Since I was a child I was fascinated by the church calendar. As a child at Wesley Church Shepparton, in country Victoria, Australia, the Rev. McKay would try to teach us, during services he would note the church colours, especially when they changed. We had coloured bible book marks as well as the usual table coverings and robes.
So it came as no surprise to me that I love sharing the ecclesial season with the families in my care. I look forward to the start of the ecclesiastical year, usually late November, and doing activities that might help the children and their parents understand and then anticipate the changes during the year. One of my favourite explanations is the Godly Play version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPTWq1AsCao
Well it’s obviously not the start of the Year, so why am I drawing your attention to it. Because the Long green, Ordinary time, or what it is actually called which is the Time after Pentecost, is about to begin and it is the longest season in the church calendar.
There are no church celebrations. It is the quiet time. Most families I know, have birthdays bunched together, and as much as they enjoy the celebration time, they look forward to being out of “birthday row”. It is like that with the church, it is the time to look forward to less full on events, so that more time becomes available to concentrate on our own relationship with God, which extends to more time sharing that relationship. I think of it in terms of our winter, the season it predominately sits in here in the Southern Hemisphere. Everything appears to be dormant, but it is waiting and growing until the change of season to spring forth in growth and abundance.
So settle into the Great ordinary, relish in the cooler months to build your relationship with God, and get use to the Green colours in your churches, to remind you that growth is coming, if you nurture yourself and your family in during this anything but ordinary time.
Blessings
Wendy L.
The Cross in My Backyard 