Dear friends,
This coming Sunday, May 31, is Pentecost, the birthday of the church. The church finds itself in a similar position to those of us who have had birthdays during this “stay-at-home” time. We are challenged to rethink our usual ways of celebrating, to dive deeper into the intention behind our traditions, to try something new. This year I will miss our giant dove coming down the center aisle, but I will look forward to a new tradition—bubbles!
The setting for the Pentecost story is a crowded city. People from all over the world had gathered in Jerusalem for the celebration of a festival. It’s the kind of event we would need to cancel if it were happening this year.
The meaning of the story, though, is not dependent on the setting. The story conveys a much deeper truth: the Holy Spirit is powerful enough to overcome barriers to human connection. The Holy Spirit creates community in spite of the obstacles. That makes it an especially relevant story for us today.
In the last two months, we have experienced the Holy Spirit at work, strengthening our community even when we are physically distanced. The Spirit has prompted people to reach out to each other, by phone and by writing cards and sending emails. The Spirit has inspired original music, shared by congregation members. The Spirit pervades our “chats” during Zoom worship services with warmth and caring. The Spirit awakens the creativity of the teachers and parents and mental health workers with whom I have spoken in recent weeks.
As we have become more familiar with the Zoom platform for worship, we are discovering ways to include more voices in the service. For Pentecost, which is all about different voices coming together, we will experiment even more. In place of a typical sermon, three members of the congregation will tell stories about miracles of understanding in their lives. We will invite congregation members to un-mute yourselves and turn on video for a few minutes so we can see each other and hear our voices. And there will be bubbles!
For our Pentecost celebration, we invite you to wear red. It could be red pajamas, or a red hat to cover your shaggy hair, or a red flower. We invite you to bring bubbles to the service (we are working to get those out to you this week). We encourage you to reflect on the ways the Holy Spirit has moved through your life in this time, overcoming barriers and helping you claim connection.
Peace,
Debbie