Getting Organized for pastors
When I was pastoring, I planned my preaching and organized my services in chunks of 6-13 weeks at a time. I found that, by and large, the rhythm of the work year and the flow of the liturgical year broke things down into about six movements, each with a different feel to it.
First, there was Advent and Christmastide (through Epiphany): six weeks, sometimes seven. While Christmas can be a hard topic to preach on (simply because it’s all been said before – by you), the two short liturgical seasons in the cycle hang together and it’s easy to conceptualize the task of the preacher as a whole. Special services like Christmas Eve are part of the planning.
Next comes the short spurt of Ordinary Time between Epiphany and Lent. In seasons where Easter was late, this was a fairly long run of Sundays and became its own planning period. When Easter came early, it sometimes got lumped in with Lent in my planning. The early Gospel narratives predominate. It’s a good time to talk about evangelism, discipleship, and missions.
With Ash Wednesday, Lent begins. And although Lent feels very different from Eastertide, I always planned Holy Week and Easter at the same time, since that was what we were building up to. So, six Sundays in Lent plus Easter Day plus Low Sunday (the Sunday after Easter, which was often a vacation Sunday for me), plus a raft of special services (Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunrise).
Eastertide through Pentecost comes next. I’d usually plan to the end of June.
After that comes Summer. Summer is not an official liturgical season, but it has a feel all its own. People are doing vacations and camps. Attendance is wonky. There is no overarching theme. It’s a good time to do some Old Testament preaching or do story sermons or otherwise just explore the odder corners of Scripture that don’t fit easily into either the Incarnation or Resurrection cycles.
Finally, there is Fall. Back to school time, traditionally. Beginning about September 1st and ending with Christ the King in November, this time period includes several special observances, such as Reformation Day, All Saints’, and Thanksgiving. It was also when we usually did the annual stewardship drive, held Charge Conference, tried to kick off Sunday School for the year, etc. A very busy time in the church that thematically centers on commitment and accountability. And for me, for some reason, this was the season when I wanted to sing the old-fashioned hymns associated with my childhood memories, including the songs I learned in music class at school, such as “Now Thank We All Our God.”
First, there was Advent and Christmastide (through Epiphany): six weeks, sometimes seven. While Christmas can be a hard topic to preach on (simply because it’s all been said before – by you), the two short liturgical seasons in the cycle hang together and it’s easy to conceptualize the task of the preacher as a whole. Special services like Christmas Eve are part of the planning.
Next comes the short spurt of Ordinary Time between Epiphany and Lent. In seasons where Easter was late, this was a fairly long run of Sundays and became its own planning period. When Easter came early, it sometimes got lumped in with Lent in my planning. The early Gospel narratives predominate. It’s a good time to talk about evangelism, discipleship, and missions.
With Ash Wednesday, Lent begins. And although Lent feels very different from Eastertide, I always planned Holy Week and Easter at the same time, since that was what we were building up to. So, six Sundays in Lent plus Easter Day plus Low Sunday (the Sunday after Easter, which was often a vacation Sunday for me), plus a raft of special services (Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunrise).
Eastertide through Pentecost comes next. I’d usually plan to the end of June.
After that comes Summer. Summer is not an official liturgical season, but it has a feel all its own. People are doing vacations and camps. Attendance is wonky. There is no overarching theme. It’s a good time to do some Old Testament preaching or do story sermons or otherwise just explore the odder corners of Scripture that don’t fit easily into either the Incarnation or Resurrection cycles.
Finally, there is Fall. Back to school time, traditionally. Beginning about September 1st and ending with Christ the King in November, this time period includes several special observances, such as Reformation Day, All Saints’, and Thanksgiving. It was also when we usually did the annual stewardship drive, held Charge Conference, tried to kick off Sunday School for the year, etc. A very busy time in the church that thematically centers on commitment and accountability. And for me, for some reason, this was the season when I wanted to sing the old-fashioned hymns associated with my childhood memories, including the songs I learned in music class at school, such as “Now Thank We All Our God.”