Day of Pentecost (Whit Sunday)
The Common Worship lectionary readings for Day of Pentecost (Whit Sunday) in Year A, the liturgical colour, and what changes in the order of service.
Year AEasterred
The readings
- First reading
- Acts 2:1-21 or Numbers 11:24-30
- Psalm
- Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
- Second reading
- 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 or Acts 2:1-21
- Gospel
- John 20:19-23 or John 7:37-39
Citations follow the Revised Common Lectionary as used in the Church of England's Common Worship principal service lectionary. Verse numbering can differ very slightly between Bible translations.
The liturgical colour
Red for the Spirit and for blood: Pentecost, Passiontide, and the feasts of martyrs. On this Sunday the colour is red.
What changes in the service
The Gloria returns and the Alleluia is sung freely, including in the dismissal.
In SundayHQ this is the eastertide template shape. You set your order of service once; when the season turns, one click applies the seasonal change and leaves the rest of your parish's own wording alone.
Hymns that fit these readings
Suggestions matched to the readings above, each with the reason it was chosen:
- Opening — Lord, the light of your love is shining Pentecost fire and light, for a fuller church
- Gradual — Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire 'Receive the Holy Spirit' — the Pentecost hymn
- Offertory — O thou who camest from above Fire kindled on the mean altar of my heart
- Communion — Breathe on me, breath of God Quiet invocation of the Spirit at the table
- Final — The Spirit lives to set us free Sends them out under the Spirit
When it next falls
| Date | Liturgical year |
|---|---|
| 20 May 2029 | Year A |
| 16 May 2032 | Year A |
| 13 May 2035 | Year A |
| 13 June 2038 | Year A |
Year A comes round every three years. The date moves because the whole calendar hangs off Easter.
The same Sunday in the other years
Questions
What are the readings for Day of Pentecost (Whit Sunday) in Year A?
First reading Acts 2:1-21 or Numbers 11:24-30; Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; second reading 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 or Acts 2:1-21; Gospel John 20:19-23 or John 7:37-39.
What colour is worn on Day of Pentecost (Whit Sunday)?
Red. Red for the Spirit and for blood: Pentecost, Passiontide, and the feasts of martyrs.
Which season is Day of Pentecost (Whit Sunday) in?
Easter. Fifty days from Easter Day to Pentecost. White and gold, the Alleluia everywhere, the Gloria back.