The Sacred Year: A Contemplative Journey through the Liturgical Year
Rev. Dr. Lyn Pace

“I’m out of time.” “Just in time.” “I have no time.” In our fast-paced, earthly world, time often manages us, whether through a clock, a calendar, or any number of other ways. But what if there were another way, a more spiritual and sacred way, to consider time? In this book, the Reverend Dr. Lyn Pace explores how the Christian liturgical calendar can be another way for us to keep time—sacred time. Combining the major seasons of the liturgical year with contemplative practices that connect to that season, Lyn invites you to discover a new way to look at time that helps you live with deeper intention and connection.

Lyn has been the college chaplain at Oxford College of Emory University since 2009.

Praise for The Sacred Year:

“For students and college chaplains, Lyn weaves together the various rhythms of time we all live in—world events, liturgical season, and the academic year. For everyone, he invites us to recognize the sacred in the ordinary tasks of our days and in the tender moments of life and death. In the busy-ness and emotional weight of daily life in the 21st century, Lyn offers ancient contemplative practices that nourish our souls and empower us to live lives of justice and compassion in solidarity with our neighbors who are marginalized and oppressed. I look forward to sharing this book with colleagues and students seeking to put their faith in action, courageously offering hope in anxious times.”—The Reverend Lisa Garvin, chaplain and minister to the university, Southern Methodist University

“The author’s exquisite introduction and subsequent chapters assume a clear and compelling position for attention to the daily rhythms of our lives. He sets the stage for understanding concepts of time, engaging contemplation, and honoring cycles, rituals, and liturgy that mark our life journeys. The invitations and contemplations of the liturgical calendar embedded in each page are accessible to all of us regardless of our spiritual and religions leniencies. This might be the book’s greatest strength.—Dr. Patricia Owen-Smith, professor emerita of psychology, Oxford College of Emory University

“What a delightful contemplative commentary on the Christian liturgical year. In The Sacred Year, Lyn Pace has written a playful yet serious opening to how and why the Church keeps time with Jesus. The seasons of the church’s worship life are here, illuminated by the rhythms of our common life, deftly sketched in these newspaper columns over time. In these pages, these brief columns have become pastoral and theological touchstones. Take and read. You will come away with a fresh view of how ritual time shapes our lived experience, and why we must always bring our lived experience to the images and themes of the church year.”—Dr. Don E. Saliers, theologian-in-residence, Candler School of Theology