The main programme works through one gospel and a series of epistles each year, between 7 January and 26 November. It pauses for a fifteen-week Easter series, which includes readings from Acts. Finally a Christmas series runs from 27 November to 6 January. An Old Testament reading each Sunday helps illustrate the gospel reading for the day. More than 400 key passages of scripture are read across a three‑year cycle. [more]
SSRA is compatible with Common Worship Principal Service Lectionary (CW), Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), and Lectionary for Mass (LFM), giving access to a vast library of lectionary‑based resources, both in print and online. Where CW, RCL and LFM occasionally differ from each other, SSRA prioritises the systematic reading of the gospels and epistles for the year, reducing interruptions and omissions to a minimum. [more]
Where other translations are offered primarily as study texts, or to be read alone at home, the SSRA translation is offered specifically for reading aloud - to encourage more confident participation in the public reading of scripture by more readers, and to encourage a greater appreciation of the public reading of scripture by more hearers. The text is arranged to be easy on the eye, and on the voice, for the reader, and to be easy on the ear, for the hearer, who should be able to follow the reading, without needing a printed text, even on first hearing. [more]
read about the SSRA translation here
If you haven’t come across ssra.uk yet, you really should. A new resource with bible translations of lectionary readings done especially to be read out in a congregational setting. I honestly think it’s terrific - and the printed versions are top notch. The translations sound clear when read out loud, and - crucially - are printed in such a way that makes them much easier to see and understand. It’s genuinely a people-focussed resource, and I commend it wholeheartedly.
Revd Marcus Green
Chaplain at Worcester College Oxford
Some congregations are losing the Old Testament as a result of lectionary overload. Michael Hampson’s attractive presentations in short lines and his intelligent editing will enlarge appreciation for the prophets and make the epistles more accessible. I recommend his work to all who prepare services - it will help many to hear the Word of God in scripture and will encourage further Bible study.
Robert Morgan
Reader in New Testament Theology at Oxford University,
Fellow of Linacre College Oxford,
Vicar of Sandford‑on‑Thames
Innumerable churchgoers will be grateful to Michael Hampson for providing lectionary texts which are at one and the same time conducive to being read aloud and to being readily understood by those hearing them. It is to be hoped that they will be widely used.
Revd Canon Dr David Peacock OBE
Former Principal of Whitelands College, University of Roehampton
