Editor’s Note: It is fitting that this millennial worship resource begin with a liturgy for the Festival of Christ the King (the final Sunday of the Church Year/ November 21,1999). As congregations move closer to Advent, Christmas, the end of a year, and especially at this transition and turning of the millennium, it is appropriate to begin this significant period in the church’s life with a liturgical focus on the centrality of Christ in our past, present, and future. This suggested liturgy frames the entire celebration cycle mentioned above. The design and use of such a liturgy can be the inaugural of the church’s millennial turning celebration culminating with the “Seven Days of Praise and Prayer.” The Festival of Christ the King “is both the Last Sunday After Pentecost and the last Sunday of the Christian Year. It is not so much a climax in itself, however, as it is a transitional Sunday leading directly to Advent, the Christmas cycle, and the new Christian Year. People are already thinking about Christmas, and the observance of Christ the King can help them prepare by stressing the continuity between the celebration of kingship, or sovereignty, of Christ and the expectation of Christ’s coming again in sovereign glory which opens the Advent Season. We have more than a baby Jesus at Christmas; we have a sovereign Christ. ‘Joy to the world! The Lord is come: Let earth receive her King.’ “In preparing for the celebration of Christ the King it is important to study the Scripture readings. In a given year there will be the prefiguration of Christ’s rule in the Old Testament, a particular unfolding of the meaning of the messianic age in the Epistle and a portrayal of the paradox: Servant/King from the Gospel. “White is the customary color for this day. Gold is also appropriate; even a little purple may be introduced, as the color of royalty and in anticipation of the coming transition into Advent. Symbols of royalty may be used—crown, orb, scepter—especially when they contain, or are combined with, a cross. Images of Christ as Pantocrator (ruler of all) are appropriate.” 15   Other Worship & Study Resouce Articles: | Christ the King | Advent/Christmas Liturgies | | Watch Night Vespers & Vigil | Watch Night Owlah Service |

| Introduction | Preface | Contents | Copyright | | Millennial Perspectives | Worship and Study Resources | | Seven Days of Praise and Prayer |Prayer and Worship for a Jubilee Week | The Last Letter: Revelation’s News | Repairing the World: God's Gift of Jubilee | Hymns | Additional Liturgical Resources | Appendix |