The church follows a special calendar that celebrates God's love for each of us. Join us anytime to enjoy this seasonal focus. We echo the calendar in our worship materials, music and colours ...
Pentecost - We remember the coming of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit who inspires and guides us all as we work to spread the news of God's love and practice the presence of God in our community. We use red as our liturgical colour on this day (as we mark many special feasts in the church year). You may also note some festive balloons -- Pentecost also marks the "birthday" of the church. It's not always about balloons, but it signals the conclusion of the great Easter season and our work of showing our love of God in all our community. As we continue our learning and reflection over the coming weeks and months, our liturgical colour will be green. Consider the green of our gardens, reminding us of the growth possible in each of us.
Season of Creation - This purposeful focus on a theme calls us to “deepen our relationship with the Creator, each other, and all creation, ” as faith leaders from many communities and denominations stated together. At St. Matthias, we take advantage of opportunities: if the weather permits, we worship outdoors. We remember St. Francis of Assisi and his love for all creatures, so we invite our pets to join us for a blessing, typically on the Sunday closest to October 4th. In 2023, the season ran from September 1 - October 4 and the theme is "Let Justice and Peace Flow! For more information, click on this link: https://seasonofcreation.org/2023/03/03/we-are-launching-season-of-creation-2023-let-justice-and-peace-flow/
Advent - The new year in the church begins four weeks before Christmas. The term advent means "coming" and we are invited to reflect on the power and wonder of God's love for each of us. Traditionally, we focus our themes (one for each week in the Western tradition) on hope, peace, love and joy. The Celtic tradition bids us emphasize Advent, and so embraces the 40 days before Christmas, in order to focus on the need for reflection and preparation. Enjoy our Advent wreath. Follow the season as each week we light the candles of blue and rose, using the liturgical colour of blue as our main theme. For us, the anticipation of Christmas is a time to remember the generosity and promise God makes to us.
Christmas and Epiphany - We commemorate the birth of Christ and remember the light given to the world. We're so excited, the Christmas season lasts for several weeks! Our celebration is real, joyful -- but different from commercial events. Epiphany (traditionally: January 6th) is also known as Three Kings Day. It represents the broadening of the message to include all the world. It reminds us that the fundamental message of God's love knows no boundaries of specific creed, doctrine, orientation.
Lent - This is a season of preparation, as we journey toward the great feast of Easter. The liturgical colour shifts to purple, and the special musical and worship focus that leads us to reflect and consider ... Palm Sunday begins the period of intense preparation, and we mark the week with Maundy Thursday (remembering the Last Supper Jesus shared with his friends) and Good Friday (remembering Jesus' suffering and death on the Cross). Join us to begin the week on Palm Sunday, when the liturgical colour is red and the mood is both joyful and reflective. We typically have a procession (sometimes around the church, sometimes outdoors), when we sing as we wave our palm fronds and palm crosses to remember Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.
We invite you to enjoy the lovely image that evokes the Lenten call to reflection and preparation. It was created by Pyx Sutherland, one of the artists featured during the first year of The Chapel Gallery. She has graciously allowed us to use the image.
Easter - The day of Resurrection, when the salvation story calls us joyfully to celebrate the great and powerful love God has for each of us. Our liturgical colour is white, and we rejoice in the many colours and signs of spring. Note our lovely paschal candle that reminds us of this love. Our sense of celebration carries us forward for several weeks -- we're that happy!