THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, May 23, 2021, Pentecost, Gather, Holy Communion, and Devotion on Zoom. Please wear something red, or in the "red" family." If you have any questions, or are interested in a conversation, contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com and visit www.communityofpilgrims.com.
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Dear Pilgrims of Pentecost,
And here we are! Pentecost! I just asked Siri about Pentecost and got this, from Wikipedia (not a source I usually rely upon for accuracy): “The Christian holiday of Pentecost is a moveable feast, which is celebrated on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) from Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles” (Acts 2:1-31). It is also called Whitsunday in Ireland and the United Kingdom. I love the idea that Pentecost is a “moveable feast,” a feast day, in the life of the Church universal. Let the celebration begin! And please wear red or something in the "red family" on Sunday!
As I wrote and have said to many of you throughout the years, since I first heard it from a Benedictine monk at St. Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, MN, Jesus had to ascend in order for the Holy Spirit to descend. In truth, the Spirit of God, or God as Spirit is as old as the Hebrew Scriptures. For example, in Genesis 1:2, with the creation of earth, and the waters, a “wind sent from God” has often been construed to be Spirit. In Hebrew, the word for Spirit is “ruach,” and we find “ruach” in Ps. 51, referring to “Your holy spirit (ruach kodschecha) and Isaiah refers twice to “His holy spirit” (ruach kodsho). God as Spirit is nothing new. However, what is new is the role and function of Spirit—or Holy Spirit, or as I and some of us learned it as Holy Ghost—in the life of the living, risen, body of Christ, by which I mean us. You and me. Ya’ll. As I write these words, I believe I am not alone, but that the Spirit is in me, watching me mispronounce and misspell words each step of the way of this newsletter. And here’s the thing: we began The Community of Pilgrims with several months of readings from The Acts of the Apostles. Why? Because it is the very same Spirit that started the early church as recorded in Acts by Luke who is the very same Spirit who prompted us to begin meeting in Portland, almost four years ago, and continues to be with us today, and into the future days to come. And it is that same Spirit who calls us, O People of the Way, to continue to meet, to Zoom together, worship together, serve together, learn together, pray together, and be in fellowship together, this very day. Join us this Sunday as we discuss the presence of the Spirit today in our lives, in our Fellowship, and in our world.
** Reminder: Kathy Fukuyama is working with SnowCap on a special summer project that The Community of Pilgrims can participate in as a community of faith. We will deliver our clothes’ bags to Kathy before 12 noon on May 28, 2021! Thank you, all, in advance!
** This summer we are looking at doing one service just watching “Nomadland,” a film about modern-day sojourners and pilgrims. We will also begin, in earnest, a reading series on Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, by Joan Chittister, a look at life in community through Benedictine life.
** This is a small article I was asked to write for the Presbyterian Church (USA) Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy on "Queering the Family." This is where I wrote about hand holding as gestures of love as well. Enjoy! https://justiceunbound.org/queering-the-family/
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Events!
May 23, Pentecost! Wear something red! Gather, Holy Communion and Devotion on Zoom
May 28, Gather clothes for SnowCap (see above)
May 30, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.
June 6, Gather and Devotion and Holy Communion on Zoom.
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Prayers of Celebration and Concern
Thanks to modern medicine, vaccines are happening and we pray the entire world can be vaccinated.
Lives lost to suicide and other illnesses besides COVID.
Cessation of arms and peace in Israel, Palestine, and that region of the world.
A unified public campaign against Fentanyl.
Celebrations for travel reopening and Ray and Lorinda's friend is flying up from California.
Norway Day, May 17th, and their freedom.
Helena who got her vaccination yesterday.
Continued caution and being smart.
Safe travels for Eliza to Occidental.
Linda's brother Gary who is not doing well and is very week.
Social and political recovery from COVID.
Those suffering in Yemen, Syria, and Ukraine.
Peace at the Ukraine-Russia Border.
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Poem
WHEN WE BREATHE TOGETHER
A Blessing for Pentecost Day
By Jan Richardson
This is the blessing
we cannot speak
by ourselves.
This is the blessing
we cannot summon
by our own devices,
cannot shape
to our own purposes,
cannot bend
to our own will.
This is the blessing
that comes
when we leave behind
our aloneness,
when we gather
together,
when we turn
toward one another.
This is the blessing
that blazes among us
when we speak
the words
strange to our ears,
when we finally listen
into the chaos,
when we breathe together
at last.
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Buen Camino!
Pastors Brett & Karen Cornwell Fortlander.