The Color of Worship

Author: Marvin Lindsay
February 09, 2023

            Recently in worship, Rev. Nikki noted that the paraments (those pieces of fabric that hang from the pulpit and lectern) had been changed from white to green in honor of the Eagles. That was a joke, and a good one at that! But have you ever wondered why the church has different colored paraments? Well, let me tell you.

            Just as we have different seasons that mark the passing of the year (winter, spring, summer, and fall), so we have different seasons in the Christian year. Each season has a particular color associated with it. The color for Advent and Lent is purple. Advent is the four weeks prior to Christmas, and Lent is the forty-days, not counting Sundays, prior to Easter. In the ancient world, purple cloth was the fabric of royalty because purple was the most expensive dye. Therefore, the sanctuary features purple when we get ready for the coming of our King at Christmas and when we remember how he wore a crown of thorns on the cross to save us from our sins.

            White is the color for Christmas and Easter. White is a celebratory color, so we decorate the sanctuary in white during the seasons when we celebrate God becoming a human being and rising from the dead. We also hang white paraments in the church for weddings, because weddings are cause for celebration, and for funerals, when we give thanks that the dead are with the Risen Christ in heaven.

            In between these big seasons that celebrate the Incarnation and resurrection of Jesus Christ, there are quieter seasons the church calls Ordinary Time. In Ordinary Time, the focus of worship is on growth in the Christian life, hence the color is green. There’s a short period of Ordinary Time between Christmas and Lent, which we’re in right now, and a much longer period of time between the end of the Easter season and the beginning of Advent.

            Both Christmas and Easter are seasons, not just days, in the church year. The Christmas season lasts 12 days, just like the song says, followed by Epiphany on January 6. For Roman Catholics and Protestants, Epiphany celebrates the coming of the Wise Men to see the baby Jesus, but Eastern Orthodox churches observe Christmas on January 6.

According to the Gospel of Luke, after Jesus was raised from the dead, he taught the disciples for 40 days and then ascended into heaven. Ten days after the Ascension, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples on the Day of Pentecost, a Jewish spring harvest festival. Therefore, you will see white paraments in the sanctuary for 50 days after Easter, and then the paraments turn red for Pentecost. On Pentecost, tongues of (red) fire appeared on the disciples, which gave them the ability to speak in other languages—a sign that the Good News of Jesus would be preached to people of all nations. Red is also the color of ordination and installation services in the Presbyterian churches. Red reminds us that the Holy Spirit calls people to ordained ministry and gives them the gifts they need to serve well in that role.

            To sum up, just as green leaves indicate summer and red, orange and yellow leaves are a sign that fall has arrived, the colors you see in church on Sunday are a sign of which season in the Christian year we find ourselves in. Where did the seasons in the church year come from? That’s a tale for a different day.

            In the meantime, Fly Eagles Fly.

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