About the Book

This is a Daily Office specifically designed for Progressive/Emergent Christians. It is gender inclusive and welcoming to modern perspectives on Christianity. The Offices included are Vigils, Lauds, Vespers, and Compline. The Readings use the Daily Lectionary.

How to use the Book of Hours

The Book of Hours includes four services. They are:

• Vigils: a service traditionally done before day break.
• Lauds: a service done early in the morning after day break.
• Vespers: a service done in the early evening.
• Compline: a service done before retiring for the night.

Each of these services except Compline incorporates readings from the Daily Lectionary. To prepare for a service, go to the home page. Find today's date, which will be near the top. You will find links to each of the Lectionary readings and the service itself. Clicking on any of these links will open a new window. You prepare for a service by opening one window with the service itself and one for each of the readings.

Many people will have their own Bible they prefer to use for the Lectionary readings. That isn't a problem. Just use the links as readings and mark the places in your Bible before you begin the service. Then the only link you need is the one to the service you are about to do.

Once you have prepared the windows, you go to the window containing the service and read through it. When you get to the point where it calls for a reading, go to the window containing the reading. When you are finished the reading, go back to the window containing the service. When you have finished the service, you can close all of the windows.

Hint: in many browsers, if you hold the CONTROL key down while clicking on the link, the new window will open but you will stay in the current window. This is the easiest way to bring up the windows.

In the Vigils service, there is a time for intercessional prayers. This is a time when you add your own personal prayers. It is probably easiest if you have a file on your computer or a collection of cards with your intercessional prayers already prepared. In the books tab for prayers, you will find some suggestions for intercessional prayers. I welcome contributions.

In the Compline service, there is a section called the Examen. This section is based on the Ignacian concept of the Examen, a daily spiritual practice that originated with Saint Ignatius Loyola in the 1500's. You can read more about the Examen at the website on Ignacian Spirituality. You might want to write your responses to the Examen in a spiritual diary.

In both the Lauds and Vespers services there is a time set aside for silent meditation. If you have a timer, you can set it for the number of minutes you are going to meditate. If you do not have a timer, you can click on the link for meditation which will bring you to a web site with a meditation timer. When you are finished with the meditation, use your browser's back arrow to return you to the service. Note that the link does not work on devices that do not support Flash (which includes iPhones). For more information about meditating in the Christian tradition, see the website for the World Community for Christian Meditation.

Some background about The Book of Hours

The Philosophy of this Book of Hours

Acknowledgements

The Authors of this Book of Hours

The author/collector/moderator of this Book of Hours is me, Roger Sessions. I am hoping that others will want to get involved in this effort. If you are interested, drop me a note at