Vestments and symbols

The Christian year has two parts, divided roughly in half into semesters or half-years:

• The Semester of Christ from Advent through Easter (winter and spring).

• The Semester of the Church from Pentecost through the Last Sunday of the Church Year (summer and fall).

In those semesters or half-years there are smaller seasons:

• The Semester of Christ has Advent when we focus on Christ’s coming, Christmas when we celebrate His birth, Epiphany when we hear of His revealing to the whole world, Lent when we prepare for His suffering and death, and Easter when we rejoice in His resurrection from the dead.

• The Semester of the Church has Pentecost when we hear of the Holy Spirit’s coming to the church for the world’s sake and Trinity when we learn how to grow in the life of Christ.

Each season has its own color that goes with its focus:

• Advent is blue for the hope of Christ’s coming;

• Christmas is white for Christ’s purity and beauty;

• Epiphany is green for our growth in knowledge of His revelation;

• Lent is purple for repentance and sadness over sin;

• Easter is white for Christ’s victory over death;

• Pentecost is red for the fire of God’s Spirit;

• Trinity is green for continued growth in the life of God.

There are special days throughout the year with their own colors such as Ascension and Reformation and others, the color of the day always linking it to some other day with similar colors, similar readings, similar themes.

The church and her ministers are dressed along with those seasons. The different pieces of furniture and the pastors will be covered in the colors of the day or the season, so that the whole focus for that day is on Christ and His Word, not on how nice the minister’s suit looks or whether his jeans are too tight.

The church’s coverings (called “paraments”) and the ministers’ clothing (called “vestments”) also have symbols on them that go with that season or day. You will find images of Christ’s birth on the banners on the back wall of the church (the “chancel wall”) at Christmas and symbols of resurrection such as a butterfly at Easter.

At every service our church is overlooked and blessed with the image of Christ crucified on our chancel wall. This reminds us of our sin and still more of Christ’s love that He would die for us, taking away the sin of the world. The crucifix puts in front of our eyes what Paul said he put in front of his churches’ eyes, “I resolved to know nothing among you except Christ and Him crucified.” All the church’s art helps us to hear the gospel more clearly and to know the Bible better.