Pentecost Sunday (May11th this year) is always a special Sunday, filled with color, with energy and with hope! PUMC has always had a great share of the congregation who remembered the “fire” of the original Pentecost (see Acts chapter two) by wearing predominantly the color red. We will also have red balloons, why? Because this special day also celebrates the birthday of the church, the day when the Holy Spirit blew like a fresh wind into the Upper Room where the disciples of Jesus had assembled to celebrate the traditional harvest festival of “Weeks”. This harvest

festival, the second greatest of three harvest festivals, celebrated the harvest of barley, though it evolved into a celebration of the harvest of the earliest grains. On this Pentecost, fifty days after Easter, the harvest festival was transformed into a celebration of a very different sort!

On this Pentecost occasion a dramatic and powerful “wind” (“breath” of God in Genesis) blew throughout the room where the disciples of Jesus were gathered. Was it static electricity the disciples noticed dancing above the head of each person? Was it actually fire? From the

perspective of two thousand years later, it is hard to say with accuracy. What is recorded however, is that the disciples were changed (fired up?) by that wind of the spirit; they were able to speak in different languages telling of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to all those celebrating the Jewish Pentecost. And on this Pentecost day, over 5000 people were added to the list of Jesus’ followers, hence the celebrative birthday theme.

We too will celebrate. We will celebrate not only by encouraging you to wear “red” clothing to worship on that morning, but also participate in the fresh wind of the spirit blowing throughout our ministry at PUMC! On this day we will consecrate our newest Stephen Ministry “graduates”. Those consecrated will have completed fifty hours of specialized training led by our own Stephen Leaders!! The newest Stephen Ministers will be introduced at the first service and consecrated at the second!

Following the morning’s festive worship experience, we are all invited to a special picnic on our front lawn sponsored by our own UM Youth.

Finally, we all know it is MOTHER’S DAY as well. A special surprise awaits our

worshipping and celebrating community this day as far as honoring Mothers is concerned.

Look for this focus in special flowers, evidence at the picnic lunch and…

May 11th, truly a great Sunday to gather and worship our Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit still breathing afresh on the Church of Jesus Christ!!!