About the seasons of the church year…yeah, they’re different than the regular ones.
Advent (purple color) - the four Sundays before Christmas, including the days of those weeks. Advent is best considered a time of preparation for the coming of Christ into our lives. Some churches emphasize this and suggest putting off all Christmas like activities. Hard to do, probably, but it does teach the value of waiting for something worthwhile. Christmas: this season is short, just from Christmas Day until the Sunday closest to January 6, when the coming of the Wise Men is celebrated. The color is white. This is the real season of giving (think gifts of the Magi/Wise Men). More recently, people are thinking of the importance of sharing the gospel with strangers and foreigners. Epiphany: - which really means 'to show' or 'to reveal' is the season that follows Christmas. The emphasis is on Jesus' preparation for ministry, and his early ministry, including the calling of the disciples to follow him. Color is white. Lent: maybe the most well-known of the seasons (aside from Christmas), it too is considered a time of preparation, this time for the events of Holy Week, especially the Lord's Supper and the crucifixion. This season is the one in which people deliberately try to pay more attention to their spirituality. The color is purple, again. See this video: Lent in two minutes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=78&v=m3L3c23MfC0 Pentecost is the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit to Jesus' followers, helping them to begin the church, so we sometimes call it the birthday of the church. The color is red, and symbols of flames, doves, and wind are often used. Read the account of this event in Acts 2 in the New Testament. Ordinary Time Yes, this is a strange name. Kinda blah but really refers to regular growth in faith that our days and years give us. It fits that the color is green, and the longest of the liturgical seasons. Runs from May through November. |
Way to Live - Explore ways to live out the Christian faith, from faith and food to faith and friends. 18 teen and 18 adult authors offer up practical ways as well as the whys of Christian practices for teens at Way to Live - http://www.waytolive.org/
d365 - A popular online devotion with teens is d365 (daily devotional). Complete with music, Bible, and thoughtful writing, it becomes Following the Star during the pre-Christmas season, Advent. Subscribe and it comes to you each day. http://www.d365.org/todaysdevotion/ reJesus - From Britain, the UK, comes reJesus, a site especially for people with little or no experience of Christian faith or who need to take small steps on the journey. Interactive and connecting, you can follow a timeline of Jesus, practice Daily Prayer (check this great devotion out): http://www.rejesus.co.uk/site/module/daily_prayer/ or discover or rediscover some of the impact-producing sayings of Jesus. Full site: http://www.rejesus.co.uk/ t |