What is the Liturgical Calendar? Not to be confused with All Saints’ calendar of events, the Liturgical Calendar (also known as the Christian Year or the Church Year)  is a global, historic way of ordering time according the the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

The Kingdom of God re-orders everything, even (perhaps especially) the way we view time. Rather than being first ordered by a predetermined series of dates, the Christian year is ordered by a Story, God’s story in Jesus Christ. The Christian Year follows an annual cycle as we actually live into Jesus’ story of hope and redemption.

Observing Advent— a season of preparation, repentance, and joyful expectation for the coming of Christ. Advent is a four week journey pointing us to the reality that Jesus came and is coming back again.

Observing Christmastide— celebrating Jesus’ Incarnation for us and for our salvation during the 12 Days of Christmas.

Observing Epiphany/Ordinary Time— a season that signals us to the revealing of Jesus as the Savior of the world, and to remind us of our continued mission to make him known among all the nations.

Observing Lent— Beginning with Ash Wednesday and climaxing in Holy Week, Lent is a 40 day season that beckons us to draw near to God through repentance.

Observing Easter— the center of our Story… where we celebrate the triumph of Jesus over sin and death. This is a season of feasting, joy, and new beginnings that lasts 50 days. It includes (on day 40) the Ascension of our Lord to the right hand of the Father.

Observing Pentecost Sunday— celebrating the sending of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church. Pentecost is the fiftieth and last day of the Easter season.

Observing Trinity Sunday/Ordinary Time— Beginning with Trinity Sunday, in which we are reminded and confess that the one true God is the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), this is the longest season of the church year and it invites us to be attentive to the call of discipleship.

Observing Saints’ Days and Feast Days— “Intertwined with the Lord’s story are the stories of those who are His. We think first of His apostles (each with his own day), who above all were the witnesses of His resurrection. We remember also His friends: His holy mother; St. John the Baptist; Mary, Martha, and Lazarus; Mary Magdalene; Joseph of Arimathea, and so many others. Nor oughts we forget His ancestors, the holy patriarchs, and the faithful of the Old Testament who waited in repentance and faith for His advent. Our calendar provides an opportunity to remember all of these so that we may contemplate God’s grace in their lives, see examples of faith for our own, and offer God hearty thanks. But there’s even more. Prom Pentecost down to this day, the Lord has continued to raise up in His Church those whose lives proclaim the triumph of His grace. As we remember this or that person from different centuries in our commemorations, we know we are recalling but the smallest piece of the marvelous story of God’s love for the human race that has unfolded in the Church. There are many more whose stories we won’t know until the light of eternity” (Celebrating the Saints, Pr. William Weedon).