The Revs. Smiths’ Message for May 23, 2021

Dear Friends, 

It’s birthday time. This Sunday we celebrate Pentecost, often called the birthday of the Church.  Get out your red, orange, yellow clothes and put them on, signifying the fire of the Spirit that came on the followers of Jesus on that day, 50 days after Easter. Have birthday cake with candles for dessert at the Sunday dinner table.  I suggest you use just a representative number of candles! It is the Spirit that can bring us together for this party, even if we are apart.  Take some pictures and we will post them on Facebook or the website, or you can post them on your Facebook page.

Pentecost service in Spain. Image by Isaacvp. CC BY-SA 4.0 International. Taken from the Wikimedia Commons.

Sunday also marks the beginning of the Season of Pentecost, or Ordinary Time, or the Growing Time.  It is the longest of the liturgical seasons, lasting until the first Sunday in Advent.  So there is lots of time we can fill with rich activities. The colour for this season is green, signifying life and growth.  For some great suggestions of some activities you can participate in, by yourself or with your families, check out this article by Laura Alary in the newsletter of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE), Sparks and Seeds: Celebrating Pentecost and the Growing Time. I particularly like the clouds breath prayer.

Happy Birthday, Church!

In Christ,

Revs. Bob and Helen Smith

A version of this message first appeared in the Saturday, May 22, 2021, edition of Tidbits.