Book Review of Feasting on the Word Worship Companion Year A Vol. 1 ed. by Kimberly Bracken Long

Feasting on the Word Worship Companion:
Liturgies for Year A, Volume 1
ed. by Kimberly Bracken Long
ISBN 978-0-664-23803-2
Westminster John Knox Press
204 pages

The Feasting on the Word Worship Companion has recently released their newest edition of worship readings for the liturgical, lectionary driven church. As usual, it is a great resource for mainline churches seeking classy, well-written, theologically sound litanies and responsive readings.

This volume in this fine series covers Advent to Pentecost in Year A. It includes the following resources for each week:

• Listing of lectionary texts
• Call to Worship
• Prayers and readings for the confession/assurance cycle
• Prayer of Day
• Prayer for Illumination
• Prayers of Intercession
• Prayers and readings for the offering
• Charge
• Blessing
• Questions for reflections on the texts
• Household prayers for the morning and the evening

Each Sunday is thoroughly resourced. The readings are smart and thoughtful without being flowery or overly wordy. The wording has theological depth without being over people's head. My only complaint is that this resource does not include an invocation for each Sunday.

In addition to the weekly resources there are several other resources. They are:

• Two baptismal liturgies
• A thorough index of Scriptures used
• Great Thanksgiving services with the following themes
• General use
• Advent
• Christmas
• Epiphany
• Lent
• Holy Thursday
• Easter
• Pentecost

The book is also on a CD-ROM that is attached with the book. This makes it helpful when cutting and pasting these resources into a PowerPoint or a church bulletin.

I love this series of resources. I have the devotionals for all three years. I also have all of the worship companion resources as well. In addition to this, I have some of the commentaries they offer for preaching. Although some of the writing comes from a more liberal background than my own, it is all solid stuff worth considering for use in worship and personal study of the Word of God.