quadrennial, in fact the alternating option he suggests that retains the three-year "waltz" is one I have included there. The thing to bear in mind if going with a three-year alternating option is that a lot depends on when you begin. For instance, I had a post up a while back (since deleted) that presupposed (as I recall) an Advent 2010 start, since that would have followed on Year C and inserted D in lieu of Year A; thus: DBC / ADC / ABD / ABC. As it turns out, with the publication schedule for the book being Spring 2012, the first opportunity for integration based on the print source(s) would be this coming Advent, which assumes inserting D in lieu of C. Of course, there are a number of ad hoc or local options, too. But if anyone is especially worried about the cost to liturgical unity, I do think the musical/cross-rhythmic analogies (pp. 13-14) are very interesting, esp. when one considers what things might "sound like" from on high, as it were.

Thanks again, Steve, for the plug. I hope you like the book.

On repentance

I vote Aye.

Sham justice (Part 1)

Preachers should really say something about this. 

Best movie review I've read in a long time

... from one of those troublemakers over at Breitbart. A couple of memorable lines, from the review, that is, not the movie (in this case, Prometheus), include this definition of the term spirituality, which merits mention in some theological dictionary or other:

"Better to embrace spirituality – the welfare state of theologies. It asks nothing of you but supplies you with whatever you wish."

And this heuristic payoff:

"The answer to 'Where did we come from?' turns out to be some guys who are marginally taller than us and who have the complexion of a back-up singer for The Cure. And we, the audience, are sorry we asked."

Thanks to reviewer Kurt Schlichter for the warning, which only goes to confirm my hunch that I'm not missing anything. This is why I have not set foot in a theatre since, I don't know, Dawn Treader? Yep. I'm pretty sure it was Dawn Treader ... in 2010! (I am sorry for the waste of his $17 bucks, though. Really? Is it $17 bucks now? Sheesh.)

ATTN: International visitors

International visitors to The Year D Project may find the translation widget helpful. See the language selector in the upper left hand corner. It's fast!

While I can't guarantee the accuracy or fluency of these translations, I trust they will get you close enough to something that can be deciphered and honed to make these elements suitable for worship. I also hope this handy aid will increase the usefulness of this alternative lectionary year for brothers and sisters around the globe. It's not just the American church that needs these texts to resound anew!

UPDATE: And in case you are interested, since this site was launched, visitors have come from the following (top ten) countries, only three of which are predominantly English-speaking:

1. US
2. Russia
3. Canada
4. Germany
5. Netherlands
6. UK
7. South Korea
8. China
9. Ukraine
10. Brazil 

A great new worship solution for the gaps in the Psalter

Users of this site and readers of Year D will be familiar with the fact that a third of the Psalms are not represented in the Revised Common Lectionary, but that Year D gives the remaining Psalms a voice. One major problem for worship planning has been the fact that, if you wish to include a Year D psalm in worship, there are few settings of these excluded psalms available, since most recent denominational hymnals have tracked the RCL and favored the same 100 psalms the lectionary does.

Happily, for perhaps the first time in a generation, we have a useful compilation of musical settings for the complete psalter, edited by Joyce Borger, Martin Tel, and John Witvliet, namely, Psalms for All Seasons, ...

which contains multiple settings of all 150 Psalms. That is great news for users of Year D, who otherwise must resort to mining gems from the old Psalter hymnals from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

This welcome resource is highly recommended! So highly, indeed, I'm placing a link to it at left, so that it does not disappear down the stack. It is just the sort of thing that renders Year D all the more useable. 

"... to keep oneself unstained by the world" (James 1:27).

Since the Bible is no longer required reading in public schools, you would think perhaps The Sneeches might have gotten through to those who are now paying big bucks for ...

... tattoo removal!