The Church Year begins at the end of November with Advent. Advent means “coming” and is a quiet time of preparation and mediation on the coming of our Lord. In this four week season, we prepare for the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the world by recounting His first coming at Christmas.

For twelve days we celebrate God becoming man and being born of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Epiphany is a Greek word meaning “appearing.” Whereas Christmas celebrates that God is man, Epiphany flips it to celebrate that this man is God. It begins on January 6^th with the visit of the Magi. Throughout this season we see Jesus revealing Himself as God by His miracles and teachings. The length of Epiphany depends on the date of Easter.

Lent is a time of humble and solemn meditation on the severity of our sins. We acknowledge that we have not lived according to God’s commandments. We deserve physical death and eternal punishment in hell. But Christ stepped into our place. He lived a perfect life for us, carried our sins, and bore the crushing burden of God’s Law for us. We confess that we are not worthy of this love. Lent is six weeks long.

Ash Wednesday:
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. Ashes are a sign of deep sorrow and humility. They remind us that we are mortal and will return to dust because we have sinned. But formed in the shape of a cross, they remind us that Christ took our sins and suffered our death so that we might have His life.

Holy Week:
Holy Week is the culmination of Lent and includes the following:

Holy or Maundy (command) Thursday:
On this night our Lord instituted the Sacrament of Holy Communion. This is also the night of our Lord’s betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane by Judas Iscariot.

Good or Holy Friday:
For six hours our Lord hung on the cross paying for our sins, suffering the wrath of God in our place, and dying our death. This is a good day because on this day our salvation was won.

The sorrow of Lent and darkness of Good Friday is replaced by the triumph and joy of Easter. It is on this day that our Lord rose from the dead declaring His victory over sin, death, and Satan. This is the most holy day in the Church Year. The Easter season extends for seven weeks.

Ascension:
Ascension is forty days after Easter and celebrates the completion of Jesus’ earthly ministry and His glorious return to the Father to sit at God's right hand where He rule all things for the benefit of His Church on earth.

The Feast of Pentecost is fifty days after Easter and ten days after Jesus’ Ascension. Christ poured out His Holy Spirit upon His church.

Trinity
The Sunday following the Feast of Pentecost, the church pauses to confess the Triune God who has worked our salvation.

Sundays of Pentecost
During this season we rejoice that Christ still pours out His Spirit upon His church in Word and Sacraments so we might share in Christ's death and resurrection through faith. The Sundays of Pentecost cover the rest of the Church Year.