Liturgical year observed; Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost celebrated
Methodist churches observe the liturgical year, including Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost. This liturgical heritage was inherited from the Church of England through Wesley, who retained the Prayer Book calendar and its collects. The United Methodist Book of Worship and the Revised Common Lectionary, widely used in Methodist churches, are organized around the liturgical year.
Charles Wesley's hymns for Christmas, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, and other occasions are among the most celebrated in Christian hymnody and have deeply shaped the way Methodists celebrate the liturgical seasons. Methodist practice also includes special services for Watchnight (New Year's Eve/Watch Night), All Saints' Day, and communion on World Communion Sunday. While Methodist churches do not have saints' days in the Catholic sense, the observance of the major Christian festivals is universal in Methodist worship.
Key Distinctions
- Christmas easter observed:
- observed — Christmas and Easter are core celebrations of the Christian calendar
- Biblical feasts observed:
- not formally observed; OT feasts are fulfilled in Christ
- Rationale:
- historical events of the Incarnation and Resurrection are celebrated liturgically
Scripture References
Sources
- United Methodist Book of Worship (current edition)
- Book of Common Prayer, Calendar (as received by early Methodism)
- Charles Wesley, Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord (1745)