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Calling the Holy Spirit into a wholly unsuspecting congregation Sunday seemed almost reckless. So I was nervous. But God was, as God is, faithful, and merciful.
What Does the Spirit Sound Like?
“We believe the Holy Spirit teaches us, counsels us when we stray, comforts us when we are in sorrow, and revealing the Holy One to us when we are overcome with faith or beauty.”
Amid the tongues of dancing illumination, things got clear. Christ’s followers suddenly knew what they were trying to say, and they said it. They were so full of the telling that they seemed drunk. They spoke right to the hearts of their listeners.
Pentecost invites all of us to place ourselves in the path of the great wind and earth shaking of and by the Spirit, the place of awe and attention to what God wants of us.
There are only 22 days left in The Great Fifty. Are you ready for Pentecost?
Across the street from us in the first house I grew up in, one of our neighbors was a retired teacher who was a rock
The frightened fugitives in the upper room were transformed into powerhouses of evangelical grace .Inarticulate fishermen became spellbinding preachers. Marginally literate country folk became towering evangelists. Fair weather disciples became fearless martyrs for the faith.
The first time I heard the word “paraclete” used in a sermon, I thought the preacher was saying “pair o’ cleats.” I kept thinking, “Why’s Jesus talking about cleats? Baseball and football hadn’t been invented yet!”
Archbishop Justin says that the Holy Spirit “draws Christians from very different background and tradition together, in a body that loves one another”.
The Episcopal Café seeks to be an independent voice, reporting and reflecting on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican tradition. The Café is not a platform of advocacy, but it does aim to tell the story of the church from the perspective of Progressive Christianity. Our collective sympathy, as the Café, lies with the project of widening the circle of inclusion within the church and empowering all the baptized for the role to which they have been called as followers of Christ.
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