Today was the culmination of Waiting on Pentecost for us. At our Roslyn worship hub we had a beautifully covered table with swaiths of colourful cloths. The whole service was put in a series of envelopes and people simply had to select this and we did whatever it said. It was a wonderful time as people selected and came in excitement to see what would be done next. We had people play music and read and pray. We had a new song from Brazil with a great rhythm! Participation at all levels and what was happening next hightened our sense of Pentecost. Colourful streamers and pingpong balls with attached streamers to throw at the very end of the praise songs and praise shout!
I preached from under a colourful umbrella a reminder of the puring out of the spirit and life now lived as Christians and as a Church under the umbrella of the Spirit. However, it doesn't work inside where we are safe warm, etc. it is about being sent out! Should have had an umbrella for everyone to go with, especially since it was pretty wet out today.
We had our gathering lunch to follow. Conversation covered several things, but most of all we were concerned with ways in which we as a church lived and moved and witnessed in the public spaces of the communities we are part of. All part of our overcoming of how we perceive gospel and culture's interaction. Only as we live as if it were threat do we build barriers and walls. Yet our sentness as a church means travelling light under the umbrella of the Spirit over us and in us. This will be an ongoing thing for us to now build upon. What IS going on here?
Paul Fromont I see has written this (below) and it struck me as relevant to us here.
I found myself asking, time and time again: “what is gospel,
what is good news in these contexts?” “What would it look, feel, sound, taste,
and smell like to embody gospel in these contexts?” And, “where was the Spirit
at work; where are there hints of gospel?”
The other big questions to reflect on is: “what is it that alienates, isolates, and victimises us in relation to each other; what is the place of the “powers” in this process?” And, “Who is my neighbour, and how do I love my neighbour as myself?”
Henri Nouwen writes:
“…Beneath all the great accomplishments of our time there is
a deep current of despair. While efficiency and control are the great
aspirations of our society, the loneliness, isolation, lack of friendship and
intimacy, broken relationships, boredom, feelings of emptiness and depression,
and a deep sense of uselessness fills the hearts of millions of people in our
success-orientated world… And the cry that [so often] arises from [the
hollow and empty places of our lives] is clearly: ‘Is there anybody who loves
me? Is there anybody who really cares?...Is there anybody who wants to be with
me when I am not in control, when I feel like crying? Is there anybody who can
hold me and give me a sense of belonging?’ From In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership (pp. 33-34)
