Disciples Liturgical Calendar Traditions
There is a seasonal rhythm to the church year patterned after the life of Jesus Christ. The birth, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ are celebrated at assigned periods on the calendar by most religious bodies in Christianity. Known as holy days or holy seasons, these appointed periods enrich the believers' participation in worship and enhance the understanding of Christ's centrality to the Christian faith.
Recognition of holy days has a limited tradition among Disciples. In recent years, an increasing number of pulpits and pastors have become adorned with colored paraments and vestments to mark the arrival and passage of each holy season. Those congregations that formally celebrate the orderly progression of the Lord's life in the church year choose from among the five seasons as described in the annual planning guide of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
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Advent-Christmas
(November-January)
Advent, meaning "coming," begins four
weeks before Christmas and anticipates Bethlehem and the consummation
of the promise. Christmas an
d the eleven days
that follow celebrate the birth of Jesus, showing in human form
God's love for all humanity.
Central opens the Advent season with a "hanging the Greens" service in which members decorate the sanctuary and prepare themselves for the coming of the Christ child. Central celebrates Christmas with a special candle light service on Christmas Eve.
Liturgical colors: violet for Advent, symbolizing royalty and penitence, then white from Christmas Eve on.
Epiphany
(January-March)
Epiphany means "appearing," and recalls the visit of the Magi as well as Jesus' baptism. The season heralds the unveiling of God's gift to humankind.
Liturgical color: white, symbolizing purity, joy, and the light of truth.
Lent (March-April)
The Lenten season,
beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting forty weekdays up to Easter,
is a time of repentance and self-examination. Lent, originally
meaning "spring," is a period for church members to
reflect and act on renewal, rebirth, and reconciliation with
God's will.
At Central, we have a special self-guided meditation worship service in the late afternoon. Come and read the scriptures, pray, meditate and confess your sins before taking communion.
Liturgical colors: violet symbolizing royalty and penitence; red or black, only on Good Friday, symbolizing blood and darkness.
Click here to view the Banners of Lent 1999
Eastertide
(April-June)
This season begins with Easter and continues for seven weeks until Pentecost. It brings hope and rejoicing, along with a sense of responsibility to help alleviate injustice, exploitation, and the denial of human dignity.
Central has a Maundy Thursday worship service, which is a somber moment of awareness of the suffering and sacrifice of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. Easter is a joyous celebration worship service of the resurrection, Jesus' triumph over death.
Liturgical color: white, symbolizing purity, joy, and the light of truth.
Pentecost
(June-November)
The Day of Pentecost concludes the Easter celebration. The church's birthday is commemorated fifty days after Easter, remembering the descent of the Holy Spirit on the new believers and the apostles in Jerusalem.
Liturgical color: green, symbolizing the life of the earth, nature, and hope.
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Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
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