Pentecost and Our Church’s 45th Birthday

          The disciples, numbering many more than the twelve closest (minus Judas), were awed and even confused by their encounters with their resurrected Lord. They weren’t yet the inspired (literally in-spirited) community that initiated the church and began its spread around the world. They needed something more. It’s this something more that we celebrate on Pentecost Sunday.

          Pentecost means 50 days – originally, 50 days after Passover. It was a Jewish festival with roots in both agriculture and the giving of the laws of Moses. It was one of the three annual festivals that filled Jerusalem with pilgrims. It was at Pentecost that the disciples experienced (and the crowd in the streets soon heard from them) a transformation. Luke, writing in Acts 2, describes graphically the power of the Holy Spirit’s coming. The apostle Peter interprets this event to the crowd by quoting the prophet Joel: I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy.

          The church was born, and the Good News was turned loose upon the world!

          This year, Pentecost falls on May 27. The observance always occurs near the actual anniversary of the formal chartering of our congregation back in May, 1962. This year, it will be our church’s 45th birthday.

          Plans are underway for a real celebration on Pentecost. A special activity for children, lively worship, and a party with cake and birthday gifts for our church (a wish list will soon be published!) are in the works.

          Yes, this falls on Memorial Day weekend. But I hope you can come and help make this a Pentecost to remember!

Peace,
Rod