Lutheran Church of Reconciliation

An Extra – Ordinary Season

News from the Worship Department

The Ordinary Time of the church year has come upon us. Since last November, we’ve journeyed through Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and a brief one Sunday Pentecost, to now find ourselves at Ordinary Time (also known as “after-Pentecost season). It’s the longest part of our year- long journey, 26 weeks to be exact. Unlike the other parts of the church that focuses on specific events in Jesus’ life (i.e. Christmas – birth; Lent – Jesus’ crucifixion and death; Easter – Jesus’ resurrection) the Ordinary Time focuses on Jesus’ teachings, his ministry of healing and miracles, and the development of faith in his disciples and followers. The color of the season is green that reminds us of growth – the growth of faith, the growth of Jesus’ ministry and the Kingdom of God.

Why Ordinary?

Ordinary Time is called “ordinary” not because it is commonplace or normal, but simply because the weeks of Ordinary Time are numbered. ( i.e. The 2nd, 12th, or 19th Sunday after Pentecost) The Latin word ordinalis, which refers to numbers in a series, stems from the Latin word ordo, from which we get the English word order. Thus, the numbered weeks of Ordinary Time, in fact, represent the ordered life of the Church and Jesus’ ministry.

How do we celebrate Ordinary Time at LCOR?

This is the question the Liturgical Arts Team began to ponder last March. Having completed our Lent paraments, we wondered how we might express basic themes and ideas to make our celebration extra- ordinary! Looking at some key scriptures, several ideas began to emerge: growing faith and the Biblical motif of “The Tree of Life.”

Key scriptures we looked at:

Mark 4: 31-32 “(The Kingdom of God) … is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

Psalm 1:3 (Discipleship) “They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.”

Revelation 22:1-2 (Tree of Life) “Then the angel showed me that river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”

After praying, discussing, studying, and drawing through several months of meetings, a plan became clear. Sketched on a piece of paper, the Liturgical Art Team started to work on a new set of banners, an altar cloth and matching cloth for the Lectern. The new Ordinary Time paraments are extra-ordinary. Not only are they creative, wonderfully designed and sewn, but they will remind us of the basic point of our Christian journey – growth. It is the prayer of our Liturgical Art Team that our new paraments might inspire, encourage and move us to invest in the growth of our love for God and his people. Look for their debut on Sunday, June 6th.

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