HOPE - We are celebrating the first week of Advent! The Christ Child will soon arrive, to fulfull the promised coming of the Messiah. The color blue represents our great hope as we await our Christ. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic shown to the right.

PEACE - We are celebrating the second week of Advent! Christ is our Prince of Peace, and He brings us peace beyond all measure. In turn we pray for peace and share our peace with the world. The color blue represents the peace that Christ will bring. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic shown to the right.

JOY - We are celebrating the third week of Advent! Christ is our joy and passion. We rejoice as we sing Joy to the World: "while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy." The color blue represents the joy of Christ that fills our hearts. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic shown to the right.

LOVE - We are celebrating the fourth week of Advent! God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son to save us. With the love that Christ shares with us, we share that same love with the world. The color blue represents Christ's love that surrounds us. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic shown to the right.

Rejoice, for Christ has been born! We have the wonderful privilege of celebrating the birth of the Christ Child, our Savior. This holy night shines with the brightness of our true Light! We rejoice in the light that overcomes our darkness. The color white represents the purity and light of Christ that conquers all darkness. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic shown to the right.

Rejoice, for Christ has been born! We have the wonderful privilege of celebrating the birth of the Christ Child, our Savior. This holy day shines with the brightness of our true Light! We rejoice in the light that overcomes our darkness. The color white represents the purity and light of Christ that conquers all darkness. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic shown to the right.

This week we are celebrating the season of Christmas, and the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ! This is the beginning of our church year. The color white helps us to celebrate in a spirit of gladness, joy, and light. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic shown to the right.

This week we are celebrating the Epiphany of our Lord! Our almighty God revealed His Son to us by the brilliant shining of a star that led us to the place of His birth. Our bright, morning star shines and illumines the world. The color white represents the brilliant light of Christ. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic shown to the right.

This week we are celebrating the baptism of our Lord! When John the Baptizer immersed Jesus in the waters of baptism, God revealed the Heavens to anoint our Christ, and to proclaim Him as God's beloved Son. The color white represents the glorious light of Heaven in which Jesus shines. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic shown to the right.

We are celebrating the weeks following the Epiphany of our Lord! Christ has come to bring us light and life, to teach us and to lead us to our heavenly Father. The color green represents our growth in faith as we follow the teachings and ministry of Christ. Green also represents the springing forth of new life in the resurrection of Christ. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic shown to the right.

We are celebrating the Transfiguration of our Lord! With indescribable majestry, our Lord revealed Himself as the Son of God to his apostles, in such glory and radiance. Christ is our king, and we are blessed to live in His kingdom. The color white represents the absolute majesty and glory of Christ. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic to the right.

We are observing Ash Wednesday, the beginning of our Lenten season. Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust. From dust we came, and to dust we will return. We mourn and sorrow over the great death that sin brings to our world, and we are humbled before God. We see the consequence of sin, and we desperately seek restoration to wholeness in Christ. The color purple represents our pain and suffering in this world with sin. To help us to reflect and focus ourselves in this cleansing time, we display the special mosaic to the right.

We are on a very important journey. We are in the season of Lent. These weeks are a time for us to reflect on our lives before God and between each other. We need a Savior to bring us to repentance and to grant us salvation. We are humbled as we come before God in truth as a vulnerable and fragile people. The color purple represents our pain and suffering in this world with sin. To help us to reflect and focus ourselves in this cleansing time, we display the special mosaic to the right.

This week We are celebrating Palm Sunday! Christ entered Jerusalem in a triumphant procession. For a brief time, He was heralded as the King of the Jews. We will soon be undertaking a great and painful experience in suffering, death, and resurrection, but today we celebrate the majesty and humility of Christ, a King astride a lowly donkey. The color purple represents Christ's majesty. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic to the right.

We are observing Maundy Thursday. Tonight, Christ will share a very special and sacred final meal with His disciples. We remember this pivotal meal each week as we consecrate bread and wine to be the sacramental gift of Christ's body and blood to us, as He commanded. We share this meal as Jesus' disciples shared it - the disciples who would become the apostles who would be commissioned to spread the Church. The color scarlet represents the blood that Christ poured out for us. We adorn our altar with the special mosaic to the right.

We are observing Good Friday. This is a monumental day for our Christian lives. Christ has been tried, sentenced, and is crucified at the demand of the people. This is the darkest and most dire day of our church year. The service for this day will focus on Tenebrae - a service of shadows and darkness. We experience this darkness to appreciate the majestic light that will soon come. The color black is our darkness, all of our pain, suffering, and hopelessness that only Christ can contain. We display the special mosaic to the right.

We are observing the Easter Vigil. Our Christ was savagely tried, sentenced, and crucified at the hands of a faithless and cruel people. In a hymn we sing "then crucify is all our breath, and for his death we thirst and cry." we mourn, but in faith await the sure resurrection in which we trust and need. The color white represents our great hope and steadfastness as we await the promised resurrection that will bring us grace and salvation. We display the special mosaic to the right.

We are celebrating this great Easter Sunday with whole heart, hands, and voice! Hail this festival day, for we celebrate a raised, resurrected, overcoming Christ that broke the bounds of death and ascended to sit with our Father! We celebrate with our best gifts, our best selves, and the best that we have to offer, in such gratitude. The color white represents the purity of our joy and celebration. In great joy and honor, we decorate our altar with the special mosaic to the right.

We are proud and honored to be able to celebrate this season of Easter! We have shared a profound experience of loss and sorrow in Lent, and Christ's triumph over death has paved the way for us to rejoice and share in the bright light of His resurrection. We experience boundless elation! The color white represents the purity of our joy and celebration. In great joy and honor, we decorate our altar with the special mosaic to the right.

Our Lord has ascended to the Father! While He walked among us on earth, He ministered to the poor, sick, and downtrodded. When He ascended to our Father, He promised that the Holy Spirit would come to dwell with us and in us as our advocate and constant companion. In Heaven, Jesus is among us and with us in every time and place. How blessed are we to walk with the Lord right now!

We are celebrating Pentecost! God blessed us with the person of the Holy Spirit, that surrounds and envelops each of us with the Holy Spirit, like a flame that ignites us into action, serving our world and each other, and guiding us in all things. Pentecost is a time to celebrate the gift of the Spirit that binds us so completely to the person of God. The color red represents the fire and energy of the Spirit that guides us in all things. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic to the right.

We are celebrating the Holy Trinity! While the concept of the Holy Trinity is taught in the Bible, it is a very sublime concept that we cannot fully understand - the reality of the three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We accept these dimensions by faith, and we seek opportuntites to learn and understand further, to deepen our faith. The color white represents the purity and sanctity of the triune person of God. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic to the right.

We are walking in the time after Pentecost! Christ has come to bring us light and life, to teach us and to lead us to our heavenly Father. The color green represents our growth in faith as we follow the teachings and ministry of Christ. Green also represents the springing forth of new life in the resurrection of Christ. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic shown to the right.

We are celebrating Reformation Day! In 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church, in Wittenburg, Germany. Luther begin the great reformation of the Christian Church, and as Lutherans, we continue to benefit and learn from his passionate work. We celebrate his labors that continue to teach us in our faith. The color red represents the Holy Spirit that descended on Christ's friends in tongues of fire, and that empowered Luther to learn the gospel. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic shown to the right.

We are celebrating All Saints Day! Throughout the ages, followers of Christ have given their lives to service in the name of the Lord, serving their communities and the world as they share Christ's love with everyone. Even now, as saints, we strive to embody Christ's love as we serve our communities even now. The color white represents the purity of faith that empowers us to serve with love. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic shown to the right.

This week we are celebrating Christ the King Sunday. This is the last week of the church year. This week completes our journey through the life of Jesus Christ on earth and in heaven. Next Sunday begins the new church year with the first Sunday of Advent. By His death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus our King wins the war against evil. Traditionally, we use the color white to commemorate this celebration. We decorate our altar with the special mosaic shown to the right.