Seasons of the Church

The lovely Lana brought us a cool lesson Sunday fresh off of a wild Saturday night at the class Luau and the Journey concert. That's some stamina.

The lesson was a good reminder of why we do what we do in the church...deepening our experience of our worship. You usually know what season you are in by the weather. In the church we have Advent - preparing for Christ's birth, Christmas - 12 days of it in the church, Epiphany - the revealing of the good news to the world and/or arrival of the wise men, Lent - repent...after a good mardi gras, Easter - the mother of all seasons...Resurrection!, Pentecost - the coming of the Spirit, and common time - that's right, a lame name because we don't know what else to call it...we're just kind of waiting around for the next season to come. Some church's call it summer vacation.


The colors change for each season and are displayed in the stoles the ministers and choir wears, the banners around the sides of the church, and the linens over the altar. It may seem kind of formal or old school, but if you think about the meaning of each season when you encounter the colors, your worship can be enhanced and better informed. It's not that God really changes, but that we focus on a different aspect of our relationship to God throughout each church season. God is a real and active participant with us in our lives in the form of the Father (Advent and Lent), Son (Christmas, Epiphany, and Easter), and Holy Spirit (Pentecost)...and with us even in the "common" times...