Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Do you remember the Pentecost story? I'll admit that at the beginning of this week, I had to look it up. If it wasn’t for Facebook and the various online theological resources I subscribe to, Pentecost wouldn’t make the list of things I would think about this week.

Checking Facebook this morning, I found a post by Tom Brackett, “Pentecost -- what we're really all about (or wish we were)!” with a link to "It's Pentecost."   

Watching this video changed the course of my day. I scrapped the blog post I had written for today and instead began to reflect on what I had just seen. Pieces of the script text stayed with me:

“We don’t know the people next door anymore. Why would they want to come to church?”

“We are inside; they are outside. People pass by. No one comes in.”

“We are inside waiting, watching, and we don’t know what to do.”

“ And then it happens: wind… fire… noise.. and, [Silence]. What just happened?”

“The bad news is there is no one coming to fix your problems.”

“The good news is the solutions you seek are all around you.”

The solutions you seek are all around you. What a powerful statement. Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit: the call to Jesus’ disciples to go out in the world and proclaim the Good News.

As editor of ECF Vital Practices, I spend my days seeking out, listening for, and sharing the Good News of congregational vitality. Over the past eight months, I’ve heard story after story of what happens when we leave the safety of our buildings to engage with the world. From St. Alban’s Church in Waco, Texas to St. Timothy’s in West Des Moines, Iowa, St. Paul & the Redeemer in Chicago, and San Pedro-St. Peter's in Salem, Mass. (to name just a few), congregations are reaching out to and getting to know their neighbors, meeting people as they pass by rather than waiting for them to come in.

During this season of Pentecost, I invite you to share your stories of proclaiming the Good News as one of our ECF Vital Practices guest bloggers. How has the Holy Spirit called you to reach out to your neighbors and build relationships with God and with each other? Email me at ndavidge@episcopalfoundation.org.