•The Complete Library of Christian Worship • Edited by Robert E. Webber
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The Services Of The Christian Year1,000-Character Scholarly Preview

The Christian Year Among The Churches

Contributor / Topic: Worship Throughout the Year
Source: The Complete Library of Christian Worship, Robert E. Webber, General Editor

As this section makes clear, Christians differ significantly on the need for observing the Christian year. Nevertheless, there are signs that even those denominations that have traditionally resisted following a Christian calendar are taking a second look at this ancient practice. More traditional churches are also discovering how observing the cycle of Christian seasons contributes to worship renewal.…

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In This Section

Chapters & Articles in The Christian Year Among The Churches (48)

Entry 1
Adventist Churches

Christmas and Easter celebrations have become increasingly common in Adventist churches. Observance of the Christia…

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Entry 2
African Methodist—episcopal Zion Churches

Although A. M. E. Zion churches do not widely observe the Christian year, some congregations have made attempts to …

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Entry 3
American Baptist Churches In The Usa

American Baptist congregations are free to choose their own order of worship, and so the observance of the Christia…

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Entry 4
Anglican/episcopal Churches

Worship in the Anglican Communion is structured by liturgical celebration of the Christian year, centering on Easte…

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Entry 5
Assemblies Of God Churches

The church calendar in the Assemblies of God includes only some of the major events of the Christian year, but also…

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Entry 6
Baptist (evangelical Denominations And Independent Baptist Churches)

The Meadow Hills Baptist Church in Aurora, Colorado, provides an exception to the suspicion of the Christian year t…

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Entry 7
Baptist General Conference

Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, a congregation in the Baptist General Conference, has in recent years begu…

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Entry 8
Brethren (plymouth) Assemblies

Powerful theological and historical positions make for continued resistance to the Christian year among the (Plymou…

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Entry 9
Charismatic Churches

Charismatic churches often began in a reaction against the formalism of historic denominations, and the charismatic…

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Entry 10
Christian Church (disciples Of Christ)

Worship in the Disciples of Christ denomination was shaped by the conditions of the American frontier during the ea…

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Entry 11
Christian Churches And Churches Of Christ

The Christian Churches and Churches of Christ have historically avoided the Christian year as one of the unscriptur…

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Entry 12
Christian And Missionary Alliance Churches

Both liturgical and Pentecostal styles of worship have been regarded as extremes to be avoided in the Christian and…

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Entry 13
Christian Reformed Churches

Prior to the 1960s, the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) practiced a form of worship drawn from its Reformation heri…

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Entry 14
Church Of God, Cleveland, Tennessee

Resistance to observance of the Christian year is deeply entrenched in the Church of God, Cleveland, tradition. Suc…

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Entry 15
Church Of The Brethren

It was protest against the liturgical formalism of the official church which in part gave rise to the Church of the…

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Entry 16
Church Of The Nazarene

An appreciation for the spiritual value of the Christian year is emerging in the Church of the Nazarene, despite a …

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Entry 17
Churches Of Christ

The Christian year was among the practices that the Restoration movement from the Churches of Christ repudiated due…

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Entry 18
Congregational Churches

Many of the Congregational churches not part of the United Church of Christ follow a Christian year designed to inv…

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Entry 19
Eastern Orthodox Churches

The Orthodox church sanctifies time with daily, weekly, and annual cycles of celebrations that commemorate instance…

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Entry 20
Evangelical Covenant Churches

The Evangelical Covenant Church emerged from small groups of believers (conventicles) that met to cultivate warm pe…

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Entry 21
Evangelical Free Churches

In its origins, the Evangelical Free Church sharply rejected practice of the Christian year as part of the rigid st…

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Entry 22
Evangelical Lutheran Church In America

Full observance of the church year is central to Lutheran spiritual life. Lutherans have been influenced by ecumeni…

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Entry 23
Friends (quakers)

The Quaker rejection of formalism and ceremony in worship extended to the observances of the church calendar. Resis…

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Entry 24
Independent Fundamentalist And Evangelical Churches

During the past decade, interest in a modified observance of the Christian year has been growing in some independen…

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Entry 25
International Church Of The Foursquare Gospel

Foursquare churches combine important days from the Christian year with national observances in forming their own c…

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Entry 26
Lutheran Church—missouri Synod

The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod, in continuity with Martin Luther and subsequent confessional Lutheranism, observ…

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Entry 27
Mennonite Churches

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Mennonites followed the Christian year while most American Protesta…

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Entry 28
Messianic Synagogue

Messianic Jews observe the liturgical calendar of the Torah rather than the Christian year. In some instances, they…

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Entry 29
National Baptist Convention, Usa

The worship calendar in most congregations of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. combines important days of…

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Entry 30
National Baptist Convention Of America

Observance of the Christian year has greatly increased in the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. during t…

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Entry 31
Presbyterian Church (usa)

Presbyterians have been gradually recovering the Christian year and most congregations now observe at least Advent,…

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Entry 32
Presbyterian Church In America

The sermon remains central to worship in the Presbyterian Church in America, and selection of texts is determined b…

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Entry 33
Progressive National Baptist Convention

Churches in the Progressive National Baptist Convention follow a worship calendar reflecting the African-American e…

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Entry 34
Reformed Church In America

Though heir to the Calvinist Reformation which eliminated worship practices not specified in Scripture, the Reforme…

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Entry 35
Reformed Episcopal Churches

The Reformed Episcopal Church has always used The Book of Common Prayer to guide worship life. However, the extent …

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Entry 36
Roman Catholic Churches

Practice of the church year, which has developed over centuries in the Roman Catholic tradition, underwent major re…

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Entry 37
Salvation Army

Worship in the Salvation Army does not include sacraments or observance of the traditional church year. Salvationis…

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Entry 38
Southern Baptist Convention Churches

Observance of the Christian year has been on the increase in the Southern Baptist Convention since the 1960s. Civic…

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Entry 39
United Church Of Christ

The Christian year structures worship in the United Church of Christ. Because its themes mirror a full range of hum…

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Entry 40
United Methodist Churches

In the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, observance of the Christian year by American Methodists was mainly…

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Entry 41
Vineyard

Vineyard Fellowships usually celebrate Christmas and Easter in worship, but do not otherwise follow the Christian y…

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Entry 42
Wesleyan Churches

A part of the Holiness movement, the Wesleyan Church has never followed the full church calendar. However, aspects …

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Entry 43
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod

Growing interest in liturgical renewal and the Christian year in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod is reflec…

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Entry 44
Women’s Aglow Fellowship

While they do not follow the church calendar in a formal way, Women's Aglow groups do observe many of the seasons o…

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Entry 45
Alternative Practice Of The Christian Year In Liturgical Churches

St. Gregory Nyssen Episcopal Church in San Francisco draws on ancient traditions of both the Eastern and Western ch…

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Entry 46
Alternative Practice Of The Christian Year In The Free-church Tradition

The Christian year has been instrumental in shaping congregational identity as the people of God in contrast with t…

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Entry 47
Alternative Practice Of The Christian Year In Pentecostal/charismatic Churches

Many Pentecostal assemblies have begun to discover in recent years that the stability, organization, and connection…

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Entry 48
Alternative Practice Of The Christian Year In Seekers’ Service/believers’ Worship

In endeavoring to reach unchurched seekers, Willow Creek Community Church incorporates into its worship recognition…

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