Not being raised in the Lutheran church, it took me a while to understand and come to appreciate many of the visual aspects of our church’s liturgy. The vestments our pastors wear, the paraments on our altars, the stained glass in our windows are just a few visual tools that point to greater teachings in Holy Scripture that are good to be reminded of each week. I knew that once I had a family of my own I would make a point of teaching my children what all these tools point to.
So on days like today, which is Reformation Sunday, a special celebration in our church, I do little things that give emphasis to what we are celebrating. Church life and home life should not be separate things.
Our church year has six seasons and for those seasons we see different color paraments, each with its own meaning. Since on Reformation Sunday our paraments are red, (the color of fire and blood, symbolizing the Holy Ghost, martyrdom, fervor, and love) we wore red clothing to church and set the table in a special way for our Sunday lunch, yes, a simple red table cloth is “a special way” around here!
