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Seasons of the Church Year
Like God's love, time is never-ending. Our church calendar provides an opportunity to observe, commemorate, and celebrate certain events or occasions. The changing seasons of the year also provide us with recurring opportunities to celebrate the Christian Faith in worship. The Christian church, following earlier Jewish tradition, has long used the seasons of the year as an opportunity for festivals and holidays, sacred time set aside to worship God as the Lord of life.

Advent
Christmas
Epiphany
Lent
Easter
Pentecost
Ordinary Time (after Pentecost)
Files:
  • Lent - Ideas and resources for Lent.
  • Holy Week - Ideas and resources for Holy Week - Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
  • Good Friday - Resources for Stations of the Cross.
  • Epiphany - Ideas and resources for the season of Epiphany.
  • All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day - These two days (October 31st and November 1st) blend the secular and the holy, with roots from ancient times. Here are some ideas for celebrating these days from a faith perspective as well as background material.
  • Earth Day Resource 2009
  • Thanksgiving - Ideas and resources for exploring Thanksgiving at home and church.
  • Simple Christmas Pageant - This simple Christmas pageant, telling the story of the nativity, is easily enacted with children in a congregational setting for Advent IV or Christmas Eve.
Links:
  • Blessing of Animals - Many churches celebrate the Feast of St. Francis (October 6) with a Blessing of Animals. The Episcopal Diocese of Washington (DC) has a great site for liturgies, prayers and other theological resources regarding animals and pets.
  • What Would Judas Do? - Deidre Good, professor of New Testament at the General Theological Seminary discusses some of the theological issues raised by the rediscovery of the Gospel of Judas. Video courtesy of Trinity Television and New Media.
  • Good Friday Reflection - Good Friday brings us to our senses. Our senses come to us as we sense that in this life and in this death is our life and our death. The truth about the crucified Lord is the truth about ourselves. "Know yourself," the ancient philosophers admonish us, for in knowing yourself is the beginning of wisdom. To which the Psalmist responds, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." The beginning of wisdom is to come to our senses and know the fearful truth about ourselves, that we have wandered and wasted our days in a distant country far from home. We know ourselves most truly in knowing Christ, for in him is our true self. His cross is the way home to the waiting father. "If you would come to your senses," he says, "come, follow me." Richard John Neuhaus
  • Bono's Easter Reflection - An Op-Ed piece from the New York Times written by Bono (U2) entitled, "It's 2009, Do You Know Where Your Soul Is?"
  • Season of Creation - The four Sundays in September, just prior to the Feast of St. Francis, are now being celebrated as a Season of Creation. This website offers many ideas for liturgies, reflections and projects. Also see "Environment" in this bookcase for more environmental web links and resources.
  • St. Nicholas Center - St. Nicholas Center is a virtual center where people can learn about St. Nicholas; it provides resources for families, churches, and schools. If you ever wondered anything about the tradition of Santa Claus or how St. Nicholas is celebrated around the world, this is the website with all the answers and plenty of resources.