Every period of Christ’s life with us on earth has significance.  But it is easy to dwell overly much on one aspect or the other, for example, his birth, or his death, and to neglect the rest.  To avoid this, over time the Church developed the concept of the Seasons of the Christian Year.  Each season emphasizes God's revelation as shown through one aspect or another of Jesus' life.  The Anglican Communion and the other historic churches shape their pattern of worship around this sequence of observances.  During each, the scriptures and prayers examine the associated events and words, and look for “what the spirit is saying”, and celebrate that in liturgy and song.  This, when combined with observances of local tradition, and integrated with the Common Lectionary, serve to make worship time a constantly moving panorama of the riches of our Faith.

These seasons are:

Advent , a time of preparation for the coming Nativity of Our Lord, and for exploring His entry into our own lives; (November-December)

Christmas , the celebration of the Incarnation, of Christ’s birth;

Epiphany , the celebration of Christ’s baptism, and the recognition of Jesus' role (as by Simeon in Lk.2:30 -". . . my eyes have seen your salvation. . ."); (early January)

Lent , a time of preparation for Christ’s death and resurrection, is used as a time for the examination of our own lives; (movable, February/March/early April)

Easter , the celebration of Christ’s resurrection, and the triumph of life over death;

Pentecost , the celebration of the gift of the Holy Spirit; (Easter to early June)and

After Pentecost (or Trinity or Regular Time), the working out of God’s love in our lives. (June to October)

Within each of these there are particular festivals and days of penance that serve to point out aspects of God’s love and unfolding purpose, or our own need for repentance and renewal of Faith. So, among others, we observe the Institution of the Lord’s Supper, Good Friday, Trinity Sunday, Festival of St. Michael, the Easter Vigil, and All Saints and All Souls Days.

These and other signposts along the way serve to structure our spiritual practices throughout the year, and to focus our attention on God’s living presence in Christ at all times.

A related custom followed by many Anglican churches, including St. Michael’s, is to use colours to emphasize these seasons and special days. This will be seen in the fabrics on the cover on the Communion Table, reading desk, and pulpit, and in the garments worn by the clergy and assistants.

Most typically, these colours are (as used at St. Michael's):

• Blue , the colour of the sky and symbolic of Truth, is used for the season of Advent;
• White , representing purity, innocence, and holiness, for festivals such as Christmas and Easter; (White is also used in general for celebrations, including weddings, and for funerals.)
• Purple , the colour of mourning and penitence, and also of royalty, is used during Lent;
• Red , representing courage andl sacrifice, for feasts of martyrs and Palm Sunday;
• Green , representing growth and the triumph of life over death, for the long season between Pentecost and Advent.