Just as the calendar year is divided by months and also by seasons, so is the church year. Advent,Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and what some denominations call “Ordinary Time” are church seasons or periods of time according to religious tradition. The combination of “church seasons”, commemoration of special events and events that have traditionally taken place provide a rhythm to life at Grace.  

 This outlines the rhythm of Grace’s year. 

 Officially the Church year starts at Advent but we are reverting the practice of our youth when September and school marked a new beginning.

 September

Church services begin at 11:00am.

 Activities that have been on vacation over the summer start up again.  On a Sunday in early September registration for Sunday School takes place.  By the middle of September there are official classes for the youth and there are events for the young during the church service.

Walk with Grace will shift to 7pm sometime this month.

 October

 World-wide Communion Sunday is usually celebrated the first Sunday in October.  Christian denominations world-wide celebrate communion on the same Sunday.

 Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Sunday in October, usually after World-wide Communion Sunday. 

Book Sale is one of the fundraising events by the Church.  It often is held mid-month on a Friday evening 5pm-8pm and Saturday 8am-2pm.

Blessing of the Pets is an ecumenical service held at Sullivan’s Pond

 November

Remembrance Sunday is celebrated on the closest Sunday before Remembrance Day.  The local Legion Branch attends our service in rotation.

Anniversary Sunday is held mid to late November and marks the anniversary of the founding of the Grace Congregation.  A guest preacher is usually featured at this service.

Book sale is held in November same hours at Septemebe’s but often with a bake sale table and a New-to-you Christmas Room.

 Advent

November/December

 Advent takes place during the four Sundays before Christmas.    It is a period of waiting and preparation.  There are a number of traditions built up around Advent at Grace.  Every week a new candle is lit on the Advent wreath around the theme of that Sunday (often hope, love, joy and peace).  At the service on Christmas Eve, the Christ candle (middle candle) is lit.  Since there are severe allergies to candles in the congregation we use “battery-operated” candles.

 Sometimes the activities that we participate in through Advent may begin before the start of Advent.

Tree of Warmth: An artificial tree is set-up in the Church and people are asked to “decorate” the tree with mittens, gloves, socks, under garments etc. that are provided to organizations who work with people who are homeless or in poverty.

Stocking Gifts: Using a list of family needs from social service organizations, we collect Christmas gifts for donation to families. On Anniversary Sunday, we hang paper stockings at the front of the Church with a request for a certain gift (e.g., grocery gift card, article of clothing, toy). Members of the congregation take a stocking and return it with the gift (and gift receipt) to be wrapped and distributed, Gifts are due back to the Church in early December.

 Memory Tree: A tree is set up at the front of the Church and, for a donation, bulbs on it are lit and ornaments are hung in the memory of a loved one.  The names of the honoured one appear in the church bulletin/Powerpoint and during the Christmas Eve service.  Donations are used to raise funds for the church operations. 

 Food Bank Christmas Hamper and Gift Bag Program: This program is operated by North Dartmouth Outreach Resource Centre Food Bank, which is the food bank we support.  We are asked for donations of full-sized personal care products or treats for gift bags.  Volunteers from Grace also assist in packing and delivery.

Cookies for Margaret’s House:  The Sunday School Christmas party includes decorating cookies which are delivered to Margaret’s House.

 First Sunday of Advent usually has communion celebrated during the Church Service.

Advent Event takes placeafter Church in the Upper Hall. There is an activity and then singing of carols before we make a circle and sing Silent Night before heading out into the world. 

 White Gift Service is usually the second or third Sunday of Advent.  Often there is a special drama.  People of the congregation bring food for the foodbank which is gathered during the Church Service.

Service of Lesson and Carols is usually the second or third Sunday in Advent.  The Choir presents a service of carols interspersed with readings from the Bible or other texts.

Carol singing usually takes place in the early evening of the fourth Sunday of Advent (weather permitting).  Members of the Church who are shut-in are usually visited (people can car pool) and the evening ends with treats for the carollers. This activity had been suspended during the Pandemic and resumption will depend on safety concerns.

 Christmas

December/January

Children’s Christmas Eve Service is usually a drama presented by the youth of the congregation in the late afternoon on December 24.

 Family Christmas Eve Service is held in the early evening on December 24.  There isn’t communion served at this service.

 Christmas Day – unless December 25 is a Sunday, there is not a church service on this day.

 Epiphany

January/February

Epiphany is celebrated on the Sunday closest to January 6.  It traditionally marks the coming of the Wise Men or Magi to visit Jesus.  In some traditions it marks looking ahead to the mission of the Church in light of Jesus’ birth.

Women’s Brunch is usually held near Epiphany as the Early Morning Risers (Women’s) Breakfast group usually arranges a get together at a local restaurant for all the women in the congregation.

 “Leprosy Sunday” is usually held in late January or early February.  The Sunday School usually make containers to raise funds to support the Leprosy Mission.

 Baden-Powell Sunday is usually held on the Sunday closet to Baden-Powell’s birthday, February 22, and celebrates the guide and scouting movements.  Groups that are hosted at Grace join us for the service.

 Shrove Tuesday is the last day before the start of Lent/Ash Wednesday.  The congregation gathers for a pancake supper (there is a small charge to defray costs and fund the Easter breakfast) and a short informal worship service.

Book Sale fundraiser is often held in this period.

Lent

February/March/April

Lent is the forty day period before Easter (not counting Sundays) which is to be used as a period of reflection before Easter.  Since Easter is a movable date, the timing of Lent varies.  The period of Lent itself begins with Ash Wednesday.  In many Christian traditions it is a penitential period and often giving up of something (e.g., chocolate) is emphasized to remind us of Jesus’ sacrifice.  In the United Church the preference is the taking up of a new (good) habit to mark that through the Resurrection we live in Christ and Christ lives in us and we seek to become more Christ-like.

Confirmation classes are sometimes held during Lent.  Confirmation marks when a person who is baptized makes their own promises in front of the Church about belief and participation in church life.  The classes explore what those promises are and if you are ready to make them. It is through confirmation or transferal of membership that people become official members of Grace United Church. 

Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent.  Pre-pandemic it marked the start of Wednesday noon-day services hosted by the Dartmouth Downtown Churches.  A different church is the venue every year but the services are hosted by a different church each week.  Services are timed to be less than an hour.

Holy Week – This is the week extending from Psalm Sunday to Easter Sunday.

Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter and the service usually has a dramatic presentation of Holy Week beginning at Palm Sunday (Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem) and ending with the crucifixion.

Holy or Maundy Thursday is the Thursday after Palm Sunday and before Good Friday that traditionally marks Jesus’ celebration of the Last Supper, which would have been at the Jewish feast of Passover. 

Good Friday is celebrated the Friday before Easter and marks the act of crucifixion of Jesus.  There is a joint ecumenical service with the Dartmouth downtown churches.  It is hosted in rotation but the churches all participate in the service.

Easter

March/April

Easter – Early Morning Service is celebrated at 8am at the Dartmouth Ferry Terminal Park (near the wharves and propeller), weather and health regulations permitting.  The service is short and informal.

Easter Breakfast starts at 8:30am in the Lower Hall when the congregation gathers together to eat breakfast.  People are encouraged to bring a donation to the food bank and muffins to share.

Easter Service is held at 11:00am and usually has special music and communion.

 May

Region Sunday marks the Sunday in late May (or early June) when representatives of the Bermuda Nova Scotia Region’s pastoral charges including clergy gather at the its annual meeting.  The service is usually hosted by the choir.

 Pentecost

May/June

Pentecost is fifty days after Easter and marks the time when the Holy Spirit descended on the early Christian Church.  People are encouraged to wear red and often there is a special event after the Service.

Book Sale is often held during this period.

Yard and perennial plant sale takes place in late May and is a fundraiser for Grace.

 June

 Church services start at 10:00am until the first Sunday in September.

Walk with Grace shifts to 7pm.

Summer

 For a five-week period in the summer Grace United Church and St. James Church alternate providing church and pastoral care services for members of the other’s congregation.  The time shifts each year.  A communion service usually takes place during the summer period.

 There are other events that occur throughout the year.  Please watch for announcements in the bulletin, church e-mail, Facebook or on the website www.graceuniteddartmouth.ca