Rhythms of Faith
An invitation to chat with author & Anglican vicar Rev. Claude Atcho about his new devotional & the Church year!
“In the church year, it felt as though I received an heirloom, a long-lost family gift that enabled me to walk in the deep desire of my heart.”
It’s a delight and privilege to be on the launch time for this refreshing new devotional! Though I’m excitedly waiting for my physical copy to arrive in the mail, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to preview it as an ebook…and, friends, this is truly a treasure.
Pax+bonum, Kristin
The liturgical year has been one of the most profound vehicles of catechesis in my life, and in so many ways, its language of tradition helped to bridge the gaps that I’d previously felt on my faith journey. Cycles of feasts and fasts connected me to Scripture in such tangible ways, which in turn opened up new pathways of thinking and praying for me.
So, as you can imagine, I’m a bit of a collector of Church calendar books. From encyclopedias, to histories, to folktales, to devotionals, I love encountering different angles of this ancient spiritual discipline, each one offering beautiful wisdom.
Incredibly, when I opened up the ebook for Rev. Claude Atcho’s forthcoming devotional - Rhythms of Faith - I felt a bit like I was encountering the Church year for the first time, even though I’ve been immersed in it for years. Reading through his introduction, then jumping over to Ordinary Time to stick with the season we’re in, was like finding something that was simultaneously familiar and yet brand-new.
And, of course, that’s the sublime wisdom of the spiritual discipline of liturgical living: it’s both timeless and immediate.
“In the church year, God employs time as our teacher, forming us in the curriculum of Christ’s very life. Time becomes a deep immersion into the life of Jesus.”
Claude Atcho, Rhythms of Faith
As Rev. Atcho recalled his first Easter Vigil, where he encountered this dynamic of sacred time woven through present moments, I felt a bit like I was encountering this familiar spiritual discipline for the first time again, too.
It’s all-to-easy for me to trade vibrancy for complacency in my habits, and reading through Claude’s new devotional, some of that dross was mercifully shaken off…my approach to the calendar refreshed by the reminders in this book.
Claude reminded me that, by God’s grace, I get to steward both the immediacy and the eternity in time.
“[The language of] this suggests that time is something in which we participate. That some things are so real, so present, so deep, they don’t just pass like the breeze. Some parts of time summon us to partake of them, and like a holy echo, they reverberate through the ages with sacred ramifications that grip the present. The notion of ‘that time’ (as in ‘on that most holy of nights’) suggests that time is strictly linear, detached. It’s a thing that goes by and is done and gone. ‘This time’ suggests the opposite - that certain events defy our common grasp of time. Embedded in each phrase is a different sense of time, one common and memorial and one holy and participatory.”
Claude Atcho, Rhythms of Faith
I’m so grateful for these promptings to widen my perspective, deepen my engagement, and see the vibrancy of ancient practices and traditions…and I’m thrilled to have Rhythms of Faith as a companion - filled with gentle reminders to see these ancient traditions through a vision of the present.
…and I’m absolutely over the moon to have Rev. Claude Atcho joining us to discuss his new book and the liturgical calendar!
Claude Atcho is a priest in the Anglican Church of North America and serves as the pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is the award-winning author of Reading Black Books: How African American Literature Can Make Our Faith More Whole and Just, and his writing has been featured in Christianity Today, Think Christian, and The Witness: A Black Christian Collective.
SAVE THE DATE
Come celebrate the upcoming release of Claude’s devotional - and bring your questions, thoughts, and reflections about the Church year as we chat with the author! Whether you’re new to the liturgical calendar or are well-familiar with it, this will be such an illuminating conversation.
SAVE THE DATE:
Thursday, October 9 at 10 am Pacific Time
An invitation link will be sent out the day before we gather. All paid and founding members are invited!
😍😍 I’ll be at work but will definitely be listening in. Can’t wait for this and the book! You’ve introduced me to such good books, Kristin. Thank you!
OHHHH!! This sounds amazing!