Gloria Dei Church and School of Chicago
Art and Environment
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church is a liturgical church. This means that we celebrate the traditional church year, which follows the life of Jesus Christ, and the saving acts that God has accomplished for us in Him. The church year can be divided into three sections. The first is the "Time of Christmas", the second the "Time of Easter" and the third the "Time of the Church" (or Ordinary Time).
The Time of Christmas includes Advent (the time of repentant preparation for the birth of Jesus), Christmas and its season and Epiphany and its season (a time hearing how Jesus revealed Himself in His teachings and miracles). The time of Easter includes Pre-Lent, Lent, Holy Week and Easter and its season. The Time of the Church (or Ordinary Time) begins with the Feast of the Holy Trinity and includes all the Sundays as 'Sundays after Trinity' until the Last Sunday of the Church Year.
The different colors in our sanctuary define what time of the Church Year we are in. The sets of paraments (the cloths that cover the altar, pulpit and lectern) are changed with the different seasons.
Blue: Blue is the color of expectant hope and anticipation. It is used in the Advent Season, as we eagerly wait for the coming Christ.
White/Gold: White has a festival connotation and is associated with the high feasts of Our Lord, especially when used in conjunction with gold, the color of glory. This parament set is used during the Christmas and Easter seasons.
Green: Green is the color of eternity and the permanence of our Christian faith. It is also the color of freshness and renewal. It is used for the Sundays after Epiphany as well as the Sundays after Holy Trinity.
Violet: Violet is the color of royalty, but is also associated with times of repentance. Violet was often worn to mourn the death of a king.
It is used during the Lenten Season to demonstrate both our repentance over sin as well as the death of Christ the King.
Red: Red is the color of fire and of blood - the color of sacrifice.
This color is used for Pentecost, which is the Festival of the Holy Spirit, Who is often symbolized by fire. Therefore, it speaks of the Church in her work and especially of her zeal for the Lord. It is also used for celebrations of the Church's confessors and martyrs.
The Lack of Color: The day that the Church is stripped of color is Good Friday, the day of the death of Jesus Christ - God's Son, our Savior. On this day, the Lord of Life was stripped of His life and the sanctuary is stripped of color.
