Many Tendenci sites have "code blocks" on the home page that show upcoming calendar events or articles.

These blocks are, by default, sorted by date and show the next 5 events after the current time.  This allows you to automatically show upcoming events without editing a CMS page every time an event has occurred.

The sort order for these blocks is:

1. Calendar Events - sorts by start-date-time of the event greater than the current time.  So the next event shows up at the top of the list.
2. Press Releases - sorts by press release date-time descending.  So the most recent press release is at the top of the list and ones in the past are pushed down until they leave the block.
3. Articles - same as press releases.