Pastor's Page 06-01-2025
From Our Pastor
Dear Church Family,
This month on June 8th, we have a great day to celebrate as a congregation. Pentecost is on June 8th, and we are going to celebrate! Pentecost is the birthday of the church when the Holy Spirit descended on the believers.
An excerpt from the Companion to the Book of Common Worship (Geneva Press, 2003, 117-119): According to the Day of Pentecost story in Acts 2:1-13, God gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower witnesses to the resurrection. Sounds from heaven, cosmic language, the rush of a might ruach (wind, spirit, breath) invaded the house in which the apostles gathered, and appeared to them as a burning fire. Tongues of fire touched their nerve centers. A power - the unseen power of God - moved among them and gripped them. The Holy Spirit is unseen, like the wind, which is why the Old Testament call it ruach YHWH, “the wind, or breath, of God” (cf. John 3:8). The Spirit is the unseenness of God” working among us.
According to Joel (2:28-29) the ruach is to open everybody to God’s future. People young and old will dream and will have visions of hope; they will be able to loose themselves from the way things are now, because God is establishing a whole new economy of creation. The Holy Spirit breaks us out of our preoccupation with ourselves and frees us to serve neighbors, loosens our grasp on possessions, and sets us to loving people. New creation is what Joel is talking about. Pentecost is new creation.
The book of Acts tells the story of the outcome of Pentecost’s new creation: people witness in word and in deed to the risen Christ. At the outset, the newborn church immediately tumbled out into the streets to witness to God’s mighty works in the languages of people all over the world. By the end of the story, a tiny, Spirit-filled community of faith that broke from its present order has spread across the continents with incredible power to bring new things into being. With the gift of the Spirit, all things are possible...
Therefore, on the Day of Pentecost, we celebrate God’s gift of the Holy Spirit which draws us together as one people, helps us comprehend what God is doing in the world, and empowers us to proclaim, in word and in deed, God’s plan of reconciling all people in the name of Christ (Ephesians 1:10).
Without the gift of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s church dries up and withers away, and we are left with only our broken selves. With the gift of the Spirit, all things are possible. A spirit-filled community of faith opens eyes to needs in the world and sees its missing as God’s new people. The Day of Pentecost is the climax of the Great Fifty Days of Easter, celebrating as it does the gift of the Spirit to the body of Christ - the church.
On Pentecost , our church will receive into church membership two individuals: Micah Dadbeh and Kathy Cool.
So… HOW WILL WE CELEBRATE??
1. All are encouraged to wear RED!!
2. We will have red balloons decorating the sanctuary as we celebrate the birthday.
3. We will have a potluck after Worship. A birthday cake will be provided.
Please make every effort to be present in Worship on this very special day and welcome our newest members!
Love being your pastor!
Love and Blessings in Jesus!
Pastor Alice