How to Make Your Own Liturigal Calendar
Liturgical calendars document the major seasons of the Christian year, including Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost and Ordinary Time (the time between the major religious seasons and holidays). Create your own liturgical calendar with important seasons highlighted, along with pertinent scriptures for Bible study, either individually or with your congregation. Circulate copies of your calendar in your Sunday school class, or work with a group within the church to create them for fund-raising purposes.
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Things You'll Need
- Computer
- Internet connection
- Microsoft Word
- Printer
- Printer paper
- Staples or binding
- Front and back cover
Instructions
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Open Microsoft Word, click on the "File" menu and select "New." A New Document task pane will open.
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Click on "My Computer" under "Templates" and then click the "Other Documents" tab. Double-click on the "Calendar Wizard" and follow the instructions for creating a basic calendar. Remember to include 12 months in your calendar, beginning with Advent, which usually starts in late November.
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Determine the proper liturgical calendar dates, depending on your denominational affiliation. Most Protestants and Catholics are in agreement on major liturgical seasons, but Catholics celebrate a host of special holidays that Protestants do not. Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate their liturgical seasons on slightly different days from most Protestants and Catholics. Contact your denominational body in order to determine which schedule they follow.
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Add important seasons to your calendar by labeling the days they begin and end with while also changing the color of the days in between to correspond with liturgical colors. These include the following: Advent is purple; Christmas is white; Ordinary Time is green; Lent is violet; Holy Week is deep red; Easter is white or gold; and Pentecost is bright red.
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Label important holidays in your church life, such as Christmas, Easter or celebration of saints (if you are Catholic). Protestants might include Reformation Sunday, All Saints Sunday and other holidays their congregations traditionally celebrate.
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Type weekly scriptures in the Sunday slot for each week. The Christian year rotates between A, B and C years, with different suggested weekly scriptures for each year. Find out which year you are in and then type the indicated scriptures onto each Sunday so that they can be studied during the week.
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Proof-read your calendar to ensure that everything is correct and then ask two other people to edit your work. Editing is important, especially if you have decided to use your liturgical calendar as a fund-raiser.
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Print your liturgical calendar, make the desired number of copies and then bind it appropriately. For personal use, staples are sufficient. If you are using the calendar for a fund-raiser, use professional binding and create a simple front-and-back cover -- perhaps using a picture of your church.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit church. Entrance of a church image by L. Shat from Fotolia.com
