Today’s post is an excerpt from the Worship FAQ “How do congregations recognize secular occasions and holidays in the liturgy?” The complete FAQ is available here.

A General Approach to Holidays

Lutheran worship ordinarily focuses on an ecumenically shared pattern of scripture readings (a lectionary) and prayer that is shaped according to seasons and days of the church year. This means that occasions of a secular origin will not ordinarily dominate the primary weekly services of a congregation. Yet there are many ways in which secular occasions may be acknowledged in the liturgy without their becoming the exclusive focus of the day. Oftentimes a secular occasion may provide an opportunity for preachers to illustrate how faith is active in the midst of our daily routines and commitments. Such occasions may also be opportunities to extend a congregation’s ministry of prayer.

Incorporating Secular Concerns into the Prayers

People who are responsible for leading prayers of the congregation (oftentimes a lay assisting minister, or perhaps a pastor), rightly prepare for that task by looking not only to the scripture readings that will be used at a given service, but also to calendars that list secular holidays as well as special community observances. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, high school graduations, and national holidays (Memorial Day, Independence Day, Veteran’s Day) are all examples of occasions that can be reflected in the congregation’s prayer petitions. Here is where the liturgy readily provides a natural opportunity for these occasions to be recognized, without them necessarily becoming the focus for an entire service.

While worship leaders may be eager to celebrate those occasions that have wide acceptance within the larger culture, they will also want to take care that these occasions are not used to divide the worshiping assembly inappropriately. Not everyone at worship on a given day will be part of the group that is recognized. It’s not just fathers who worship on Father’s Day (there may in fact be quite a number of men in attendance who are not fathers). Not all worshipers at services close to Independence Day will share a similar patriotic enthusiasm, though prayers for the country and for careful exercise of freedom will certainly be appropriate. Worship leaders who are sensitive to the fact that some worshipers will expect to have their favorite occasions honored, while other worshipers may be uncomfortable at these times, will help both types of people by acknowledging the occasion in modest ways, yet without departing from the church’s own liturgy and calendar at these times.

Recognizing Groups within the Assembly

While mention in the prayers of the church is a significant way to include a variety of occasions and secular holidays, there may be other ways to honor people within the assembly. Some congregations may present special gifts to people on various occasions (perhaps flowers for mothers on Mother’s Day, or a book for graduates), an action that is probably best handled quite simply before the service as people gather, or during a time of fellowship that follows the service. In this manner undue attention is not placed on those who do not represent certain cultural norms (for example, women who have never been mothers or whose children have died, or those who have not graduated from school). If mention is made of these days in preaching or otherwise, it will be helpful to note that people live out their vocations as parents, students, veterans, etc, in various faithful ways.

Resources

Primary worship resources of the church suggest a number of occasions for which readings and prayers might be included to recognize various secular holidays and other events in people’s lives (see in particular the list of occasions in Evangelical Lutheran Worship, pp. 61-63; and the many different occasions for prayer given in Evangelical Lutheran Worship: Occasional Services for the Assembly and Evangelical Lutheran Worship: Pastoral Care (such as prayers/readings at the birth of a child, adoption, vocation in daily life, birthday, separation or divorce and blessing for a home).

Today’s blog post is taken from the Worship FAQ What is the Meaning and Use of Liturgical Colors?. For more resources, follow the link to the original FAQ.

In the Christian tradition, colors are used for vestments and paraments, but a unified system of colors developed only gradually and haphazardly until and through the Middle Ages. Today, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America provides a system of colors for use by its congregations; for the most part, the same system is also used by Roman and Anglican churches, at least in the United States; and by many churches around the world, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

Many of the colors associated with the seasons are closely linked with the experience of Christians in the Northern hemisphere. Christians in the Southern hemisphere will experience the church year differently in that context, perhaps calling forth different color associations. It is also helpful to realize that colors have different associations across the globe, just as they have had different associations over the course of the church’s history. For example, white is the color North American and European Christians typically associate with Christmas and Easter, the color white signifying the purity of Christ, light or joy. In many Eastern cultures, however, white connotes mourning. Red, associated with energy, blood or fire among other things in Western culture, is the color associated with purity in India.

The colors serve to adorn the worship space, and to call attention to the nature of the season or festival being celebrated.

A brief summary of color usage, according to the church year:

Advent: Blue is associated with Advent, suggesting hope. This association originated in Scandinavia, probably because purple dye was too expensive for churches to use. Some assemblies use purple in Advent, a color associated with royalty as the church awaits the newborn king. (note, this is a different meaning than when it is used in Lent; see below).

Christmas: White, calling to mind the purity of the newborn Christ, and to our light and joy in him. Some also use Gold.

Epiphany of Our Lord: White (see Christmas).

Baptism of Our Lord: White (see Christmas).

Time after Epiphany: Green is used for its symbolism of our growth in Christ. Green, in a sense, is a “neutral color,” used when more festive or more somber color is not appointed.

Transfiguration of Our Lord: White (see Christmas).

Ash Wednesday: Purple is the preferred color as this is the first day of Lent. Historically, black has also been used on this day, since it is the color of the ashes to which we will all return.

Lent: Purple is typically associated with Lent, suggesting repentance and solemnity.

Sunday of the Passion: Scarlet is the preferred color of this first day of Holy Week, as it suggests the deep color of blood. (Scarlet is to be distinguished from the brighter color of red, which is appointed for the Day of Pentecost, martyrs’ days, and certain church celebrations). If a parish does not have scarlet vestments, purple may be used.

Days of Holy Week: Scarlet or purple may be used for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week.

Maundy Thursday: For this fourth day of Holy Week, celebrated as the institution of the Lord’s Supper, scarlet or white is used.

Good Friday: No vestments or paraments are used on this day, after the stripping of the altar on Maundy Thursday night.

Vigil of Easter: White or Gold suggests of joy in the Resurrection is used on this night. Easter Day: Gold or white is suggested for this day. The gold color symbolizes that this day is the “queen of feasts,” unique in the entire church year.

Sundays of Easter: White suggests the joy of the resurrection.

Day of Pentecost: Red as the color of fire is used on this day when we remember the tongues of fire descended on the crowd in Jerusalem. In contrast to the color of scarlet, Pentecost’s red is a bright color.

The Holy Trinity: White is suggested, the expression of joy in the mystery of the Triune God.

Time after Pentecost: Green is used, to indicate our growth in faith as we follow the teachings and ministry of Christ. Some assemblies use differing shades of green throughout the Sundays after Pentecost, a lighter green in summer and a darker green in fall.

Christ the King: The final day of the church year uses white, a festive color suggesting light, joy, and the celebration of our Lord.

Lesser festivals and commemorations are white, unless a martyr is celebrated, in which case bright red is suggested.

Worship Care is an opportunity for pastors, musicians and anyone who leads worship to check-in with one another about the worship lives of their congregations. It’s that simple. The material may be easily adapted for use in a congregational setting with all lay leaders of worship (ushers, musicians, assisting ministers, altar guild, and so forth).

1. To care for, pray for and support one another as worship leaders;
2. To provide tools, in a spirit of mutuality (not competition or condescension), to reflect on the worship life of the congregation(s); and
3. To connect our contextual liturgical lives with outreach and mission.