A Time to Turn: Anglican Readings for Lent and Easter Week

by Christopher L. Webber

A rigorous devotional for the 40 days of Lent. For centuries Lent has been a time when Christians stop and take stock of their lives. It is a time for revisiting the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. It is a time of focusing on our sinfulness and the need to repent, as well as a season in which we focus on putting aside our luxuries and making sure that others have what they need. All of these themes, and more, are explored in this collection of Anglican readings that begin with Ash Wednesday and end on the Saturday of Easter Week. These readings are arranged in a regular sequence through each week of Lent. Sunday readings focus on God’s love, Mondays on the need for discipline, Tuesdays on fasting, Wednesdays on prayer, Thursdays on sin, Fridays on the cross, and Saturdays on baptism. A Time to Turn draws on the best sermons, books, poems, and hymns of Anglican writers throughout the centuries, with a reading for each day, followed by the brief suggestion for focusing the reader's meditations. Writers include Christina Rossetti, John Donne, Philips Brooks, John Keble, Thomas Traherne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and many others. Brief biographies are included, along with a bibliography for those who would like to read more from a given writer.

128 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2004

About the author

"Priest, poet, and farmer" is the short summary. After many years of ministry in inner city, overseas (Tokyo), suburban, and rural locations I lived for twenty years in the northwest corner of Connecticut. Twenty acres of woods, garden, and orchard provided an excellent balance to writing. There's no better cure for writer's block than splitting some more firewood. Less than two years ago, however, I moved to San Francisco and am enjoying life in the city with its conveniences and cultural opportunities. Two books have been published in recent months and although my next book deadline is February 15, I'm doing what I can to promote "Dear Friends: Letters from St. Paul to Christians in America" and "Give Me Liberty: Seeches and Speakers that Shaped America."
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Reviews

[Barbara James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I began reading this book as a Lenten project of reading Anglican devotions (I'm Episcopalian). It was great for exposing me to sermons written by Anglicans over the centuries in Britain and in the U.S., snapshots of Anglican thought.

I wish it was more expansive, including for example, more recent thinkers and even thinkers from outside Britain and the U.S. That would make for an interesting project, I think.

[Danielle Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful little devotional during Lent and holy week-- really fantastic, short meditations in here.

[Rev. Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chose this for part of my 2013 Lenten Devotions and found it particularly helpful, with the different readings from church fathers through the ages. P. 112 (from a sermon by Morgan Dix) had a statement that I found worthy of placing in my prayer journal: "When you are distressed because you cannot see clearly, remember to your comfort, that they, His own apostles, His own most intimate friends, who loved him with supreme devotion, who talked more of Him than anyone else, who longed to see Him and be with Him where he was, did not know him when He stood before them on the shore (John 21:4). It may be so with you. The cares of this world, the duties and labors of your life, errors which cloud the human intellect and infirmities which weaken the physical system; these and other similar causes may have obscured your vision, and depressed your spirit; but they will pass away, and at the last you will see the Lord, and know even as you are known."

[Jim Beekman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this for two Lenten seasons. Find new thing each time, sometimes I read some of the passages when it is not Lent. When I read them the first time I gave them three stars, now I give them five.

[Maida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reflections for Lent & Easter. Sometimes a bit dense, and the "take away" verses didn't always work for me, but I generally found them worthwhile. I'd recommend it.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't bad. My husband and I read this together for Lent, and they were good readings. Good reminders to keep you in the right direction and in the right mindset while fasting during Lent.