The Teaching Corner

You may have noticed that not much changes in the liturgical colors for the sanctuary from shortly after Pentecost until well into the fall.  This long season of the church calendar lasts almost half a year from the Sunday after Pentecost (usually sometime in the late Spring) all the way to the Sunday before Advent (usually right around Thanksgiving).  This season is typically referred to as the Season After Pentecost or sometimes as Ordinary Time.  (Contrary to the way it sounds, “Ordinary Time” does not mean non-special time but rather comes from the word “ordinal” meaning ordered or numbered, and refers to the way we name Sundays during this season:  the “5th Sunday after Pentecost,” the “6th Sunday after Pentecost,” and so on.)  Though these unfortunate sounding names make the season seem like more of an after thought, it is actually a very important season of the church year.  This is the time of the church.  During the cycles of Christmas (which includes Advent) and Easter (which includes Lent) our primary focus is on the life and person of Jesus.  During this season after Pentecost, we are not any less focused on Jesus, but our focus is often more on living out our faith.  Scripture readings in this season cover a variety of topics as come to a greater understanding of what following Jesus means.  This season is all about life and growth.  Therefore the color of our paraments and vestments this season is green, the color of growing plants, to remind us of the life and growth we find in following Christ.