The worship spaces retain their green vestments through Season after Epiphany which continues into the month of February. The chancel may be vested in white or gold for the season’s concluding Sunday, the Transfiguration of Christ, February 22, which recalls Christ’s transfiguration on the mountain with Elijah and Moses. The penitential season of Lent, during which the chancel will again be vested in purple, begins on Ash Wednesday, February 25. On Ash Wednesday, the sign of the cross is marked with ashes on the foreheads of the penitent. The ashes, traditionally, are from the previous year’s fronds waved on Palm Sunday. The season of Lent–the name of which comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for spring--lasts forty days excluding Sundays. References from at least the ninth century identify Lent as a variable number of days for fasting and preparation for baptism by converts. Since then is has become a period of penance for members of the community of faith whose length could be reminiscent of Moses, Elias, Christ, and the forty hours, according to tradition, Christ lay in the tomb. Alleluias, visual and musical and spoken, may be “put away” until Easter Sunday. Visuals for the season of Lent may include ash gray and rough-textured cloth for paraments, stoles, and banners. Shiny objects and flowers may be removed from the worship area. A rough cross, made from the trunk of the Chrismon tree, may be placed in or near the worship space. Crosses are veiled in purple until Easter. The path to the cross has begun.
Resources
The United Methodist Book of Worship, 1992, The United Methodist Publishing House, Nashville, TN.
Thurston, Herbert, The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907, Robert Appleton Company.
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