This Sunday is Pentecost Day in my tradition. On Pentecost Day we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Christian church.
We remember the story found in our sacred text about a rushing wind, tongues of fire and people speaking in a whole multitude of languages bringing glory to God.
It is a fascinating story. It challenges us to realize that the Christian church is at its heart a community born of the Holy Spirit. It is not an institution, but a living, breathing organism that brings hope and healing to its environment.
In the little church that I went to when I was growing up, Pentecost Day was one of my favourite days.
We got to sing happy birthday to the church and we got to eat white cupcakes with red sprinkles on top.
Even after all these years I can still remember how good those cupcakes tasted.
The memory of cupcakes with red sprinkles also brings to mind the warm, safe feeling I had growing up in that small church. That little community born of the Holy Spirit taught me the stories of my faith and nurtured me in the ways of that faith. They put up with my questions and rebellious ways in my youth.
They prayed for me when I left them to find something more exciting. And they welcomed me home when I had lost my way. In fact, they still welcome me every summer when I go to visit my mother.
As I look back on the journey of my life I realize just how blessed I was to have grown up in such a faith community. I did not always feel that way. I also realize that one of the things that I have been searching for most of my life is a community of faith like the one I grew up in.
A community that accepts me for who I am, who welcomes my questions, who helps me find answers to those questions, who holds me with healing arms in my time of need, who push me to be all that I can be and who challenge me to bring healing and hope to my world.
We need more communities like that in our community. More than anything else - even more than filled potholes in our roads, we need communities of faith that nurture us and challenge us. We need communities of faith that remind us that it is not all about us, but that we need each other.
We need to know that we are not alone is this crazy lonely world.
We need places where we are accepted for who we, encouraged to be all that can be and empowered to build a better world for all. Can we build those kinds of communities in our community. Sounds like hard work. Perhaps we should just make cupcakes instead.
