Pentecost was somewhat subdued with 3 at Morning Prayer at 9am and 35 at the 11am Eucharist.
Still there were enough Pentecost additions – the tongues of fire from the Gallery as well as the Holy Spirit descending. Helmut had a new cross which was decorated in Pentecost-style with bells and other trinkets. It is full size with its own stand. Here is a photo gallery of Pentecost.
As it was also the Sunday closest to Memorial Day ,Catherine said prayers not only for the military in general but for each branch. Each person stood up if they or their family served. This included 6 for the Army, 7 for the Navy, 2 for the Marines, 4 for the Airforce and 1 for the Coast Guard. The bulletin is here.
The focus in the lectionary is on the Acts reading in Chapter 2 which is the most well know with the holy spirit coming first to the disciples and the larger crowd gallered. But there is much more.
The lectionary readings use the word "creation" in both the Psalms’ ( "You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; and so you renew the face of the earth." ) and Romans ("we know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.").
Pentecost is a like a second creation using symbols of life, the wind in Acts leading the concept of a "new birth as the Holy Spirit enters into power." It is the personal coming of the Holy Spirit to each of us. The Holy Spirit in John’s Gospel is the "Advocate" leading the disciples with as a guide along the way of truth and also acting like a cross examiner engaging the world in sin ("the rejection of Jesus"), the righteousness ("right relationship with God") and judgement ("exposing the sins of the world"). The Spirit is like a minister for us in Romans managing our relationship with God (" And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God").
As the sermon emphasizes "Paul’s words give us the courage to move forward even in the face of fear, even in the face of death, because we have this promise—That even when we are lost for words, even when we are helpless, even at in our most sinful and depleted moments, the very Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. "
The spirit which shows up in various places in the New Testament is now to be omnipresent. It is that spirit that helped to conver 3,000 on Pentecost and give the mission and direction of the church. As noted in the lectionary, we are continually in the process of becoming.