LectServe API

Base URL

https://www.lectserve.com

Authentication

No API key and no account.

Rate limit

No published limit. Readings for a date never change — cache indefinitely.

Pricing

Free.

CORS

Enabled — callable directly from browser JavaScript

Official docs

Read the docs

Every request below was executed against the live API on 21 Aug 2026, and the response shown is the real body it returned — not an illustration.

curl 'https://www.lectserve.com/today'

const res = await fetch("https://www.lectserve.com/today");
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${res.status}`);
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);

import requests

res = requests.get("https://www.lectserve.com/today", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json())

{
  "sunday": {
    "nextSunday": "2026-08-30",
    "day": "Sunday",
    "year": "A",
    "date_pretty": "23. August 2026",
    "date": "2026-08-23",
    "prevSunday": "2026-08-16",
    "services": [
      {
        "alt": "",
        "name": "Sunday Closest to August 24",
        "readings": [
          "Isaiah 51:1-6",
          "Psalm 138",
          "Romans 11:25-36",
          "Matthew 16:13-20"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "lectionary": "acna",
    "type": "Sunday"
  },
  "daily": {
    "tomorrow": "2026-08-22",
    "week": "Sunday Closest to August 17",
    "day": "Friday",
    "date": "2026-08-21",
    "date_pretty": "21. August 2026",
    "yesterday": "2026-08-20",
    "lectionary": "acna-sec",
    "readings": {
      "morning": {
        "first": "2 Samuel 9",
        "second": "Philippians 2:12-end"
      },
      "evening": {
        "second": "John 17",
        "first": "Amos 2"
      }
    }
  },
  "red_letter": {
    "year": "A",
    "nextSunday": "2026-08-23",
    "day": "Friday",
    "date": "2026-08-21",
    "date_pretty": "21. August 2026",
    "type": "noLect",
    "services": [
      {
        "readings": [],
        "name": "Friday, August 21, 2026",
        "alt": ""
      }
    ],
    "prevSunday": "2026-08-16",
    "lectionary": "acna"
  }
}

red_letterobject

The requested day. Named for red-letter days in the liturgical calendar.

sundayobject

The coming Sunday, returned alongside because most weekdays have no readings of their own.

[block].typestring

`Sunday`, a feast name, or `noLect` when the day has no prescribed readings.

[block].date / date_prettystring

ISO date and a human-readable form such as `21. August 2026`.

[block].daystring

Day of the week.

[block].yearstring

Liturgical year letter — A, B or C. Not a calendar year.

[block].servicesarray

Services for that day, each with a `name`, an `alt` alternative and a `readings` array of scripture references.

[block].services[].readingsarray

Scripture references as strings, such as `Isaiah 51:1-6`. Empty on a `noLect` day.

[block].prevSunday / nextSundaystring

Adjacent Sundays as ISO dates, so you can navigate the cycle without computing it.

[block].lectionarystring

Which lectionary tradition produced these readings, for example `acna`.

• Display today's readings on a church website
• Build a daily scripture reading app or email
• Generate an order of service from the prescribed passages
• Navigate the liturgical calendar without implementing the date rules

If LectServe does not fit, these utility apis cover similar ground. Every one was called before publishing, and each links to its own reference page with a working curl command and the response it returned.