While each Sunday may look very similar to the last at times, at Hope we follow a church calendar in addition to the yearly one.  Starting with the season of Advent, a time to prepare for God’s breaking into the world, we journey through the year using a calendar resembling Jesus’ own life. Some of the major seasons can be characterized like this:

Church Season

General Dates

Jesus’ Life

Focus

Advent

December

Prophesy of Savior

Preparation & Waiting

Christmas

December 25th – January 6th

Jesus is Born

Emmanuel: God With Us

Epiphany

Winter

Jesus is Revealed

Light & Revelation

Lent

Starts 40 Days before Easter

Jesus Suffers and Dies

Our Sinfulness

Easter

Spring

Jesus is Risen

God’s Victory/Salvation

Pentecost

Occurs 50 days after Easter

The Church is Born

The Holy Spirit