Worship
Ponchatoula First United Methodist Church
Early Worship Service - - - - - 8:30 AM
Sunday School - - - - - - - - 9:45 AM
Worship Service - - - - - - 10:45 AM
Liturgical Year of the First United
The worship
services of the
·
Advent - Purple, blue (love, truth) red (love);
·
Christmastide - White and gold (purity, joy, glory);
·
Epiphany - Green (hope, regeneration);
·
Lent Purple (sorrow, penitence)
·
Eastertide - White and gold (purity, innocence)
·
Pentecost - Red (power)
·
Kingdomtide - Green
(growth)
Advent
“And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph
also went up from Galilee, out of the city of
Advent
is the first season of the liturgical year and is a four-week period in which
the church looks forward to the birth and incarnation
of Jesus Christ. This season is observed for the four Sundays prior to
Christmas. The lighting of the Advent Wreath in our worship services and in our
homes is symbolic of our preparation for the Christmas season. The traditional
liturgical colors for this season are purple and/or blue. The trend of the
This
parament block pattern is called Roman Stripe. Mary and Joseph’s homeland
was ruled by King Herod who was an ally and friend of the Roman Emperor Caesar
Augustus. Caesar Augustus decreed that all the world
should be taxed, Mary and Joseph traveled to
Christmastide
“Today in the town of
he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11
Christmastide is a joyous liturgical season. It is a season most dear to
Christian hearts. It is the celebration of the birth of
Christ and God's coming among us as a human being. The Christmas season begins
on Christmas Eve and ends on January 5, the eve of Epiphany on January 6. The
traditional liturgical color for this season is white or white and gold.
The early Church selected December
25, the date of the winter solstice when God the Creator gives the sun an
increase of natural light in northern hemispheres, as the day on which to
celebrate the birth of the Jesus, the Light of the world. Jesus was born in
(The paraments for Christmastide are
still being designed and sewn. Check
back for pictures.)
Epiphany (January 6)
“Now when Jesus was born in
there came wise men from the east to
The term epiphany
means "to show" or "to make known" or even "to
reveal." In Western churches, it remembers the coming of the wise men
bringing gifts to visit the Christ child, who by so doing "reveal"
Jesus to the world as Lord and King. The colors of Epiphany are usually the same
colors of Christmas, white and gold, the colors of celebration, newness, and
hope that mark the most sacred days of the church year. Epiphany is
the climax of the Christmas Season and the Twelve Days of
Christmas, which are usually counted from December 25th until
January 5th. Epiphany colors extend to
January 8 to celebrate the baptism of the Lord.
Ordinary Time
“To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness”
Ecclesiastes 2:26
Following the Christmas season beginning on the third
Sunday after Epiphany, there is a period of Sundays in which no special
festival or occasion is being observed. Liturgically, this is known as Ordinary
Time. "Ordinary" comes from the same root as our word
"ordinal", and in this sense means "the counted weeks." It is a time
of renewal, rebirth, and regeneration of our spiritual lives. There are two Ordinary
Time periods in the liturgical year, the weeks after Epiphany and Kingdomtide,
the weeks after Pentecost. Ordinary Time lasts until Ash Wednesday (the
beginning of Lent).
These quilted paraments are made using a quilt block well-known to
quilters – the log cabin.
Traditionally, the center square of the log cabin is red symbolic of
hearth, home, and heart. Gold is used as
the center of this log cabin variation signifying that Christ the King is the
center of our homes and our lives. The center painting of bread and grapes are
symbolic of the body of Christ and the Holy Communion we partake on the first
Sunday of each month. The traditional liturgical color for
this season is green. (Picture will be uploaded soon.)
Lent
“The devil led him to
Luke 4:9
The liturgical season of Lent lasts for 40 weekdays in
remembrance of the 40 days and nights that Christ spent fasting in the desert,
tempted by Satan. The beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday, is therefore dependent on the date of Easter.
(Counting Ash Wednesday as number one, and skipping all Sundays, you will end
up on Holy Saturday as number 40.) Lent is a time of penance, so that the
faithful may share in the joys of Easter Sunday with purity of heart.
Easter
celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ,
while Lent is a time of preparation for Holy
Week. Holy Week recalls the events preceding and during the crucifixion,
which occurred in Jerusalem in the Roman
province Judea.
The
color for the liturgical season of Lent is purple. (The paraments for Lent are in the process of
being designed and sewn. Check back for
photos.)
EASTER
“He is not
here: for he is risen.”
Matthew 28:6
Easter is a 50-day season consisting of seven Sundays,
beginning with Easter Sunday, marking Jesus’ resurrection, and ending
with Pentecost, the birth of the church through the gift of the Holy Spirit to
Christians. The focus of this season is
the hope of new life that we have now that God has defeated the power of sin
and death through the resurrection of Jesus.
The traditional liturgical colors of this season are white and/or gold.
The quilted parament on the altar table
is gold to signify the deity and royalty of Christ. It is placed on a white table linen. The center symbol is the Chi Rho, the
earliest monogram of Christ. It consists
of the first two Greek letters of the word Christ, Chi (X) and
The Chi Rho is flanked on either side by
four triangles. The triangle is the
Christian symbol for the Trinity -
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Pentecost
“At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.”
Matthew
3:16
Pentecost, occurring the 50th day after Jesus’
resurrection, is the Church's celebration of the gift of the Holy Spirit. John's Gospel
(20:19-23) tells of a visit of
the Risen Christ to the disciples huddled in fear. "Peace be with you," Jesus says. "As the Father sent me,
so I am sending you." After saying this, Jesus breathed on them and added,
"Receive the Holy Spirit." They – and we, in turn - received
the breath, the life of Jesus himself. We are God-breathed and Pentecost
celebrates that reality. Many, in fact,
think of Pentecost as the "birth day" of the Church, because it was
on that day that we received the gift that has made it all possible. We celebrate the season of Pentecost longer
than is traditional – from the 50th day of Easter until the
Labor Day Sunday, when Kingdomtide season begins.
The liturgical color for
Pentecost is red symbolizing the blood of Jesus and the fire of the Holy
Spirit. The quilted cloths on the altar
table are two symbols of Christianity – the Cross where he died and the Star,
which heralded his birth. The cloth on
the Bible stand depicts the familiar dove descending from Heaven and the
tongues of flames which accompanied the receiving of the Holy Spirit.
Kingdomtide
“For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of
mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place;
and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Matthew 17:20
In our church we celebrate Kingdomtide beginning on Labor Day Sunday
until the beginning of Advent, which is the Sunday closest to November 30th. Because Pentecost is traditionally so short
(one Sunday), and Kingdomtide is so long, we prefer to stay in the season of
Pentecost (red) until Labor Day Sunday, giving more time to emphasize the work
and ministry of the Holy Spirit and to enjoy the spiritual lift from the
liturgical color red for a few more weeks.
Kingdomtide is a period of
time when we as Christians share our faith with others, when we renew and
reaffirm our own faith, and do the Lord’s work in our church, community,
and our homes under the power bestowed by the descent of the Holy Spirit, which
lives in us.
The quilted paraments on the altar table and pulpit reflect the many
colors of green symbolic of this liturgical season. Green symbolizes new growth, hope and
regeneration. The pattern on the altar
table cloth is called “The Eye of God,” a familiar Christian symbol
reminding us that God can see into our minds and hearts. (Referenced from “United
Methodist Altars – A Guide for the
On the pulpit parament is
the familiar Celtic Cross — a cross placed atop a circle which
symbolizes eternity and emphasizing the endlessness of God’s love as
shown through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
---Donna Mollere, Worship Committee Chair