The Christian Church Year is such a blessing. Many people who are new to the Lutheran Church, or other liturgical churches, coming from general evangelical protestantism, are unfamiliar with the ancient custom of observing a series of festivals, also known as “feasts,” and unique times throughout the year, known as “seasons.” in what is known as the “liturgical year.” While the basic structure and words of the core components of the liturgy do not change from Sunday to Sunday, there are changes in other texts, particularly the various readings from Holy Scripture appointed for every Sunday and festival day, that give the various times in the Church Year their unique emphases and nuances. Pastor Weedon found a beautiful summary of why the Church Year is so important and useful:
As the seasons of the church year make their annual circuit, the preacher has no other task than to unfold the mysterium Christi, the mystery of Christ. He makes it known in all its splendor, with a sense of awe and wonder and with all its meaning for the faltering lives of Christ’s little ones. Source: Ernest Koenker, Worship in Word and Sacrament, p. 46
How true this is! If you have not given much attention to the Church Year, I certainly would encourage you to do so. It is such a blessing both to preachers and to hearers! Why? Some people think that having a rigid order of every-Sunday readings is too restricting. I must respectfully, but strongly, disagree. I’ve noticed, so often, in congregations that do not follow the Church Year and the appointed readings that there sets in an impoverishment of teaching, it is easy to miss the major events of Christ’s life and the chief doctrines of God’s Word when there is not a thorough presentation of the Scriptures main stories and teachings, as is made possible through the Church Year and its appointed readings. The Church Year allows us, together, to hear about all the major events in the life and ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in the first half of the Church Year, then to reflect together on the fuller implications of the life of Christ on our lives. It is a wonderful pattern, or rhythm, that the Church Year Provides. By the way, the picture on this post is the Church Year poster/calendar
published by Concordia Publishing House.
Here is additional information on the Church Year that you will find helpful, from The LCMS Commission on Worship:
“In our daily lives we keep track of our activities and special events with a calendar. The church throughout the centuries has also “kept track” of days and seasons and commemorating special occasions with a calendar. The Christian church has continued to follow the example set in the Old Testament of structuring the year around the marvelous acts of salvation that God completed for us in his Son, Christ. We call this structure the
Church Year. Certain colors are assigned for use during the seasons of the Church Year and on specific feast days. Click on
this link to learn about the colors of the liturgical season. The scripture references appointed for the Church Year are available in PDF and Word formats. Click
here to find color-coded charts for both the three-year and one-year readings.”
You can read more about the various seasons, and colors, in the Church Year in these articles:
January 22nd, 2010 | 6:10 pm | #1
Very nice, but does it have the world ending in 2012? :)
January 22nd, 2010 | 6:25 pm | #2
You are correct about coming out of the Evangelical world and being lost with the church calender.
I am reading Bo Giertz’s To Live With Christ. What are the days entitled:
Sunday End Time Saints Triumphant
Monday Before Last Sunday of the End of Time
I am lost.
Thanks for any help
McCain response: I think you are in the wrong section of the book. You should be in the Epiphany portion of the book. The days you mention are those at the end of the Church Year.
January 22nd, 2010 | 9:30 pm | #3
Cute, but silly.
January 23rd, 2010 | 9:56 pm | #4
I have been blessed by having a wonderful church home in the Anglo-Catholic tradition; we follow the calendar of the church year closely, and it informs many different aspects of worship, from the selection of the lessons, to the color of the vestments, to the choice of hymns. I even like how we use the major feasts to anchor our dates: this Sunday isn’t primarily Jan. 24th, it is the Third Sunday after Epiphany. Everything is connected to the life of Christ, even the date.
When I was a completely new Christian, this was extremely helpful – it was like stepping into the life of Christ, not just reading about Him. For instance, Advent, anticipating Christmas, was a time of learning about the Incarnation, and the Second Coming.
As far as I can tell, it just keeps getting richer; this is my fourth year as a Christian, and I continue to find the church year as an aid to prayer and worship and learning. It draws me into experiencing the richness of the faith, not just the parts that were or are more initially appealing or accessible.
I’ve also come to appreciate the role of the particular Feasts of the Church. For example, our rector preached on spiritual warfare on the Feast of St Michael and All Angels (which happens to also be my baptismal feast, helping me make a personal connection as well).
January 24th, 2010 | 12:53 pm | #5
The church year is so natural! Our lives follow from birthdays to anniversaries to the start of baseball season to the first snowfall to…. and the church year goes from Advent, waiting for the Incarnation, then the celebration, then the ordinary time marked by saint’s days, to Lent, the waiting for the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord, then back to ordinary time, more saints, more milestones of history.
When we stand to petition the Lord for various things at worship each Sunday, we start with the Church, since it overarches all Creation. Its timeline drives all the rest.
I learn and retain a ton more Scripture by following the cycle because it flows naturally from Mary’s Yes, then Jesus’ birth, life and ministry, into what He proclaims, His miracles, and then the Pharisees and their plottings. For teaching children, it’s better than any serial or soap opera!
January 24th, 2010 | 2:09 pm | #6
Thank you for this very thoughtful comment. I’m going to share it over on my blog.
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