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Our Liturgical Year

An overview of how we share in the sacred liturgical year and commonly used terms here at LOS.

The Liturgical Year of Events

ADVENT (HAPPY CHURCH NEW YEAR!)

Advent Small Groups - Advent Calendars - Simple Gifts - The Christmas Fund: UCC Special Offering - Collection of gently used toys for the Children’s Home - Church Christmas Party - Christmas Poinsettias

CHRISTMAS

Christmas Eve Service

EPIPHANY

Star Words or Chalk Blessings - Small Groups

LENT

Ash Wednesday - Lenten Small Groups - Lenten Devotionals - One Great Hour of Sharing: UCC Special Offering - Holy Week - Easter Lilies

EASTER and EASTERTIDE

Easter Service - Easter Breakfast - Easter Egg Hunt - Passover hosted by our Jewish Partners - Worship Outside the Walls (Spring)

PENTECOST

Land of the Sky Church’s Birthday - Strengthen the Church: UCC Special Offering

ORDINARY TIME

Summer Camping Trip and Worship in the Woods (August) - Kick off Sunday (September) - Neighbors In Need: UCC Special Offering - World Communion Sunday - Blue Ridge Pride (September or October) - Annual Congregational Meeting - Commitment Sunday - Worship Outside the Walls (Fall) - Thanksgiving

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.”
— Ecclesiastes 3

Land of the Sky UCC Dictionary

Have you been scratching your head, wondering what certain LOS terms mean? (Like LOS = Land Of the Sky) 

Well, you’re in luck! Common things we say around here:

WOW: Worship Outside the Walls. Twice a year we forgo our Sunday Gathering in the sanctuary and instead serve God and our neighbor outside the walls in our larger community.

WIW: Worship in the Woods, our annual summer or fall church camping trip culminates in Sunday’s worship service in the woods with brunch to follow.

Ministry Teams: What we call the various groups of leadership that are formed to help guide our decisions, ministry, and the covenants of the church.

Threshold Partner: What we call folks who “join” the church. You’re a partner in our community. Read more here.

Friend of the Church: Folks that aren’t quite ready to partner with the church but commit their friendship instead and complete a commitment card.

Narthex: The entrance lobby for the sanctuary. Get bulletins, name tags, kid’s worship bags, newcomer resources and more!

Lanai: The covered porch off the Fellowship Hall.

Share in the Feast Sunday: 1st Sunday of the month, during communion, we bring canned goods for our Street Pantry that serves our neighborhood. We hold items in the Upper Education Wing Hallway. 

UCC Special Offerings: We participate in 4 special offerings for the wider UCC church every year. Special Mission Offerings sponsor vital ministries that bring hope to people in the U.S. and around the world.  The UCC has identified four areas where critical human needs exist: in places lacking health and educational resources and/or where disaster has struck; within systems of injustice which oppress daily life and opportunity; in the lives of church leaders without sufficient resources to live with dignity; in the nurture of youth and congregations just beginning their lives of faith.

Spiritual Formation: aka Sunday School…for both kids and adults.

OWL: Our Whole Lives - a comprehensive sexuality curriculum published by the UU & UCC wider church.

Prayground: a space for quiet and contemplative play for kids in the sanctuary during worship.

Time With Kids: Often called the Children’s Sermon in other churches, this is the message crafted for children in our worship service.