Kingdomtide

Kingdomtide was a liturgical season observed in the autumn by the United Methodist Church, particularly in the United States, and certain other Protestant denominations.

Methodist/Protestant usage

In 1937, the Federal Council of Churches (now known as the National Council of Churches) recommended that the entire part of the Christian calendar between Pentecost and Advent be named "Kingdomtide"; however, two years later the Methodist Episcopal Church adopted the term only for the second half of this time period.

Precise criteria for determining when Kingdomtide begins vary in different localities. The most common practice is to start the season on the Sunday on or nearest August 31, which gives Kingdomtide 13 Sundays every year; in some places, Kingdomtide is commenced on the last Sunday in August, giving the season 13 Sundays in some years and 14 in others. The last Sunday of Kingdomtide is usually designated the Feast of Christ the King.

The liturgy for Kingdomtide stresses charity and assistance to the poor, in contrast to the preceding season of Pentecost, when a more spiritual mission is emphasized. Green vestments are worn at church services during Kingdomtide, replacing the red used on the Sundays after Pentecost (in churches that do not recognize Kingdomtide as a separate season, green is generally deployed throughout the entire period between Pentecost and Advent).

In the United Methodist Church since the 1990s the observance of Kingdomtide has been on the decline, with many United Methodist churches adopting the more common ecumenical pattern of wearing green vestments on the Sundays After Pentecost.

In recent years Asbury Theological Seminary, an institution with strong United Methodist roots has observed Kingdomtide as a way to frame their worship during the fall semester leading up until the Feast of Christ the King. JD Walt the dean of the chapel at Asbury says, "KingdomTide is like a banner we are unfurling to declare the mercy and justice of God in word and deed to the whole world." See their description of the season of Kingdomtide here: http://www.asburyreader.com/ (click on "what is kingdomtide")