A Time to Gather: Fifty-six Devotionals for Private and Group Worship

J.R.C. Perkin is past-president of Acadia University and the author of
Reflections and Insights.

Robert Wallace, a United Church minister, has written three books that
provide material for congregational worship and individual devotion. The
predecessors of this one were A Present Help and Fire in the Bones.

A Time to Gather provides 56 devotional outlines, each two pages long.
The material is arranged under the headings Call, Prayer, Scripture,
Suggested Hymns, Meditation, and Closing Prayer. Following the weekly
outlines are suggestions for a stewardship service, an annual meeting, a
holy week gathering, and Canada Day worship. Within the overall sequence
are several short series (e.g., the Tempter, the Pleader, the Saviour,
etc.) and four services based on Ecclesiastes 3:1–11. The meditations
combine true-to-life situations and contemporary issues with an
appropriate blend of scholarship and theological allusion. References to
biblical languages are perceptive and relevant, and the selection of
ancedotal material lends further focus to the discussion of individual
points.

The publishers state, with accuracy, that the text is “designed to be
used with a minimum of preparation.” However, it will also be a source
of insight and formative ideas for those who lead worship as part of
their professional ministry, and who are able to write their own prayers
to reflect a specific situation and the needs of the worshippers.

The United Church Publishing House is producing a steady stream of
books intended to help lay leaders and busy pastors to provide
thoughtful and helpful acts of worship for congregations and smaller
groups. Wallace’s contribution can safely be used without alteration
in meetings and church organizations. It also provides excellent
starting points for sermons and addresses. The content is of
consistently high quality and the methodology may also be studied with
profit.