The Bible
		The Church
		The Holy Spirit
		The Soul
		The Triune God
		Jesus Christ

Sunday, the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the day on which most Lutheran churches gather for weekly worship. The lessons read on Sundays are assigned in a three-year cycle following an ecumenically developed pattern called the Revised Common Lectionary.

The church year centers on two primary seasonal cycles: Christmas and Easter. The Christmas cycle includes a four week time of preparation called Advent, Christmas (December 25) and 12 days of celebration after Christmas. The Christmas cycle concludes with the festival of Epiphany on January 6. The Easter cycle begins with the Ash Wednesday observance, continues through 40 days of Lenten preparation (excluding Sundays), Palm/Passion Sunday, Holy Week, the Three Days (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil), and 50 days of Easter celebration beginning with Easter Sunday and concluding with the festival of Pentecost. The dates for this cycle vary according to the movable date of Easter Day. The time in between these two primary cycles of the church year is simply called time after Epiphany or time after Pentecost.

Throughout the year, the church also observes various festivals and commemorations that celebrate the life of Christ and the witness of those who accompanied and testified to him, and the gifts of God in the church. More information about these festivals and commemorations can be found in resources available from Augsburg Fortress, Publishers, including the planning guide, “Sundays and Seasons” available both in print and online. Colors appointed for the various days and seasons are provided in the calendars below (see also the Worship FAQ on Liturgical Colors).

The Lutheran Calendar: Sundays and Principal Festivals

(Liturgical colors are provided to the right of the entry for the day)

Lesser Festivals and Commemorations

January
1 NAME OF JESUS — White
2 Johann Konrad Wilhelm Loehe, pastor, 1872 — White
15 Martin Luther King Jr., renewer of society, martyr, 1968 — Scarlet/Red
17 Antony of Egypt, renewer of the church, c. 356 — White
Pachomius, renewer of the church, 346 — White
18 CONFESSION OF PETER — White
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins
19 Henry, Bishop of Uppsala, martyr, 1156 — Scarlet/Red
21 Agnes, martyr, c.304 — Scarlet/Red
25 CONVERSION OF PAUL — White
Week of Prayer for Christian unity ends
26 Timothy, Titus and Silas, missionaries — White
27 Lydia, Dorcas and Phoebe, witnesses to the faith — White
28 Thomas Aquinas, teacher, 1274 — White

February
2 PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD — White
3 Ansgar, Bishop of Hamburg, missionary to Denmark and Sweden, 865 — White
5 The Martyrs of Japan, 1597 — Scarlet/Red
14 Cyril, monk, 869; Methodius, bishop, 885; missionaries to the Slavs — White
18 Martin Luther, renewer of the church, 1546 — White
23 Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, martyr, 156 — Scarlet/Red
25 Elizabeth Fedde, deaconess, 1921 — White

March
1 George Herbert, hymnwriter, 1633 — White
2 John Wesley, 1791; Charles Wesley, 1788; renewers of the church — White
7 Perpetua and Felicity and companions, martyrs at Carthage, 202 — Scarlet/Red;
10 Harriet Tubman, 1913; Sojourner Truth, 2883; renewers of society — White
12 Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, 604 — White
17 Patrick, bishop, missionary to Ireland, 461 — White
19 JOSEPH, GUARDIAN OF JESUS — White
21 Thomas Cranmer, Bishop of Canterbury, martyr, 1556 — Scarlet/Red
22 Jonathan Edwards, teacher, missionary to American Indians, 1758 — White
24 Oscar Arnulfo Romero, Bishop of El Salvador, martyr, 1980 — Scarlet/Red
25 ANNUNCIATION OF OUR LORD — White
29 Hans Nielsen Hauge, renewer of the Church, 1824 — White
31 John Donne, poet, 1631 — White

April
4 Benedict the African, confessor, 1589 — White
6 Albrecht Durer, painter, 1528; Matthias Grunewald, 1529; Lucas Cranach, 1553; artists — White
9 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian, 1945 — White
10 Mikael Agricola, Bishop of Turku, 1557 — White
19 Olavus Petri, priest, 1552; Laurentius Petri, Bishop of Uppsala, 1573; renewers of the Church — White
21 Anselm, Bishop of Canterbury, 1109 — White
23 Toyohiko Kagawa, renewer of society, 1960 — White
25 MARK, EVANGELIST — Scarlet/Red
29 Catherine of Siena, theologian, 1380 — White

May
1 PHILIP AND JAMES, APOSTLES, — Scarlet/Red
2 Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, 373 — White
4 Monica, mother of Augustine, 387 — White
8 Julian of Norwich, renewer of the church, c. 1416 — White
9 Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, renewer of the church, hymnwriter, 1760 — White
14 MATTHIAS, APOSTLE — Scarlet/Red
18 Erik, King of Sweden, martyr, 1160 — Scarlet/Red
21 Helena, mother of Constantine, c. 330 — White
24 Nicolaus Copenucus, 1543; Leonhard Euler, 1783; scientists — White
27 John Calvin, renewer of the church, 1564 — White
29 Jiri Tranovsk , hymnwriter, 1637 — White
31 VISIT OF MARY TO ELIZABETH — White

June
1 Justin, martyr at Rome, c. 165 — Scarlet/Red
3 The Martyrs of Uganda, 1886 — Scarlet/Red; John XXIII, Bishop of Rome, 1963 — White
5 Boniface, Bishop of Mainz, missionary to Germany, martyr, 754 — Scarlet/Red
7 Seattle, chief of the Duwamish Confederacy, 1866 — White
9 Columba, 597; Aidan, 651; Bede, 735; renewers of the church — White
11 BARNABAS, APOSTLE — Red
14 Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea, 379; Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, c. 385; Gregory of Nazianzus, Bishop of Constantinople, c. 389; Macrina, teacher; — White
21 Onesimos Nesib, translator, evangelist, 1931 — White
24 JOHN THE BAPTIST — White
25 Presentation of the Augsburg Confession, 1530; Philipp Melanchthon, renewer of the Church, 1560 — White
27 Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, 444 - White
28 Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, c. 202 — White
29 PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES — Scarlet/Red

July
1 Catherine Winkworth, 1878; John Mason Neale, 1866; hymn translators — White
3 THOMAS, APOSTLE — Scarlet/Red
6 Jan Hus, martyr, 1415 — Scarlet/Red
11 Benedict of Nursia, Abbot of Monte Cassino, c. 540 — White
12 Nathan Soderblom, Bishop of Uppsala, 1931 — White
17 Bartolomé‚ de Las casas, missionary to the Indies, 1566 — White
22 MARY MAGDALENE, APOSTLE — White
23 Birgitta of Sweden, 1373 — White
25 JAMES, APOSTLE — Scarlet/Red
28 Johann Sebastian Bach, 1750; Heinrich Schutz, 1672; George Frederick Handel, 1759; musicians — White
29 Mary, Martha and Lazarus of Bethany — White; Olaf, King of Norway, martyr, 1030 — Scarlet/Red

August
8 Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), 1221 — White
10 Lawrence, deacon, martyr — Scarlet/Red
11 Clare, Abbess of San Damiano, 1253 — White
13 Florence Nightingale, 1910; Clara Maass, 1901; renewers of society — White
14 Maximilian Kolbe, 1941; Kaj Munk, 1944; martyrs — Scarlet/Red
15 MARY, MOTHER OF OUR LORD — White
20 Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, 1153 — White
24 BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE — Red
28 Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 430 — White; Moses the Black, monk, martyr, c. 258 — Scarlet/Red

September
2 Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig, bishop, renewer of the Church, 1872 — White
9 Peter Claver, priest, missionary to Colombia, 1654 — White
13 John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople, 407 — White
14 HOLY CROSS DAY — Scarlet/Red
16 Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, martyr, c. 258 — Scarlet/Red
17 Hildegard, Abbess of Bingen, 1179 — White
18 Dag Hammarskjold, renewer of society, 1961 — White
21 MATTHEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST — Scarlet/Red
29 MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS — White
30 Jerome, translator, teacher, 420 — White

October
4 Francis of Assisi, renewer of the Church, 1226; Theodor Fliedner, renewer of society, 1864 — White
6 William Tyndale, translator, martyr, 1536 — Scarlet/Red
7 Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, pastor in North America, 1787 — White
15 Teresa of Avila, teacher, renewer of the church, 1582 — White
17 Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, martyr, c. 115 — Scarlet/Red
18 LUKE, EVANGELIST — Scarlet/Red
23 James of Jerusalem, martyr, c. 62 — Scarlet/Red
26 Philipp Nicolai, 1608; Johann Heermann, 1647; Paul Gerhardt, 1676; hymnwriters — White
28 SIMON AND JUDE, APOSTLES — Scarlet/Red
31 REFORMATION DAY — Red

November
1 ALL SAINTS DAY — White
3 Martin de Porres, renewer of society, 1639 — White
7 John Christian Frederick Heyer,1873; Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg, 1719; Ludwig Nommensen, 1918; missionaries — White
11 Martin, Bishop of Tours, 397; Soren Aabye Kierkegaard, teacher, 1855 — White
17 Elizageth of Hungary, renewer of society, 1231 — White
23 Clement, Bishop of Rome, c. 100 — White; Miguel Agustin Pro, martyr, 1927 — Scarlet/Red
24 Justus Falckner, 1723; Jehu Jones, 1852; William Passavant, 1894; pastors in North America — White
25 Isaac Watts, hymnwriter, 1748 — White
30 ANDREW, APOSTLE — Scarlet/Red

December
3 Francis Xavier, missionary to Asia, 1552 — White
4 John of Damascus, theologian and hymnwriter, c. 749 — White
6 Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, c. 342 — White
7 Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, 397 — White
13 Lucy, martyr, 304 — Scarlet/Red
14 John of the Cross, 1591, renewer of the Church — White
20 Katharina von Bora Luther, renewer of the church, 1552 — White
26 STEPHEN, DEACON AND MARTYR — Scarlet/Red
27 JOHN, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST — White
28 THE HOLY INNOCENTS, MARTYRS — Scarlet/Red