When most of us hear the word evergreen, we picture a plant that remains green year-round, even through changing seasons. Arborvitae, firs, hemlocks, hollies, and hedgerows all fit the description. Over time, however, the term has taken on a broader meaning. Something that is evergreen is timeless, enduring, and always relevant.
Businesses use the term to describe products that never seem to go out of style. Publishers and advertisers speak of evergreen content that remains useful long after it is written. It has no expiration date.
As we enter a new season in the church year, the word evergreen seems especially fitting.
While Christmas may get all the attention for its trees and wreaths, the season we have just entered is actually the greenest season of all. The Church is now observing what is known as Ordinary Time.
The Season after Pentecost follows the great fifty days of Easter and continues until Advent begins a new church year. This year, 26 of the year’s 52 Sundays fall during this season. Add the six Sundays after Epiphany, and more than half the year is spent in Ordinary Time.
The liturgical color for Ordinary Time is green. Green symbolizes growth, life, hope, renewal, and our ongoing journey of faith. During these months, the appointed scripture readings focus heavily on the teachings and ministry of Jesus, encouraging us to live out the Gospel in our everyday lives.
For altar guild members, the season of green is something of a gift. Unlike Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost, which seem to require constant changes of paraments and banners, green settles in for the long haul. Once everything is in place, it tends to stay that way.
Kermit the Frog famously sang, “It’s not easy being green.” In the Church, however, green may be the easiest color of all. It quietly reminds us that faith is less about dramatic mountaintop moments and more about steady growth, week after week, season after season.
Join us this Sunday, June 7, for worship on the Second Sunday after Pentecost as we begin this long, green season of discipleship and spiritual growth. Worship begins at 9:30 a.m. Please see the attached worship bulletin.
Blessings,
Pastor Marc
