The Christian Year

First Presbyterian Church, Wichita Falls, joyfully observes the Christian year (although we are not slavishly bound to it). God's work of redemption in Jesus Christ offers the Church a central pattern for ordering worship in relationship to significant occasions in the life of Jesus and the people of God. Our congregation stands in the great tradition of historical Christianity and participates in the practice of many other Christians worldwide as we observe the days and seasons of the Christian year (sometimes called the Liturgical Calendar):

Advent
A season of four Sundays in which we recollect the hope of the coming of Christ and look forward to the Lord's coming again.

Christmas
A twelve-day season, during which we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, reflecting on the Incarnation of the eternal Word of God.

Epiphany
A day for commemorating God's self-manifestation to all people.

Lent
A season of forty days of spiritual discipline and preparation, beginning with Ash Wednesday and culminating in Holy Week.

Holy Week
A week of remembrance and proclamation of the atoning suffering and death of Jesus Christ, with communion on Maundy Thursday and a gathering for meditative worship on Good Friday.

Easter
The day of the Lord's resurrection and a fifty-day season of rejoicing which commemorates his ministry until his Ascension.

Pentecost
A day in which we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church (as reported in Acts, chapter 2).

We also observe other days in the Christian year: the Baptism of the Lord, the Transfiguration of the Lord, Trinity Sunday, All Saints, and Christ the King.