Happy Ordinary Time

The good news of the Gospel is that the triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – creates, redeems, sustains, rules, and transforms all things and all people….. Human beings have no higher goal in life than to glorify and enjoy God now and forever, living in covenant fellowship with God and participating in God’s mission.

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If you look at the official PCUSA program calendar, you will see that the church has moved into what the calendar designates as the Sundays after Pentecost. And certainly that is where we are in our liturgical year.  But I want to make a case to return to noting these Sundays as Ordinary Time. I want to give Ordinary Time its full due.  For Ordinary Time is anything but ordinary.

When we hear “Ordinary Time,” it is easy to think of something plain, unremarkable…the liturgical equivalent of a lazy, summer afternoon. But the word “ordinary” as used in a liturgical sense doesn’t mean boring or unimportant. It comes from the Latin word ordonalis, meaning “order” or “sequence.” It means numbers in a series like first, second, third, etc.”  It is counted time. Don’t we Presbyterians love order? Ordinary Time should be right up our alley.

Ordinary Time this year takes up a handful of Sundays after Epiphany and then a larger number of weeks between Trinity Sunday, May 31, and Christ the King Sunday, November 22.  Ordinary Time certainly takes up much of the church calendar. The color of Ordinary Time is green, symbolizing growth, fruitfulness, and new life in Christ.  This season invites us to live out our faith in the regular rhythms of daily life… in ordinary time.

Jesus certainly did. He and his disciples had some pretty ordinary days between all of the miracles, healings, and sermons.  In this ordinary time, Jesus told stories, he broke bread with a few folks at a time, he listened carefully to others, and spent time with ordinary folk.

So maybe in this season of our liturgical year, we can focus on being the “ordinary church” after the model of Jesus. Ordinary Time allows the church to engage in some creative ministry.

The church can think about:

1.     Growing in its mission and ministry.

Is there a mission co-worker who might come and share with your congregation?

What are some local mission opportunities for your congregation?

            This is a wonderful time for some intergenerational mission work.

2.     Sharing as a community in worship and education.

What is the date of the church’s charter? Does the congregation know the particular

history of the church?

What might be some fun musical opportunities for the congregation?

What might be some opportunities for some rich intergenerational learning?  

3.     Celebrating with connecting times of fellowship.

One congregation in our presbytery celebrated the “Hidden Heroes” of the church. The

fellowship committee invited the congregation to name all of the jobs (not the people) that make a church function. These tasks were placed on a board, and following worship, the church joined in fellowship so the congregation could see all that it takes to make the church the church, and also share in mini hero sandwiches.

What are some other opportunities for the congregation to play together, laugh

together and enjoy the company of each other in creative ways?

4.     How can the church celebrate an ordinary ministry as spelled out in the Great Ends of the Church (BO-F1.0304)? 

These many Sundays can be a rich time for an ordinary ministry that is never just ordinary. In Christ, our lives and our ministry are filled with growth, grace, forgiveness, and hope as we live as people of faith, ordinary people who live extraordinary lives in Jesus Christ.

Happy Ordinary Time, Mission Presbytery.

Shalom!

Your Learn Committee