✦ zenith calendar · the methodist almanac
the christian year in one quiet layer of your sky, each day explained in its own tradition's words.
methodist is one of the holiday almanacs that come with zenith calendar. it holds the christian year as the united methodist church and the methodist church in britain keep it, with wesley day, aldersgate day, among its days.
its moving days hang from the western churches' published easter, ash wednesday, pentecost and advent tables, by the churches' own rules, so nothing is worked out on your phone. tap a day and read three short paragraphs: what it is, where it comes from, and how it is kept.
gregorian · the christian year, hung from the western churches' published tables
a sunday, beginning the weeks of advent
the first day of the christian year, beginning weeks of hope and waiting for christ, born in bethlehem and coming again.
the first candle of the advent wreath is lit and the church is dressed in purple or blue. methodists sing charles wesley's advent hymns, "come, thou long-expected jesus" and "lo, he comes with clouds descending."
25 december
the feast of the nativity of the lord, the birth of jesus christ, and the first of the twelve days of christmas.
the church is dressed in white or gold, and the people worship together with the great carols, many of them charles wesley's. the day is spent with family, gifts and a festive meal.
a sunday, from the published western easter
the resurrection of the lord, the greatest feast of the christian year: christ is risen. it begins the fifty days of easter that run to pentecost.
many methodists rise early for sunrise services, greet one another "christ is risen; he is risen indeed," and fill the church with flowers. charles wesley's "christ the lord is risen today" is sung nearly everywhere, and families share an easter meal.
the fiftieth day of easter
the day that celebrates the gift of the holy spirit and the birth of the church.
the church is dressed in red for the fire of the spirit, and many wear red too. it is a day for baptisms, confirmations and the renewal of the baptismal covenant.
zenith calendar draws the year as an orbit round the sun. lit, methodist puts its days on their days on that ring, in ice blue. its mark is ✛.
each of its days carries three short paragraphs in its notes: what it is, where it comes from as its own tradition tells it, and how it is kept.
methodist arrives locked, so nothing in it changes by accident. the lock guards your hand, not your eye: you can still read it, shine it or eclipse it. one tap unlocks it, and then it is yours to rename, recolour or add to.
tap its chip in the legend to eclipse it (kept, but not drawn) and tap again to bring it back. nothing is deleted either way.
methodist shares one sky with your own commitments. like every almanac that comes with the app, it never counts toward the almanacs you can make for free, and it lives on your phone: zenith calendar has no server of its own.
✦ zenith calendar · the sky around it
methodist is a single layer. beneath it is a whole calendar drawn as the sky, your year an orbit round the sun, and every part of it answers your touch.
the sun stands at the centre and the year rings round it, with today's earth riding at today's place, its small moon beside it. tap the ring anywhere else and a faint ghost earth waits on that day.
drag along the ring and the days pass under your finger, the big date and the day's list following as you go. lift, and the day you stopped on stays picked.
tap the small moon beside today's earth and you dive into the week. the moon above shows its phase, named underneath; swipe the dates and each week brings its own.
tap the sun and the ring tips on its edge into a ladder of years. in the week, pull the moon firmly down and the month opens, the moon resting half off its foot.
zenith calendar has no server of its own. tap the gear and switch on "nothing comes in" or "nothing leaves this phone"; lift them, and every almanac is back exactly as it was.
methodist is waiting in the app, and the rest of the sky comes with it.
methodist · the methodist christian year ·
Easter Day falls on 28 March 2027. In Zenith Calendar it sits on the ring of your year in the methodist almanac, beside your own days.
The first Sunday of Advent falls on 29 November 2026, the first day of the Christian year.
Wesley Day, or Aldersgate Day, is 24 May, the day Methodists remember John Wesley's assurance of faith in 1738. Britain calls it Wesley Day and the United Methodist Church Aldersgate Day, and both may keep it on the Sunday before.
New Year's Eve or New Year's Day is shown on 31 December, the day the Methodist Church in Britain dates it.
Zenith Calendar for Android comes with an almanac called methodist: the Christian year as the United Methodist Church and the Methodist Church in Britain keep it, drawn on the ring of your year beside your own days. Turning it on costs nothing.
Its moving days hang from the western churches' published Easter, Ash Wednesday, Pentecost and Advent tables by the churches' own rules. Nothing is worked out on your phone.