Preparing for the Long Green Season
We enter the Season After Pentecost, sometimes referred to as Ordinary Time, and sometimes referred
to as The Long Green Season. Ordinary Time refers to the time in which the church studies the many
and varied stories of Jesus. This year they will mostly come from the gospel of Matthew. The Long Green
Season is a pairing of sorts that encompasses the fact that it takes place in summer and that the liturgical
color is green.
Summer is the time when most people take vacations. The weather is warm. Our schedules are not as
busy as they are at other times of the year. It is easy to slip into a false sense of security thinking that life
will be slow and easy.
In reality, we know that Fall will come and then winter and then winter as well. This is symbolic of life
itself. Our lives can be experienced as Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. We experience life as children
& youth, as adults in the prime of our lives, as adults who realize our best days are behind us, and as
seniors whose thoughts are dominated by the hope and promise of eternal life.
The Long Green Season goes by quickly. Summer goes by quickly. “So, teach us to count our days that
we may gain a wise heart.” (Ps.90:12) Fall will come and then winter as well. “Each winter as the year
grows older, we each grow older too. The chill sets in a little colder; the verities we knew seem shaken
and untrue. (William Gay) “Time like an ever-rolling stream bears all our years away.” (Isaac Watts) Let
us make the best of our days during the long green season. what may seem to be ordinary time is
precious.
Pastor Gary
