Church Calendar

We are used to planning our daily activities around the Gregorian Calendar. And for the Chinese, we have the Lunar Calendar to determine when we should celebrate traditional customs and festivals. The Christians also have a Church Calendar that focuses on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. It is generally organized around two major centers of Sacred Time:

• Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany; and
• Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost.

Traditionally, the observance of the seasons of the church year was important when most of the people were poor and did not have access to basic education. The church festivals and the cycle of the church year provided a good vehicle for teaching the story of God and his actions in human history. It is just like the way the Chinese practice traditional customs and festivals e.g. Mid Autumn Festival and Dragonboat Festival - healthy moral values like loyalty, integrity are inculcated to the younger through interesting folklore anaedotes and the food that comes with it.

Today marks the beginning of Advent, a period starting on the 4th Sunday before Christmas and ending on Christmas Eve. It is regarded as the beginning of the Church Calendar, and is marked by hope, anticipation, penitence (i.e. sense of remorse for past conduct). The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival", and focus is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. The season climaxes on the 4th Sunday of Advent, the last Sunday before Christmas.

The colour of Advent is Dark Blue. Hence it is common to see Church sanctuaries decorated specially with artefacts for the occasion - Advent wreath, blue table runners and other pulpit decorations, flowers in shades of blue etc. This colour code changes to pink on the 4th Sunday of Advent which is a day of joy.

The spirit of penitence and the anticipation of Jesus' Second Advent is also reflected in Church services. Confessional prayers with themes of accountability for faithfulness at His next coming, judgment on sin, and the hope of eternal life are incorporated into worship and sermons. Advent also symbolises the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as we affirm that Christ has come and will come again in power. That acknowledgment provides a basis for holy living and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God’s people. It is also during at Advent and Christmas that the Church reaffirms the God's commission to men and His commandments.

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

~ Matthew 28:18-20

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.. and .. Love your neighbor as yourself."

~ Matthew 22:37-39