What is "liturgical worship"?

At Grace of God, we worship in what we consider a fairly "traditional" Christian style: the pastor shares sections of the Bible, preaches a homily / sermon, and prays. The congregation (and the pastor) sing hymns/songs, the congregation and pastor speak collectively through "call and response" liturgies, we pray both silently and together. (See here for more details about the elements our services contain.) 

Some of the visual elements of worship have ancient origins. The colors and symbols of the different church seasons (seen in the clothes the pastor wears, and the fabrics on altar, ambo, and font) - have centuries of tradition and meaning behind them. But if those meanings are never explained, then these don't mean anything! So we hope the brief explanations on this page help introduce you to some of the visual parts of liturgical worship.

If you have any questions, let Pastor know!

The colors of the liturgical year

There are four main colors used in liturgical worship.

🟪PURPLE is the color for Advent and for Lent.

Advent, the beginning of the year, looks ahead to the arrival of the King (traditionally, purple is associated with royalty.) Purple was a very expensive dye color to produce in the ancient world. Consequently, purple is also associated with sacrifice, because it cost so much. During Lent, the use of purple looks ahead to Jesus' own sacrifice, the costly price of our salvation. (Sometimes other colors are used for Advent and Lent; our own church uses◼️BLACK on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Some churches use 🟦BLUE for Advent rather than purple.)

⬜ WHITE is the color of Christmas, Easter, and a few other small special occasions.

The color white calls to mind the bright appearances of the angels who announced Jesus' birth, and resurrection.

🟥 RED is the color of festivals celebrating particular events in the Church's history.

Red symbolizes "fire", How fire spreads, how fire warms, and how fire illuminates call to mind the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, red is used for festivals that emphasize the spread of Christian faith, like Pentecost. 

 

🟩 GREEN is a catch-all color for the "ordinary" Sundays in the year, when there's no particular festival going on.

Green symbolizes growth, reminding us that as we gather to hear God's Word, we grow in faith and love.

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When he is leading the service, our pastor wears clothing coordinated with the seasons of the church year. You can see from the picture (above) that our pastor wears a robe, known as an alb, and a scarf-like accessory known as a stole. 

The alb and the color white symbolizes how his sin (and ours!) has been "washed clean" by God's redemption. (Psalm 51:7 - “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”)  On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, the pastor usually wears an all-black robe, known as a geneva, without a stole to symbolize mourning, mortality, and penitence. 

The stole the pastor wears, as well as the cloths that cover the altar, ambo (lectern), and font, may also have Christian symbols on them which have special meanings too. Want to know more? Ask the Pastor!

CHRISMONS

The Christian church is full of symbols. On any day, you'll see symbols in the church - usually in the windows or on the paraments. CHRISMONS are ornaments for the church's Christmas tree and they use some symbols that you might recognize - and some new-to-you ones that are centuries old!

Below are some symbols that are common Chrismons and what they represent to Christians.

These chrismons were customized especially for Grace of God Lutheran Church in Dix Hills, LI, So if you look closely in these Chrismons, you’ll notice a repeating pattern in the background - that’s the footprint of the shape of the church! 

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Alpha + Omega
Alpha and Omega are the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet. Used together, they are the symbolism that Christians believe Jesus is the beginning and end of all things.
Chi Rho
The Chi-Rho looks like a 'P' with an 'X' on top of it. These two letters are the first two letters of the Greek word 'Christos' which means Christ.
I H S
IHS are the first 3 letters of 'Jesus' in Greek, used to represent Jesus from the 3rd century. In the middle ages, they were used in Latin: Jesus Hominum Salvator, "Jesus, Savior of mankind." In English they can mean "In His [Jesus's] Service."
David's Star
The Star of David, sometimes called the Star of Creation, is a symbol that Jesus was a Jew and a descendant of King David.
Trefoil
The Trefoil is three equal circles intertwined to form a whole, representing the Christian 'Trinity' of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
"Nativity Star"
The Nativity Star is the symbol of the Star of Bethlehem or Epiphany, guiding the Wisemen to seek Jesus.
Dove
The Dove is the symbol of peace and the Holy Spirit.
Globus Cruciger
The Triumphant Cross symbolises that Jesus is triumphant over anything we can face in the world.
Lamp
The Lamp represents that Christians believe Jesus is the Light of the World.
Pomegranate
The Pomegranate symbolizes the church bursting with believers, each a seed of faith to share. 
Shell + Drops
The Shell is a symbol for baptism. It reminds Christians of the water that they are baptised in. 
Ship
The Ship is also a symbol of the Church, sailing towards heaven.

Chrismons were first made in the 1950's by Frances Kipps Spencer at the Ascension Lutheran Church in Danville, Virginia, USA. She also thought of the word, Chrismon, which is a combination of Christ and monogram (meaning symbol). The idea quickly spread to other churches. It is traditional that Christian groups can make their own Chrismons with their favorite symbols. Chrismons are traditionally colored white and gold: White is the liturgical color for Christmas and symbolises that Jesus was pure and perfect, gold symbolises his majesty and glory.