Dear friends in Christ,

The Church Year – with all of it’s seasons and themes and colors – is a wonderful gift to the Church, to help us focus on, and experience, the wide range of ways that God is active in our lives.

It begins with Advent (blue), then Christmas (white), then Epiphany (green), then Lent, (purple), then Holy Week (red), then Easter (white), then Pentecost (red), then the Season After Pentecost (green). Whew – that’s a lot!

The Godly Play classrooms have clock-like calendars that point to the season and color we’re in. Check them out! The Season After Pentecost is almost as long as all the others put together. The Roman Catholics call it “Ordinary Time”, and we refer to it as the “Green Season”.

There is a growing movement in many Lutheran and Episcopal churches to take a piece of the Pentecost Season, and observe it as a “Season of Creation”. We at St. Peter’s will be doing that this year. We are taking the last 8 weeks of the season, from October 7 – November 25, and focusing on God as Creator, as well as the whole creative process God continues to live into.

Here’s what to look forward to:
· We’ll use a new Eucharistic Prayer at all 3 services;
· At 8:45 and 11: 15, we’ll use special hymns at the Hymn of Praise and the Presentation;
· We’ll employ a distinctive form of the Prayers of the People;
· There will be some special Christian Formation programs;
· At least 2 extraordinary events will focus on God’s creation: the Blessing of the Animals on October 7, and a new tradition - the St. Peter’s Beach Clean-Up on Sunday, October 21 (see later article).

My hope and prayer is that, through our special prayers and intentions, we will open our hearts and minds to the fullness of God’s love for us, as well as our opportunities to care for God’s creation. God bless you!!!

Peace in Christ,
George+