Dear Friends,
Birthdays are a time of Joy and Celebration. To such an extent that as a family we had to find a day at the beginning of August to celebrate our daughters well loved doll, Rosie, because she was received at Christmas. A birthday is an opportunity celebrate the person as a unique individual person created in the image of God.
This weekend we have a different kind of Birthday; the Birthday of the Church. It occurred, as Jesus Disciples who had returned to Jerusalem and devoted themselves to prayer, waited for the coming of God’s promised gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Joy and Celebration of this first Pentecost has to be read to take in all of the experiences. (Acts ch2) A sound from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind. Tongues of fire distributed and resting on each person. Bewilderment because each one heard them speaking in their own language. Filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues.
The Birth of the Church with the gift that Jesus had promised. This is the gift of the Holy Spirit as one who will give us the power and strength and ability to share the Good News of the LOVE OF GOD. To share God’s love with everyone whom we meet. A Spirit for all believers through whom all receive the gifts needed for each and every task asked of us, in his name, to perform. This is shown in the way that the Disciple Peter who had denied Our Lord spoke with such confidence to the men of Judea. Peter knew and we must never forget that all of us live and walk with a Risen Lord.
So as we give thanks for priests, deacons, lay ministers, those with gifts of teaching, healing, prophecy, organisers and encouragers, may we all be open to God to respond to the use of his Gifts to us within our own lives.
The invitation to celebrate the Birthday of the Church extends to us all. May we truly find it a time of Joy and Celebration.
In Christ, Daphne
Daphne Cook
LLM