When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:31
Dear Friends in Christ,
I pray that you are well and thriving in this beautiful spring! This is the time of weddings and graduations, and we are headed into Memorial Day weekend. Each of these are different occasions, for sure. Sometimes we look at the Christian experience kind of like a graduation: we get baptized or perhaps confirmed and we think that we have checked the box and don’t need to come back except for Christmas and Easter. But I think of these sacred moments more like weddings: the beginning of something seriously prepared for, a commitment seriously made, but one that is founded in love and excitement about the life ahead. Do you think of your life with Christ in that way?
We’re celebrating the feast of Pentecost this weekend. Pentecost is sometimes called the birthday of the church. The Holy Spirit filled the disciples and empowered them to be the Christian community. They proclaimed the news of God’s grace and new life, they brought God’s healing power to people, they empowered others to receive the Holy Spirit and live with joy. This is the picture of a Christian community empowered by God to thrive! This is a community that supports each other, that prays together, that discovers God together, that makes a difference in the lives of others. Like those we remember on Memorial Day, this is a community that gives its life so that others may thrive as well.
Are you plugged into this kind of life in the Christian Community? We’re not perfect, but we aspire to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve and to thrive. Come be part of our ongoing growth in Christ, together.
Yours in Christ,
-Tom