Revised Common Lectionary

Holy Bible and Common Order

Many Church of Scotland congregations follow the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), which assigns particular readings to each Sunday of the year.

Its use is not mandatory, but it offers opportunities for deepening and refreshing the worship of the Church. It enables a whole denomination, or even wide clusters of denominations, to study, pray and praise in unison throughout the year.

The RCL is a three-year schedule of readings from the Scriptures, based on the seasons of the Church calendar. The Gospel provides the focus for each Sunday, and the other passages generally have a thematic link to the Gospel for that day.

The gospel readings for each year are taken from one of the synoptic gospels, arranged in the following pattern:

  • Year A – Matthew (27 November 2022-2 December 2023)
  • Year B – Mark (3 December 2023-30 November 2024)
  • Year C – Luke (28 November 2021-26 November 2022)

Readings from the Gospel of John are used throughout the lectionary cycle. You can find readings appropriate for each week in our Weekly Worship resource.

Based on the Revised Common Lectionary, the Church of Scotland's Weekly Worship offers a range of materials which can be used to develop worship. These include exegesis, sermon suggestions, prayers, insights into how to reflect on and prepare worship, together with musical suggestions, which are linked to our CH4 website.