The Christian Year

Advent: Beginning the Christian Year and including four Sundays before Christmas, this season is a time of preparation for the coming of Christ.

All Saints Day and All Saints Sunday: November 1 or the first Sunday in November. Many churches celebrate and remember all Christian saints.

Ascension Day: The day marking the ascension of Christ into heaven as witness by the apostles. It is observed on the fortieth day, the sixth Thursday, of Easter, and it may be celebrated on the seventh Sunday of Easter.

Christ the King: The Last Sunday after Pentecost is observed to lend special emphasis to the royal kingship of Christ.

Christmas Season: The season beginning with the anniversary of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on December 25 and continuing through Epiphany on January 6.

Easter: The resurrection of Christ, the greatest and oldest religious observation of the Christian church.

Easter Eve: The evening before Easter, occurring on Holy Saturday. The service on Easter Eve is considered the first service of Easter.

Epiphany: Celebrated on January 6, this day commemorates the coming of the Magi to visit the baby Jesus. The season after Epiphany is observed from the First Sunday After Epiphany until Ash Wednesday. The Last Sunday After Epiphany is also celebrated at the Transfiguration.

Good Friday: The Friday before Easter on which the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is observed.

Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday: The Thursday before Easter, commemorating the Last Supper, and the New Commandment to love one another. Some churches include “washing of the feet: in the Holy Thursday service.

Kingdomtide: Some United Methodists prefer to call the season after Pentecost Kingdomtide rather than Ordinary Time

Lent: This season begins with Ash Wednesday and concludes at sunset the day before Easter. It is a period of penitence in preparation for Easter.

Ordinary Time: The Sunday that stands between the two great christological cycles of Advent – Christmas-Epiphany and Lent – Easter-Pentecost. It refers to the periods of the church year that focus on the life, ministry, and teachings of Jesus, as well as the growth of the Church. The term “ordinary” comes from the word “ordinal,” meaning numbered or ordered Sundays. The shorter period of Ordinary Time is usually designated as Sunday After Epiphany and the longer period is designated Sundays After Pentecost.

Pentecost (Whitsunday): The observance of the coming of the Holy Spirit, fifty days after Easter. Some recognize this anniversary as the beginning of the Christian Church. The Season After Pentecost begins with the day after Pentecost and continues until Advent.

Tenebrae: Sometimes called “The Service of Shadows” or “Darkness.” A late night or early morning service that is an extended meditation on the passion of Christ. May be observed at the end of the Maundy Thursday service or on the evening of Good Friday as the beginning of a prayer vigil lasting through Saturday.

Transfiguration Sunday: The last Sunday before Lent marking Christ’s transfiguration on the mountain with Elijah and Moses.

Trinity Sunday: The First Sunday After Pentecost, on which the union of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit is celebrated.

Liturgical Color Guide

• Advent
  • • Purple or Blue
    • Signifies preparation, royalty, and anticipation.

• Christmas Season
  • • White or Gold
    • Signifies joy, purity, and the light of Christ.

• Epiphany (Day & Sunday)
  • • White or Gold
    • Signifies the manifestation of Christ’s glory.

• Ordinary Time (Season After Epiphany)
  • • Green
    • Signifies spiritual growth, life, and renewal.

• Transfiguration Sunday
  • • White or Gold
    • Signifies the divine light and majesty of Christ.

• Lent
  • • Purple
    • Signifies penitence, humility, and reflection.

• Good Friday
  • • None (Black or unlit/bare altar)
    • Signifies mourning and the death of Jesus.
  • Easter Season
    • • White or Gold
      • Signifies resurrection, victory, and celebration.

  • Pentecost Sunday
    • • Red
      • Signifies the Holy Spirit, fire, and the Church’s mission.

  • Ordinary Time (Season After Pentecost / Kingdomtide)
    • Green
    • Signifies ongoing growth, discipleship, and the kingdom of God.

  White is also used for other festive days, such as Communion Sunday, All Saints Day, weddings, services of baptism, and services of death and resurrection.

  Red is also used in evangelistic services, ordinations and consecrations, anniversaries and homecomings, Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Memorial Day, and during Holy Week, to symbolize the blood of Christ.

  United Methodist Special Days

  Six special Sundays are celebrated by UM’s with churchwide offerings:

  • Human Relations Day
    • • When: Observed on the Sunday before the national Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday (January).
      • Purpose: Supports neighborhood ministries, social justice outreach, community development, and programs for at-risk youth.

  • UMCOR Sunday (Formerly One Great Hour of Sharing)
    • When: Observed on the fourth Sunday in Lent.
    • Purpose: Funds the operational and administrative costs of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). This unique offering ensures that 100% of all other designated disaster-relief donations throughout the year go directly to victims of natural disasters and humanitarian crises.
  • Native American Ministries Sunday
    • • When: Observed on the third Sunday of Easter.
      • Purpose: Develops and strengthens Native American ministries within local annual conferences and funds scholarships for Native American seminarians. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

  • Peace with Justice Sunday
    • • When: Observed on the first Sunday after Pentecost.
      • Purpose: Financed through the General Board of Church and Society and local conferences to fund programs advocating for peace, reconciliation, and systemic social justice globally. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

  • World Communion Sunday
    • When: Observed on the first Sunday in October.
      • • Purpose: Provides scholarships for racial and ethnic minority students in the United States, as well as international students pursuing graduate and undergraduate degrees. [1, 2, 4, 5]
    • United Methodist Student Day
      • When: Observed on the last Sunday of November.
      • Purpose: Funds scholarships and low-interest student loans for United Methodist undergraduate and graduate students attending university

  Two special Sundays are celebrated without church-wide offerings:

  • Heritage Sunday: April 23 or the first Sunday following that date. The United Methodist Church was created on April 23, 1968, with the union of The Evangelical United Brethren Church and The Methodist Church.
  • Laity Sunday: Third Sunday in October

  Four special Sundays provide opportunities for annual conference offerings.

  • Christian Education Sunday
    • • Purpose: Supports local congregations, camps, and districts in creating educational ministries, Sunday school resources, and small-group curriculum to teach all ages about the Christian faith.

  • Golden Cross Sunday
    • • Purpose: Funds local health and welfare ministries, such as Methodist retirement homes, children’s homes, hospital chaplaincies, or free health clinics operating inside that specific annual conference.

  • Rural Life Sunday
    • Purpose: Celebrates the church’s rural heritage and directly supports town and country ministries, sustainable agriculture programs, and rural community outreach.
  • Disability Awareness Sunday
    • Purpose: Promotes inclusion within the church body and funds regional projects to make local church buildings and programming physically and spiritually accessible to individuals with disabilities

  Major Jewish Religious Observations

  Hanukkah (Chanukah): Festival of Lights. Celebrates the cleansing and rededication of the Temple in 164 B.C. after the successful rebellion of the Jews against the Seleucids in the Maccabean War.

  Passover: The Feast of Unleavened Bread. Celebration of the deliverance of the Jews from slavery in Egypt.

  Purim: The Feast of Lots. Celebrates Queen Esther’s saving her people during the exile in Persia. The book of Esther is read in the synagogue. Purim is a time for charity to the poor and sharing food.

  Rosh Hashanah: The Jewish New Year. A time of prayer and penitence sometimes called the Day of Remembrance or the Day of Blowing the Shofar. The story of Abraham’s obedience to God in his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac is read in the synagogue.

  Shavuot (Shabuoth): Festival of the Giving of the Law. Celebrates Moses’ returning from Mt. Sinai with the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments. While it celebrates the giving of the Law, Jewish tradition highlights that Moses didn’t successfully bring down the intact first tablets until later (Yom Kippur). Shavuot specifically commemorates God speaking the Ten Commandments aloud to the entire nation at Mt. Sinai.

  Sukkot (Sukkoth, Succoth): Feast of Booths. Commemorates the forty years in the desert after the escape from Egypt.

  Shemini Atzeret / Simchat Torah:  In Israel, these two holidays are celebrated on the exact same day, while in the Diaspora (outside of Israel), Shemini Atzeret is celebrated the eighth day of Sukkot and dedicated to the love of God. and Simchat Torah is celebrated the day following Shemini Atzeret that celebrates the public reading of the Torah.

  Yom Kippur: Day of Atonement. The holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Individuals acknowledge their transgressions and make atonement to God to obtain forgiveness.