Sundays and Seasons

Church Year   •   The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

In our daily lives we keep track of our activities and special events with a calendar. The church throughout the centuries has also “kept track” of days and seasons and commemorating special occasions with a calendar.

The Christian church has continued to follow the example set in the Old Testament of structuring the year around the marvelous acts of salvation that God completed for us in his Son, Christ. We call this structure the Church Year.

The church year calendar is organized into three sections: Sundays and seasons, feasts and festivals, and commemorations.  The seasons of the church year are marked by certain liturgical colors.

Found here are the Sundays and seasons in the cycles of the Church’s liturgical calendar: Christmas/Epiphany, Good Friday/Easter, and Pentecost, followed by the Time of the Church.

The Time of Christmas

Advent Season

• First Sunday in Advent
• Second Sunday in Advent
• Third Sunday in Advent
• Fourth Sunday in Advent

Christmas Season

• The Nativity of Our Lord
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas Midnight
• Christmas Dawn
• Christmas Day
• First Sunday after Christmas
• Second Sunday after Christmas

Epiphany Season

• The Epiphany of Our Lord
• First Sunday after the Epiphany
         The Baptism of Our Lord
• Second Sunday after the Epiphany
• Third Sunday after the Epiphany
• Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
• Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
• Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany (three-year series only)
• Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany (three-year series only)
• Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany (three-year series only)
• Last Sunday after the Epiphany
          The Transfiguration of Our Lord

The Time of Easter

Pre-Lent Season

(One-Year Series only)

• Septuagesima
• Sexagesima
• Quinquagesima

Lenten Season

• Ash Wednesday
• First Sunday in Lent
• Second Sunday in Lent
• Third Sunday in Lent
• Fourth Sunday in Lent
• Fifth Sunday in Lent

Holy Week

• Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday
• Monday in Holy Week
• Tuesday in Holy Week
• Wednesday in Holy Week
• Holy Thursday
• Good Friday
• Holy Saturday

Easter Season

• The Resurrection of Our Lord
• Easter Vigil
• Easter Dawn
• Easter Day
• Easter Evening/Monday
• Easter Tuesday
• Second Sunday of Easter
• Third Sunday of Easter
• Fourth Sunday of Easter
• Fifth Sunday of Easter
• Sixth Sunday of Easter
• The Ascension of Our Lord
• Seventh Sunday of Easter 
• Pentecost
• Pentecost Eve
• Day of Pentecost
• Pentecost Evening/Monday
• Pentecost Tuesday

The Time of the Church

The Season after Pentecost

(Three-Year Lectionary)

• Holy Trinity
• Second through the Twenty-seventh Sunday after Pentecost
• Last Sunday of the Church Year

or

The Season of the Holy Trinity

(One-Year Lectionary)

• The Holy Trinity
• First through the Twenty-sixth Sunday after Trinity
• Last Sunday of the Church Year

Readings

The scripture references appointed for the Church Year are available in PDF and Word formats. Click below to find color-coded charts for both the current three-year and one-year readings.

Three-Year Series     One-Year Series

Liturgical Colors

Certain colors are assigned for use during the seasons of the Church Year and on specific feast days. Learn about the colors of the liturgical season.

Learn More

Document Library

Explore our document library for articles written about the major seasons of our Church Year.

Document Library

Additional Resources from Concordia Publishing House

• Check out Behold the Lamb, for youth and adults that explores the historical use of Christian symbols and Biblical and liturgical themes.
  
  
• Check out Ordering Our Days in His Peace, a book for youth and adults that explores each part of the Church Year with simple language and beautiful artwork.