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D. The Season after Epiphany & Ordinary Time in the summer.
Though the focus is on Pentecost for a bit after the Day of Pentecost.
Sadly, E. Nothing. We do the season thing only during Advent. We did a decent job (by comparison to our church's recent history) with holy week this year, but didn't "observe" Lent per se. So yeah, seems we're taking that smorgasbord approach, which always grates on me. I'm pretty convinced that you can only pick-n-choose these sorts of things to the detriment of the whole; or at least you do it to the negation of the richness and cohesion and true value of the practice itself.
Since I am in a military chapel environment, I have a bit more freedom with this.
One of the things I emphasize with my chaplains is a focus on the theme rather than the name. In our ecumenical setting, some don't react well to things like "Lent" or "Advent." So I encourage my chaplains just to use the texts/themes/hymns for the days--I think this approach might work with some of our Nazarene churches.
That being said, I usually refer to those seasons as "Ordinary Time."
I should have said that I *personally* think of this time as "ordinary time" and I would use this terminology if I could move my church toward observing the seasons. Incidentally, I just had a brainstorm about how we might do this at my church in a palatable way that my senior pastor and other leaders might get on board (or at least not dismiss it too quickly). I'll keep y'all posted as to how it shakes out.
Nothing...to my great dismay.
I've been giving this a little thought from time-to-time and I think I find myself moving towards the Webber's framework (found in Ancient-Future Time). He basically has two cycles: The cycle of light (Advent/Christmastide/Epiphany [including the season after Epiphany]) and the cycle of life (Lent/Eastertide/the season after Pentecost).
Yet, at the same time I find myself drawn to the UMC's development of Kingdomtide. But even Kingdomtide would fit within the scope of the new life that we have in Jesus through the Spirit.
I think that Webber's cycles helps us move through in ways very much like you have worked out, Eric. For instance that in Advent/Xmas/Epiphany you have Preperation, Celebration, and Integration. The light is coming. The light has dawned, the light spreads/grows. It sews them together as one unit.
Eric, I think that one of the simple brilliance is the way in which you work through the movement of A/C/E. It doesn't mean all that much if we don't apply/integrate/assimilate what it means for God to come to us as man in the Epiphany.
I think that for Year C I will more intentionally work from these two cycles/movements.
Trying to get back into the conversations. Sorry I've been away for so long. I am trying to use the traditional names...Advent/Lent/Ordinary Time.
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