Lutheran Christianese

The four weeks before Christmas, kept as a season of waiting and preparation — for the celebration of Jesus' birth and for His return.

The first day of Lent, marked by a cross of ashes on the forehead as a sign of repentance and mortality — "remember that you are dust."

The opening words of a service — usually a psalm or scripture passage, often read responsively — that gather the congregation and begin worship.

A summary of Christian teaching in question-and-answer form, used to instruct new believers and the young (catechism); and a person being instructed in preparation for baptism (catechumen).

Telling one's sins to a priest and receiving God's forgiveness through him — a sacrament in Catholic and Orthodox practice, also available in Anglican and Lutheran churches.

Set prayers — psalms, scripture readings, and prayers — said at fixed times through the day, in a pattern the church has kept for over 1,500 years.

A short song or formula of praise to God, especially the one that begins "Praise God from whom all blessings flow," often sung when the offering is brought forward.

January 6, the feast marking the arrival of the Magi to worship the infant Jesus — Christ revealed to the nations — and, in the Eastern church, the baptism of Christ. It ends the twelve days of Christmas.

A day on the church calendar honoring a saint or an event in the life of Christ or Mary — marked with special readings, sometimes a Mass or Liturgy, and often, despite the name, no feast.

The week before Easter, walking day by day through Jesus' last days — Palm Sunday (His entry into Jerusalem), Maundy Thursday (the Last Supper), Good Friday (the crucifixion), and Holy Saturday — ending at Easter.

The opening prayer of a service, asking God to be present and bless the gathering. Also the opening prayer at civic events — a graduation, a council meeting, a game.

The roughly forty days before Easter, from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, kept as a season of repentance, fasting, and preparation — often by giving something up.

A set, repeated order of worship with written prayers, readings, and congregational responses, followed the same way every week.

The Thursday before Easter, remembering the Last Supper — when Jesus washed His disciples' feet, instituted communion, and gave the "new commandment" to love one another. It opens the three holiest days of the year.

The long stretches of the church year that aren't a special season — after Epiphany until Lent, and after Pentecost until Advent — when the Sundays are simply numbered and the liturgical color is green.

The moment in a church service when everyone turns and greets the people around them, usually with a handshake and the words "Peace be with you."

A guest preacher who fills in when a church's regular pastor is away — sick, on vacation, on sabbatical, or gone — and the arrangement by which churches find one.

Teaching considered correct, healthy, and faithful to the Bible. "Unsound" is the polite theological word for teaching that isn't.