The Church Year for Beginners Like Me

The church year is a beautiful lens through which to view time, history, and one’s place in the story of Christ. Beginning in late November or early December, the liturgical year (also referred to as the church year or church calendar) lays a foundation centered on Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Each year as the stories repeat the church is invited to actively integrate those timeless truths into our contemporary age.

Before I knew what the words Advent or Epiphany meant, I longed for a deeper, richer set of rhythms to anchor my faith. I knew wanted a stronger connection to the Christians around me and those who lived in centuries past. I didn’t have the right words or questions yet, but the longings still tugged at my heart. It wasn’t until a college internship where I learned about the liturgical seasons. I was assigned a preschool Sunday school class where the curriculum was focused on the church calendar. Those tiny souls and I learned our way around the wheel of time together.

This gentle introduction granted me a different view of church and why some churches worship the way they do. I was raised in non-denominational churches and Christian grade school, but liturgy was new. This whole sacred time-telling was new. I liked it. In fact, I loved it. It seemed to answer that longing I wasn’t aware of, a longing to be anchored not only to the “great cloud of witnesses” but also to ancient Christian rituals. The world seemed to expand as I realized there was so much more beneath, behind, and between Christmas and Easter. The symbolism and colors drew me in with reverence. The corporate cycle of anticipation, celebration, and proclamation enriched my spiritual walk with God.

It’s been almost ten years since that first encounter. I’ve found that following the story of Christ through the liturgical year, and the lives of the saints who followed in his footsteps, is one way our faith can leap from the pews and into our everyday, ordinary lives. Through seasons of hardship, both personally and globally, and seasons of joy these ancient rhythms, scriptures, and even liturgical colors remain unbothered by the inevitable disorder of our world. They continue to be a weekly, if not daily, opportunity to notice grace, mystery, and hope, in the midst of it all.

Resources on the Church Year

The following resources have proven helpful to me over the last decade. Studying the liturgical year can lead down a delightful rabbit trail of history, agricultural customs, and scriptural inspiration. With this in mind, this list is not meant to be comprehensive. Rather, this list is a perfect place to start for those learning of the liturgical seasons. I encourage you to bookmark this page for later!

(A note for readers: Many of the liturgical calendar resources are written from a Catholic or Protestant point of view. These Christian traditions have very similar calendar cycles. The Orthodox church also celebrate liturgical time, though it is distinct from the Catholic/Protestant cycle. I’m still learning about these distinctions and may add more resources related to Orthodox practices as time goes on.)

My Most Referenced Resources for Liturgical Living

• A Liturgical Calendar + Simple Guide, revised each year. Available for download here. (Perfect for individuals/families or churches — just check the particular license!)
• A perpetual liturgical calendar, created in English and Spanish by yours truly!
• This well stocked Pinterest board of ideas and inspiration.
• Find a few other favorites in this post.

Two Easy, Enriching Reads on the Church Year

• Welcome to the Church Year: An Introduction to the Seasons of the Episcopal Church by Vicki Black
• The Circle of Seasons: Finding God in the Church Calendar by Kimberlee Conway Ireton

Excellent Online Resources for the Liturgical Year

• The Text This Week
• Revised Common Lectionary provided by the Vanderbilt Divinity Library
• Singing From the Lectionary

If you’d like to follow our celebrations through the church year, I invite you to subscribe to my Substack or Instagram.

What does the church year mean to you? I’d love to hear about any traditions you have through out the year, or book reccommendations!