Church Matters: Retrieving the Great Tradition

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Appendix 41 A Cultural Calendar Robert Webber, The Services of the Christian Year (18), Nashville: Star Song Pub. Group, 1994.

Most independent Christian churches, to be sure, follow a yearly calendar – the secular calendar of the culture around them. Many, and probably most, of the churches regularly acknowledge Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Graduation Sunday, Indepen dence Day, and sometimes even Boy Scout Sunday and other secular occasions. The motivation is evangelism, not worship. Recognition of such days in worship services, it is thought, creates a point of contact with the unchurched people of the community, while the Christian calendar would not, since it is largely unknown to the com munity. An evangelistic sermon can then be tied into a secular event. Sermon series sometimes serve as the organizing principle for the year, rather than the secular calendar. Preachers may give topical or expository series of messages or perhaps dedicate a month to a theme – “Stewardship Month” or “Family Month,” for example. Nearly all of the churches will dedicate at least two weeks to Christmas. However, Christmas is acknowledged not because it is part of the church year, but because of its observance as a holiday in the wider culture. Some of the churches might use the term Advent, display a simple wreath, and have some readings. Other seasonal events might include the performance of a cantata, a Sunday School program with the children, or a candlelight Communion service on Christmas Eve. But on the Sunday after Christmas, the service will invariably focus on resolutions and goal setting, thus connecting with the New Year holiday rather than following the traditional church calendar. The majority of Christian churches also celebrate Easter and Holy Week (although most avoid that term). Easter sunrise services are common, as are Good Friday or Maundy Thursday Communion services. But the structuring of the services is entirely up to the individual congregation, and books or other sources are seldom consulted. A few churches recognize Pentecost Sunday occasionally, but virtually none observe other church days such as Reformation Sunday.