Pentecost Day (Whitsunday) is one of the seven principal feasts of the church year. The word "Pentecost" means "fiftieth day" and is so used because Pentecost is the fiftieth day after Easter. Pentecost marks the day when the followers of Jesus received the promised gift of the Holy Spirit and became a people with mission and purpose. It marks, in other words, the day the Church was born - the day the Apostles received Baptism by the Spirit and were brought into the full life of the Trinity. The narrative events of Pentecost can be found in the Acts of the Apostles (chapter 2).

​

The Old Testament and Israelite antecedent to Christian Pentecost is Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks. Shavuot was an agricultural event focused on the wheat harvest, which became associated over time with the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. Ultimately, the religious significance became more important and was also tied to Passover, which occurred fifty days prior. The Shavuot tradition is likely being applied by the early Christians as they recalled the story of the receiving of the Holy Spirit in light of Jesus' death and resurrection.​​​

​The Season after Pentecost

The season after Pentecost, according to the calendar of the church year (BCP, 32), begins on the Monday after Pentecost Day and continues until the Saturday before the first Sunday of Advent. The season after Pentecost might include as many as twenty-eight Sundays, depending on the date of Easter. The BCP provides proper collects and readings for the Sundays of the season, numbered for use on the Sundays which are closest to specific days in the monthly calendar. The use of "ordinal" numbers (1st, 2nd, etc.) for the Sundays gave this season the designation of Ordinary Time.

​

​It is the longest season in the liturgical year, characterized by the color green and focused on the ongoing mission of the Church and the growth of faith in daily life. Green symbolizes hope, growth, and the life of the Church, reflecting the ongoing journey of faith and the natural world. The Sundays in this season are numbered, such as the "Second Sunday after Pentecost"

 

There are several important feasts in the Season after Pentecost:

• Trinity Sunday - 1st Sunday after Pentecost, the church celebrates and recalls the Holy Trinity - “the one and equal glory of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in Trinity of Persons and in Unity of Being.” 

• All Saints' Day - On November 1, the Church commemorates all saints, those known and unknown.

• Christ the King Sunday - On the Last Sunday after Pentecost (always a Sunday before or after Thanksgiving), the Church commemorates Christ's messianic kingship and sovereign rule over all creation. This is the "patronal" feast day for our parish.​