Across
the Pastors Desk

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!!!
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