Dear friends,
It seems we are in a season of ‘high days’ at present. After Easter,
we recently celebrated Pentecost, the coming of the holy spirit on
Jesus’ first followers. A spirit that gave them energy, courage and
power to begin to spread the message of the good news of Jesus
to all around them.
And then more locally, we continue to mark 50 years of the church
in our current building. June is a month of celebration. Each
Sunday, different ministers will partner together to lead our
worship, reflecting on different aspects of our church. And yet it
could be said that we wouldn’t be celebrating our anniversary if it
wasn’t for the moving of the holy spirit.
Recently I enacted the story of Pentecost with a class of year 3
pupils – as we stood with electric fans blowing the air around us,
we thought about how the holy spirit gave the disciples the flame
of life and joy and courage, which enabled them to go out and tell
others about Jesus, and their message was infectious, many
people heard and believed and the Christian church grew.
Our forebears also had the same flame of the holy spirit within
them that moved them to build and create a church here where
people might experience the gospel for themselves.
But the holy spirit has not stopped working – she continues to be
our helper, our advocate, our guide – directing us, helping us to
pray when we haven’t got the words, giving us peace in troubled
times, offering us opportunities to continue to share the great
message of the gospel to those around us.
So we thank God for the coming of the holy spirit, and the way the
holy spirit has produced fruit in our own church, and we pray she
will continue to work in us and through us so that the church will
grow in the future.
Your friend and minister
Cath
Pastorate Letter June 26
