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Holy Seasons
Life in the Christian community has been patterned and shaped by the regular marking of time with Jesus for more than a thousand years. The holy moments of the Scriptures are lived out in baptism and the Lord's Supper, to be sure, but Christian time is also lived out in the cycle of Jesus' birth, death and resurrection. Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost and Ordinary Time offer a sense of connection to the universal church and its liturgy, and a bit of traction for the Christian soul as it journeys with Jesus through a profound and timely celebration of his mission, message and method. Celebration of Jesus is the center of life at Wesley Church. All we do in mission and service springs from there.
Advent
Advent is the first period of the Christian liturgical cycle and is properly called a season. Always the four Sundays preceding Christmas Day, Advent is the time when Christians prepare their hearts and homes for the joyous Feast of Incarnation, when we celebrate that the Invisible God came into the world in the visible form of the Christ Child, Jesus. The lectionary readings for the season point to the Second Coming of Christ, when Christians believe that God will transform the world into the way that God intended it to be from the moment of Creation. Readings also recall the Church's infancy narratives of Jesus from the gospels according to Matthew and Luke. Advent at Wesley Church is an exciting time of preparing the church with lavish decorations, the blessing of decorations in an annual Hanging of the Greens service on the third Sunday and, on the fourth Sunday of Advent, we enjoy an annual service of lessons and carols.
Christmas
Christmas is the second period of the liturgical cycle and is properly called a season, as is Advent. Our three Christmas Eve services mark the transition between seasons. The late afternoon service is designed for families with children of all ages. The early evening service is a traditional order of candlelight, carols and Holy Communion with a blending of traditional and contemporary music. The late evening service is a traditional order of candlelight, carols and Holy Communion. There can be as many as two Sundays that follow on Christmas Day when we continue in the celebration of God's profound love offered in the birth of Jesus Christ. The season of Christmas ends on January 6, the Day of Epiphany, when Wise Ones from the east came to Jesus bearing the thanksgiving offerings of a joyous world that the Word had become flesh to offer a message of justice and peace. Christmas Eve Services, Wednesday, December 24: 4:00 p.m. For Children and Their Families 7:00 p.m. Contemporary Candlelight and Communion Service 10:00 p.m. Traditional Candlelight and Communion Service
Lent
Lent is the third period of the liturgical cycle and is properly called a season of 40 days (minus the Sundays) that extends from Ash Wednesday through the Holy Saturday before Easter Sunday. The season is a penitential one when Christians are asked to focus on the suffering of Christ in his Good Friday passion and to contemplate the ways in which our lives crucify Christ anew because of our sin toward God and our apathy toward our neighbors. The Sundays in Lent are a stark revelation of the forces of darkness that conspired to destroy the Light of World. We refrain from saying and singing Alleluia and Gloria during this time as a reminder that the story of Christ's death carries great significance for Christians. We gather for a sharing of the Lord's Supper and Foot Washing on Holy Thursday. On Good Friday we have a service of light and shadows and the Stations of the Cross. On Holy Saturday we have an Easter Eve Service to mark the end of Lent and the new joy of Easter that has come.
Easter
Easter, or the Feast of the Resurrection, is the fourth and last period of the liturgical cycle that is properly called a season. The season is 50 days in length and extends from Easter Sunday through the Day of Pentecost. On Easter Sunday, Wesley Church gathers for three morning services that celebrate the joyous time of transformation and renewal. Our various music groups prepare inspirational vocal and instrumental pieces to lead us in praise on a joyous day of celebration of new beginnings. On the 40th day of Easter, the Church celebrates the Ascension of Jesus to heaven. On the Day of Pentecost, the 50th day, Wesley Church welcomes new members and receives young adults through the Ritual of the Profession of Baptismal Grace (sometimes called Confirmation).
Ordinary Time
Ordinary Time is not a liturgical season, but rather a period of Sundays between the Day of Epiphany (January 6) and Ash Wednesday when the whole church reads the Biblical stories of the mission, message and miracles of Jesus.
Ordinary Time returns again from the Sunday after Easter until the Sunday before Advent. This time is marked so that we can order our lives around the life and ministry of Jesus and serve the world in his name. During this period Wesley Church celebrates World Communion Sunday in October and All Saints Sunday in November. We also prepare for the arrival of Advent and the start of a new liturgical year.