Horizons: Moderator Message

The liturgical colors of Christian churches are interesting.  We see them in the vestments hung from the two pulpits in our sanctuary. The colors can vary slightly in choice and when they are used among various denominations, but do have common threads.  My favorite color is green and not for liturgical reasons.  I just like it as long as it is deep green.  In the liturgical calendar it represents “ordinary times,” which I find to be a drab description of my favorite color.  But it is the color comprising the majority of the church year, from Pentecost all the way to Advent.  There is also a brief period of green between Epiphany and Lent.  Otherwise, the period starting with Advent and ending with Pentecost is the period with the most colorful changes.  It keeps the Deacons busy.  And speaking as a former Deacon, we don’t always get it right.  I saw white (left over from Christmas?) when we should have seen green after Epiphany.  Nonetheless, before realizing it might have been wrong, I thought it was symbolically appropriate for the 18″ of snow on the ground!  After Ash Wednesday, we’ll move from green to purple during Lent, then to white for Easter and briefly red during Pentecost before going back to green.  Some churches have a period called Triduum in the three days before Easter, often symbolized in black or the use of no color at all.  I hope you will enjoy our changing color wheel.