Christ's Time for the Chruch:

Each Sunday the scripture lessons follow the Revised Common Lectionary. Each Sunday we read scriptures from a Gospel reading, a reading from the Epistles, Acts or Revelation, a Psalm, and either the Old Testament or Apocrypha. The Lectionary follows the Christian year starting with Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.

Advent/Christmas/Epiphany:

• Christmas Eve Communion: Christmas is a season of praise and thanksgiving for the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ, which begins with Christmas Eve or Day and continues through the Day of Epiphany. The name Christmas comes from the season's first service, the Christ Mass. At NHUMC we celebrate a Christmas eve communion service at 6pm .
  
  
• Baptism of our Lord: Celebrates Christ's baptism by John and reminds all Christians of our one baptism. It is an especially appropriate time for baptisms and for A Congregational Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant.
  
  
• Transfiguration: This last Sunday before Lent recalls Christ's transfiguration on the mountain with Elijah and Moses.
  
  

Lent:

• Ash Wednesday Service: Ash Wednesday emphasizes a dual encounter: we confront our own mortality and confess our sin before God within the community of faith. The form and content of the service focus on the dual themes of sin and death in the light of God's redeeming love in Jesus Christ. At NHUMC we celebrate two service one at Noon and at 6pm . An unique aspect of this service is the Imposition of Ashes to the forehead or hand. The use of ashes as a sign of mortality and repentance has a long history in Jewish and Christian worship. This ritual can be a powerful nonverbal and experiential way of participating in the call to repentance and reconciliation. This Service is the starting point for the season of Lent. Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten , which means "spring." The season is a preparation for celebrating Easter.
  
  
• Palm Sunday: This service embodies the sharp contrasts of Holy Week. In the Entrance with the Palms we experience the joyous demonstration of loyalty to Jesus as he enters Jerusalem , including festive Palm Sunday music.
  
  
• Holy Week: Holy Week is the last week of Lent, the week immediately preceding Easter Sunday. NHUMC observes this special time with a service each day of the week at 6pm . At many of the service lay persons from the community are invited to share the message. On Holy Thursday is the night Christians commemorate the supper Jesus shared with his disciples before his crucifixion, when Jesus washed the disciples' feet and instituted the Sacrament of the Lord's.
  
  
• Good Friday: In this service we remember the day Jesus was Crucified. In this service you will notice that there are no paraments, banners, flowers, or decorations on Good Friday. The Lord's table, pulpit, and other furnishings should be bare of cloth, candles, or anything else not actually used in the service. The cross remains visible, but it and any permanently fixed images may be veiled. By partly concealing the cross, the veil also calls attention to it. Also the full passion narrative is read.
  

Easter:

• Easter Sunday: The Easter Season, also known as the Great Fifty Days, begins at sunset Easter Eve and continues through the Day of Pentecost. It is the most joyous and celebrative season of the Christian year. It focuses on Christ's resurrection and ascension and on the givings of the Holy Spirit on the first Easter. It was known as the great Paschal (Easter) Vigil. Preceded by a fast day, it was the most holy and joyful night of the entire Christian year, for it proclaimed and celebrated the whole of salvation history and Christ's saving work. A focus on the baptismal font is appropriate throughout the season. A large freestanding white candle called a paschal candle may be used at every service during this season and at baptisms and funerals during the rest of the year.

 

Pentecost:

• Pentecost Sunday: The Day of Pentecost is the fiftieth and last day of the Easter Season, when the Church received the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). At NHUMC Pentecost Sunday is the day we celebrate the Confirmation of youth. On the Day of Pentecost use bright red. Bright red symbols may also be used on a white background earlier in the season.
  
  
• Blessing of the Animals: The Blessing of Animals is an outdoor worship service. All people who love animals, along with all pets and their human friends, are invited to this service, which focuses on God's gifts of animals, the natural world, and our responsibilities as stewards of God's creation.
  

• World Communion Sunday: This day calls the Church to be the universal, inclusive Church.
  

• All Saints Sunday: Is a day of remembrance for the saints, with the New Testament meaning of all Christian people of every time and place. We celebrate the communion of saints as we remember the dead, both of the Church universal and of our local congregations. For this reason, the names of persons in the congregation who have died during the past year are solemnly read as a Response to the Word.
  

• Christ The King Sunday: The Last Sunday After Pentecost, which is also the last Sunday of the Christian year, is a celebration of the coming reign of Jesus Christ and the completion of creation.