We specialize in hard to find items
All Categories
Welcome to the Church Year: An Introduction to the Seasons of the Episcopal Church
Share Tweet
*Price and Stocks may change without prior notice
*Packaging of actual item may differ from photo shown
- Electrical items MAY be 110 volts.
- 7 Day Return Policy
- All products are genuine and original
About Welcome To The Church Year: An Introduction To The
Product Description From birthday cakes and anniversary dinners to summer vacations at the beach, each family has its own ways of marking the days and seasons of its life. For the Christian family―especially Episcopalians―it’s no different. With an array of colors and an assortment of rich traditions, Episcopalians move through the Church year, marking the days and seasons that tell the story of Christ in our lives―in history and today. This book―written for newcomers to the Episcopal Church as well as lifelong members―takes readers by the hand and leads them through the Church year, from the first Sunday of Advent through the last Sunday of Pentecost, answering questions like “Why do we use purple in Lent?” and “What does Maundy Thursday mean?” In an easy-to-read conversational style, Welcome to the Church Year introduces readers to the traditions of the Church seasons and explains why we do what we do. But it does more than offer interesting trivia about church vestments and pageantry. Its insights can help readers participate in the liturgies of the Church year in a deeper, more meaningful way. About the Author Vicki K. Black is a writer, editor, and book designer. She is the author of Welcome to the Bible, Welcome to the Book of Common Prayer, and Welcome to the Church Year, three popular church titles all published by Morehouse. She and her family live in Maine. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Welcome to the Church Year An Introduction to the Seasons of the Episcopal ChurchBy Vicki K. Black Church Publishing IncorporatedCopyright © 2004 Vicki Black All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8192-1966-4 Contents Chapter One Welcome to the Church Year When our son Benjamin was about four years old, he was given a Spirograph set at a birthday party. I was delighted to know they still made Spirographs after all these years. I still remember the hours I spent as a child, pen clutched tightly in hand, tracing the swirls and ellipses and spirals made with the various sets of plastic wheels turning around and around inside other wheels. Now Benjamin, too, is watching the amazing patterns that emerge as he circles the wheels over and over on the paper. The key is the number of repetitions: the more times he goes round the wheel, the more intricate and three-dimensional the picture he creates. The same is true of the church year. Every year we cycle through the seasons from Advent through the Season after Pentecost, and with every repetition their meaning becomes more textured—richer, deeper, more subtle and complex. Sometimes a particular season will stand out for us in a given year and its message will take on fresh significance, while we will speed through another almost without noticing its passing. The repetition is the key to their gift of grace in our lives. Like the Spirograph's layers of single ellipses combining to form intricate spirals, the cycle of the repeating and overlapping cycles of the feasts and fasts of the church year create patterns of meaning in our lives, giving shape and direction to the events that mark our days. Repeating the cycle of the seasons makes us aware of the passing of time. Most of us have had this experience with family holidays, or occasions such as high school or college reunions. As we decorate the Christmas tree or open gifts, we notice how our children have grown; as we gather around the Thanksgiving table, we are aware that our aging parents or grandparents—and we ourselves—have changed during the previous year. We are also reminded of who we are, as we gather with family and friends and mark traditions that are part of our identity within the larger community. If the year has had difficult moments, we are perhaps a bit wiser and more sober than the year before, and also more aware of our dependence on God's merciful grace. If the year has been filled with joyful occasions and gifts of new life, we may find gratitude welling up as we sing familiar songs or tell
