Church of the Apostles - For Parish Events

What we're doing for parish events

For descriptions of upcoming events and parish news, please browse the most recent issue of our monthly publication, The Epistle. Or, for a full calendar of all events scheduled for the 2008-2009 liturgical year, check out our Church of the Apostles Parish Calendar. (If you have not yet received a copy of the Parish Calendar in print and would like one, please let us know.)

Each new liturgical season brings with it a shift in the emphasis of our parish-wide events at Church of the Apostles. We aim to reflect the specific themes of a given season while also adopting the posture or atmosphere the season promotes. Below is a succinct list of what each season emphasizes and the posture we take during it.

Liturgical Season	Length	Season’s emphasis regarding God	Season’s emphasis regarding us	Our posture during this season
Advent	4 weeks	God is Light, King, and Judge.	Let us watch, prepare, and hope for his return.	Contemplation
Christmas	12 days	God dwells with mankind, shining light into darkness.	Let us rejoice as his children and show forth his light in our lives.	Celebration
Epiphany	5-10 weeks	God is freedom from sin for the whole world.	Let us faithfully answer the call to be and to make disciples.	Learning and Action
Lent (and Holy Week)	40 days (Sundays are not counted in the 40 days of Lent)	God is mercy and forgiveness, strength and nourishment.	Let us humbly repent and find in him victory over temptation and sin.	Contemplation
Easter	50 days	God is life, triumphant over death.	Let us partake of new life now and life eternal hereafter.	Celebration
Pentecost	24-29 weeks	God forever remains with and within his people, reaching through them to the ends of the earth.	Let us walk in love for the lost, for our neighbor, and for one another by the power of his Spirit, proclaiming the gospel in word and deed.	Learning and Action

We know how easy it is to overemphasize or neglect a particular component of the Christian faith. The constant rotation of the seasons guards us in this regard. By letting the seasons guide our calendar as a parish, we hope to grow into more whole disciples of Christ.