Pentecost 2009

Just before the dismissal, in a service that had already spanned an hour and 45 minutes, Pastor Loren Nielsen asked, “Pastor Clements, have you ever before experienced a Pentecost like this?” I was a worshiper in about the fifth pew on Pentecost Sunday in the congregation of which I am a member. It seemed as if Pastor Nielsen was looking for a second opinion. My response was a hearty and sincere, “Never before!”

I am sure that the first Pentecost was more exciting. Just consider all of the chaos, and different languages, and tongues of fire! The Holy Spirit was blowing everywhere and the people did not know what to make of it. Then Peter preached a sermon and 3,000 people were moved to be baptized.

I am sure that all of our congregations celebrated Pentecost in some fashion. Some probably gave it a nod with red paraments, engaging in dramatic readings and a sermon about the Holy Spirit or the birthday of the church. Others may have placed red candles on the altar (representing either the gifts or the fruits of the Holy Spirit), arranged 50 red roses in the altar vases (one for each day between Easter and Pentecost), or hung a descending dove from the ceiling.

In my church, we had just one service instead of the normal three. Pastor Jerry Peterson shared a terrific sermon, complete with red balloons; the choir sang a beautiful anthem; and, we celebrated Holy Baptism. Pastors Nielsen and Peterson (our interim pastors) baptized a number of Burmese refugees and their children. I lost count at 12. I am told that 17 were baptized. After the baptisms, the Burmese families were received as new members. They came to Zion through our Laotian members and an ESL (English as a Second Language) class taught by other members.

When it came time to share the peace, it sounded something like that first Pentecost. When I joined in the line of saints to receive Holy Communion I realized that we were white and African American, Hispanic, Laotian and Burmese. We were rich and poor, old and young. In that moment I thought about how God must surely be smiling on us. I also thought about how fortunate I was to be in this particular place at this particular time.

No, I had never before experienced a Pentecost quite like this one; neither had either of the pastors, and that is with 80+ years of experience between them! It was a great day and everyone left happy in the chaos.

I invite you to share your Pentecost story or the story of how your congregation is fulfilling its mission. There are so many stories to share. We need to hear them. Go to http://niselca.blogspot.com/ to comment.