Come Holy Spirit: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:4

The Church is born at Pentecost. The promised Advocate comes and those who cowered in fear now burst forth from their prisons with a message that can be understood in any language. The message: God is for everyone and anyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. We are still unpacking this message today as we peek out from the prisons in which we find ourselves hiding.

We all know the story of Pentecost. At 9 o’clock in the morning, the disciples gather, and the place where they meet is filled with a rush of wind and tongues of fire, and they speak in tongues that all can understand. What words might describe how they must have felt, their fears and exhaustion?

In the Gospel of John 15:26-27, we find yet another lens through which we can see the Holy Spirit. Here we encounter the Holy Spirit as advocate and guide—an advocate that will testify on behalf of Jesus to the world and that will guide His disciples into truths they are not yet ready to bear. Consider various words we have to describe this third person of the Trinity (Advocate, Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost, Comforter, wind). Which one(s) resonate to you?

Peter quotes the prophet Joel to explain what is happening: “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” Joel 2:28-32. When do you think you have received the Holy Spirit? And how might you listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding your life?

Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit. We know you are here with us, into our space and into our hearts. Sanctify us to serve you and all your creation for your purposes. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Vicar’s Corner: The Diocesan Conference, held on Saturday, May 11^th, was highly attended by both clergy and lay people of our diocese. The morning sessions focused on the ‘Theology of the Land”. The presenters looked at some biblical models on how God and God’s people utilized these precious creations for which humans care. One of my takeaways from this presentation is the fact that creation is not dependent on humans, are dependent on the land, the waters, the mountains, the trees, the animals and all the rest of creation. So, if humanity thinks that we can be the crown of creation and can do whatever we want with it, we should pause and reflect on that idea within this context especially in modern climate justice. 

We were also given the opportunity to share in small groups on how we, as a congregation or parish, are able to utilize our church property – not for survival of the parish, but more so for mission. It is no secret that some churches including St. Michael’s are engaged in their respective development projects. This is why we, as a parish church, were asked to prepare a “ministry plan” that will lay out the direction of our mission and ministry, even prior to the completion of the sale of the portion of St. Michael’s property.

After our special vestry meeting last month, the next step is to work with the Diocesan Sales Committee and see what the best option for St. Michael’s is in terms of what money value will be when the property is to be put up for sale.