When I wrote Priming the Lectionary, I didn’t imagine it as a book you read once and shelve. I pictured it living on a desk, in a vestry, beside a favourite chair or in a chaplain’s bag – a resource you reach for as you shape worship, conversations and community life.
Alongside the book, I’m creating free companion resources here on GaryHopkins.net: prayers, ideas and, in particular, a song video that echoes the themes and can be used reflectively and inspirationally. My hope is that the book and the online materials speak to each other and make it easier to plan worship that is inclusive, justice-shaped and imaginative.
Every context is different. Some follow the lectionary closely; others dip in occasionally, or don’t use it at all. Some gatherings are in church buildings, some in homes, some mostly online. The good news is that Priming the Lectionary and the free resources are designed as a flexible toolkit, not a rigid script.
Here are some ways you might use them together.
1. A starting point for worship planning
If you’re planning worship around the lectionary, Priming the Lectionary can help you move from “where do I start?” to “we’ve got some rich possibilities here”.
- Begin with the Threads to Explore and notice which connect with the reality of your community just now – joy, grief, protest, exhaustion, celebration.
- Use the Context & Connections to engage the readings from a justice-shaped, inclusive perspective, especially where texts have been used harmfully.
- Let one or two Practice ideas nudge you towards actions, not just words.
Then, visit the Priming the Lectionary section on GaryHopkins.net and see what’s available for that Sunday or season. In particular, you can:
- Use the song video as a reflective piece:
- as people gather
- after the reading or sermon, giving space to respond in silence
- during communion or prayer stations
- Share the lyrics (where available) on screen or in print to help people sing or pray along.
Think of the book and the site as working together: the book gives you depth and structure; the online resources give you something immediately usable in the room or on the livestream.
2. Supporting preachers and those offering reflections
Preaching can feel daunting, especially if you’re sharing the role or juggling limited time and energy.
Priming the Lectionary can support you by:
- Offering justice-shaped angles on familiar texts, so sermons don’t collapse into individualism or “try harder” spirituality.
- Providing questions and images that invite people to locate themselves in the story – including those often pushed to the edges: queer people, disabled people, carers, people living in poverty, those carrying trauma.
- Modelling inclusive language for God and for people, which you can adapt into your own voice.
The song video then becomes an extension of the preaching:
- Choose whether it best fits before the reflection (to open up the theme imaginatively) or after (to help people sit with what they’ve heard).
- Encourage people to pay attention to a particular line or image that links to the sermon.
- For online or hybrid services, the video can also create a breathing-space where the preacher isn’t “on screen” the whole time.
You might also gather a small preaching team, spending time with the Threads and Context in the book and then listening to / watching the song together before you each start writing.
3. A framework for small groups and Bible conversations
You don’t have to be planning a full service to use Priming the Lectionary. The structure works well in small groups meeting in homes, church halls or online.
A simple session could look like this:
- Begin with the song video – watch and listen together in stillness. Invite people to notice which words or images stay with them.
- Pray the opening Prayer from the book (adapted to your context if you wish).
- Read one or more of the lectionary texts aloud, leaving space for silence.
- Choose one or two Threads to Explore and invite response:
- Where does this connect with your own experiences?
- What does it ask of us in terms of justice, power, inclusion or exclusion?
- Use a Creative or Visual suggestion as a gentle, playful way in – perhaps drawing, choosing objects, writing single words, or simple movement.
- End with a Practice idea, or replay the song video as a closing meditation.
Having both the book and the online video gives the group multiple entry points: text, sound, image, movement. That can be especially helpful for those who find long, abstract discussion difficult.
4. Deepening personal prayer and reflection
Many people connect most honestly with scripture and prayer on their own or with one trusted companion. Although Priming the Lectionary is written with gathered worship in mind, it can also nourish personal devotion.
You might:
- Read the Meditation slowly and then watch the song video, noticing how the words and visuals echo or expand the meditation.
- Pause the video at a particular line or image that speaks to you and jot it down in a journal, alongside any thoughts or prayers it stirs.
- Use the Prayer from the book alongside the video as a kind of “call and response”: read the prayer, play the song, then sit in silence.
For those who have been hurt or excluded by church, the combination of text and music can sometimes feel safer than a long sermon. You can go at your own pace, revisit material as you’re ready, and let the song carry you when words are hard to find.
5. Resourcing online, hybrid and “beyond the building” spaces
One of the realities of ministry now is that not everything happens in a church building on a Sunday morning. Teams are creating online services, podcasts, reflective videos, staff prayers in workplaces, school assemblies and more.
Here the free resources on GaryHopkins.net are particularly useful:
- Embed the song video in an online service or reflective video, connecting it with readings and prayers from the book.
- Use a short section of the video in a school or workplace act of worship as a moment of quiet, with an accessible thought drawn from Priming the Lectionary.
- In chaplaincy or community settings, share the video on a screen or tablet as a way into gentle conversation about the theme.
Because the song is written to echo the lectionary themes and the justice-shaped lens of the book, it can help bridge the gap between “church” and “everyday spaces” without feeling like a bolt-on.
6. A conversation partner for teams and leadership groups
Finally, Priming the Lectionary and the companion resources can support those who hold responsibility in faith settings – church councils, leadership teams, worship groups, chaplaincy boards and others.
You might:
- Set aside time once a term to look back at recent Sundays, using the Threads and Practice sections to reflect together:
- Where have we already moved towards more inclusive, justice-shaped worship?
- Where might we need to be braver?
- Watch the song video together and talk about:
- What does this stir in us as leaders?
- How might this tone of honesty, lament, hope or joy be reflected in our wider life together?
- Reflect on access and welcome:
- Who is able to participate in the ways we currently worship?
- Whose voices and bodies are visible up front, in words, and in images – and who is missing?
Using the book and the online materials this way isn’t about enforcing one “correct” approach. It’s about building a shared imagination and language for inclusive, justice-shaped worship so that no one has to carry that vision alone.
Take what helps, leave what doesn’t
You don’t have to use every section of the book or every resource on the website every week. In fact, it’s probably better if you don’t.
Perhaps in this season you:
- simply use the song video each week as a consistent reflective thread,
- or let the Threads to Explore quietly shape your preaching and prayers,
- or choose one Practice idea each month to try together as a community.
However you use Priming the Lectionary and the free resources on GaryHopkins.net, my hope is that they help you see scripture and worship with fresh eyes, and that they support you as you create spaces where more people can recognise themselves in the story of God.
If you do experiment with the song video or other materials, I’d love to hear how it goes. Your discoveries, questions and creative adaptations will help shape future resources – so that together, we can keep moving towards worship that is genuinely inclusive, justice-shaped and full of life.