United Methodists are encouraged to follow the Calendar for the
Christian Year, which was adopted as the official United Methodist
liturgical calendar by the 1984 General Conference and published in The
United Methodist Book of Worship (1985). The Common Calendar consists of
the Christmas Cycle and the Easter Cycle. Each cycle consists of a
preparatory season (Advent and Lent), a festival season (Christmas and
Easter), and an "ordinary time" of growth (Seasons after Epiphany and
after Pentecost).
This official calendar reflects the common usage of Christians in
North America but the General Conference did include a provision that
gave United Methodists the option of referring to the Season after
Pentecost as Kingdomtide.