The Church Year

The church year at St. John's follows the calendar set forth by the ELCA. Major church seasons and special Sundays at St. John's are described below.

Church Seasons

Advent - Advent is a time of expectant waiting and anticipation for the celebration of Jesus' birth. This season begins the church year on the fourth Sunday before December 25th. At St. John's, the colors in the sanctuary are blue and the Advent season is one of peace, calm, and simplicity as we await the birth of Jesus. Following the last Sunday of Advent, the church prepares the sanctuary for Christmas. Some scholars claim that Martin Luther began the tradition of the Christmas tree in the 16th century, and ours is decorated with beautiful Chrismons that have been crafted over the years by St. John's members.

Christmas - We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God with white replacing blue in the sanctuary.
This season begins the evening of the 24th and lasts for 12 days. St. John's celebrates Christmas with a traditional candlelight Christmas Eve service; Sunday services are filled with the joyous sounds of Christmas carols and hymns.

Epiphany - Immediately following the 12 days of Christmas (January 6th) is the day of Epiphany, the revelation of Christ to all nations as represented by the magi who came to worship Jesus in Bethlehem. White marks the joy and light for the day of Epiphany, as well as the first week after Epiphany to celebrate Jesus' baptism, and the last week of Epiphany to celebrate the Transfiguration. Other weeks during the season are marked with green, which is reminiscent of living plants and suggests spiritual growth.

Lent - This is the time of preparation before the Easter celebration and starts on Ash Wednesday, lasting for 40 days (plus Sundays). These 40 days recall Jesus' time in the wilderness after his baptism and Moses' 40-day fast on Mount Sinai. It is a time of simplicity, penitence, and somberness. In past years, St. John's has hosted a joint Ash Wednesday service with our neighbor Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist churches, along with Mercy Church, a street ministry with which several of the congregations partner. The Triduum, or Three Holy Days, immediately follow Lent and are discussed elsewhere on this page.

Pentecost - In the church year, the day of Pentecost is the culmination of the 50 days of Easter celebration. After showing himself to the disciples and having ascended, Jesus' followers received the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. On the fiftieth day of Easter, our worship is filled with festivity, color, and movement as we conclude the Easter celebration and welcome anew the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Sundays after Pentecost make up the longest portion of the Church Year. This is the Time of the Church – where we focus on the life of Christ in his Church as he guides us to grow in faith toward God and in fervent love toward one another. The Sundays after Pentecost are decorated with the color green, the color of growing plants and life.

Special Days at St. John's

Rally Day - This is the start of a new year of teaching and learning at St. John's. It usually takes place on the Sunday after Labor Day. Rally Day is an essential part of the life and mission of the church. It is the time to recognize and honor those who teach and those who learn and all who nurture faith in others. Rally Day often kicks off with a pancake breakfast prepared and served by our youth and is followed by a service that celebrates the contributions of our youth, teachers, and parents to the life of the congregation.

Blessing of the Animals - Every year, on the Sunday closest to October 4, the day the church remembers St. Francis of Assisi, St. John's holds its Blessing of the Animals service. This service is a way for the congregation and many visitors to give thanks to God for the joy and love that pets bring to the lives of their owners. Pets are welcomed into the sanctuary to "participate" in the service and to receive a blessing.

Confirmation Sunday. St. John's provides a faith foundation for its 7th and 8th graders through confirmation instruction. Typically towards the end of the 8th grade school year, the confirmands publicly affirm their faith, receive the prayers of the congregation that the Holy Spirit will bless them, and are invited to assume roles of greater responsibility in the life of the church.

The Three Holy Days

In ancient days, the church baptized new Christians on one night of the year. It was a Christian version of the Jewish Passover, when new converts crossed through the baptismal waters from the slavery of sin into the freedom of life with Christ. Baptism occurred at sunrise, as new Christians faced the dark west and renounced the power of evil and then turned toward the east as the sun began to rise. As the sun rose, these new Christians confessed the faith of the church, an assembly created by the power of God’s word, saved by the child of God, Jesus, and gathered and sustained by his living presence. The night was so profound that it took the forty days of Lent to prepare for it and two days to approach the waters. It was not long before these days were associated with Jesus’ own journey from suffering and death into life.

There are two thousand years of influence that come to fruition on these three holy nights. It is, indeed, one service that lasts over three days.

Maundy Thursday - Lent comes to an end at this service, and the night’s liturgy contains the elements that define Christianity: the church announces that sins are forgiven for EVERYONE (Absolution); vulnerable, loving service is the core practice of the church’s identity (Foot Washing); money is collected to care for the poor (Alms Giving); and the church shares a meal that celebrates the living presence of Jesus among us (Holy Communion). This is the night that we enact ritually the command to love one another as He loved us. Many years, we have shared a meal on this night, although there are other years we have decided to fast from the meal as a way of standing in solidarity with the hungry. On this night we are at our best. To come to this service is to see the church enacted in beautiful form.

Good Friday - St. John's Members often join with members of Mercy Church for a walk through the neighborhood, praying at “stations” that matter to the homeless members of our neighborhood, and reading parts of the Passion story. Our time together coincides with the hours that Jesus hung on the cross. In the evening, we observe a Liturgy of Lament. The night’s liturgy tells the story of Jesus’ Passion so that we are able to bring our deepest sorrows and our most profound laments to God who transforms signs of death into signs of life. This is a night of sorrow and hope. Our liturgy is designed for us to identify with Christ who chooses to suffer for the sake of the world. The brutal violence of the crucifixion has been placed within the context of resurrection, which should always shape the prayer of the church, even on this sad day. We lay roses at the foot of the cross and end the service by bowing in adoration before the cross which saves us.

Easter Vigil - This service, the pinnacle of the church year, starts after dark in front of the sanctuary on the night before Easter.

KINDLING A NEW FIRE – a new beginning, a new journey from death into life. The light of Christ serves as our guiding light in life’s journey.

SERVICE OF THE WORD – Worshipers gather in the candelit sanctuary to share Old Testament stories of God's saving acts. Many of St. John’s members participate in telling these stories through word, song, dance, drama, and video.

SERVICE OF BAPTISM – We welcome baptismal candidates into the community through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, and we welcome new members into our church family through the Affirmation of Baptism. Any first graders who have completed communion instruction receive Bibles as a sign of the church’s commitment to “place within their hands the Holy Scriptures.” Weather permitting, this part of the service takes place in our courtyard. The congregation journeys around the front doors of the church where we pound on the "doors of the tomb" and enter into Christ’s resurrection.

SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION – As a sign of Christian community, we gather around the altar in a circle for the celebration of the Eucharist. This is a ritual sign of our “closeness” in Jesus' gift of embodied presence. For our final sung “Alleluia,” we move in step around the altar, entering into the dance with joy and laughter. We spread the food of the reception on the altar to show that there is no separation between the celebration of the Eucharist and the celebration of life. The living presence of Jesus makes every gathering holy, whether it is at the altar or at a party. Jesus is alive, and with us. Thanks be to God!

During the time of covid, we replace the large celebration with a Saturday morning vigil of another sort. The sanctuary is opened from 9 AM until noon, and people are encouraged to join us for as long as they wish to use provided materials to meditate on the passion and resurrection of Christ. Chants in the style of the French Taizé community are interspersed in this time of quiet reflection and candles may be lit as those worshiping gather around the altar.