Pentecost Reflection & CYF Updates

Posted by The Rev. Andrew Ancona on May 28, 2020

The Feast of Pentecost commemorates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the people of God and in many places it is marked as the birthday of the Church - the commissioning of God’s people to be the new Body of Christ. It is marked in the Book of Acts by an exciting scene of wind and fire.

Wind and fire, are two important elements of our daily lives. Wind is made of air, which is of course something we need to breathe – to live. Wind itself, has the power to guide us and move us along, as well as to shape the earth. Fire, in its most basic element, is what fuels our world from the great big Sun down to the flames of our stoves and ovens when we cook our favorite foods (or maybe that yummy Friday night take out!). These are the things that enable us to get out of bed in the morning, see our friends and family, read our favorite book, or take a walk around block. Together, they are essential to our world and they give us life!

In Scripture these two elements are presented as signifying the presence of the Holy Spirit – particularly at Pentecost. We hear in the Book of Acts of the great wind that rushed among Jesus’ disciples and flames of fire that came to rest on their heads. They are elsewhere too. In the beginning of Creation – the Holy Spirit moves over the waters as a wind, and in Exodus God speaks to Moses through the Spirit, out of the fire of the Burning Bush. These are the ways that God sometimes connects with God’s people – unexpected, but pure and simple: air and fire –for the purpose of leading us into something new. What might at first seem ordinary to us, which are these simple elements, are extraordinary in the life of God because they have the power to transform us as people of God, and change our world to prepare us for life in God’s Kingdom. In them there is power to bring us all to new life in Christ – a new Creation which is being made perfect in Him.

Sometimes I think it is hard to see the Spirit, to feel the Spirit, or to hear the Spirit. We don’t always get as clear of a sign as Jesus’ disciples did in the great rush of wind, or the tongues of flame. And yet, God has not left us without the Spirit. I wonder, what things help you to know the Spirit’s presence within you? What places or things help you feel connected with God and each other? One of my favorite things to do when I feel far away from God and from my family in Christ (that’s you!) is to light a candle. The flickering flame reminds me that as once the Holy Spirit came as fire to Jesus’ disciples, so too is the Spirit with me. And when it is time to blow out the candle the flame is not gone, but transformed by a rush of wind– the light is changed from being in one spot to being everywhere, just like us the family of God in Jesus, who have life together in the Holy Spirit. Just as wind and fire are essential, so is the recognition of the Holy Spirit within each of us who gives us wisdom, understanding, judgement, strength, knowledge, piety, and wonder in God.

At Pentecost, we are reminded that we are also getting ready! We are getting ready for God’s Kingdom. We are getting ready to be made new, by remembering that God loves us, and that we are joined together with the Communion of Saints from across time and space by the Holy Spirit as a family of Jesus followers. And in this family, the Holy Spirit has also given us each a gift: things that we love, things that we are good at, things that God will use to work the changes that God desires in order to bring us closer to Him and to each other. I wonder, what gifts do you have in yourself or in your family at home? What things do you love? Do you like to share those gifts, or are they something special between you and God?

In whatever way, may the Spirit be at work within you and rest upon you, and may the God of hope fill each of you with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit.

- Andrew Ancona, Associate and School Chaplain

Children, Youth, & Families

Sunday School:

Youth Group:

The Youth Group will meet again on Zoom this Friday at 4:15 - 5:15pm. Anyone in 6th - 12th grade is invited to attend. We will check-in with each other, and enjoy each other’s fellowship. Please email Andrew Ancona for more information and for a Zoom invitation.

Supper Chapel:

All are welcome to join in a virtual Supper Chapel series during the month of June. On June 5th and June 19th, you are invited to watch a recorded story time which will be available on the Church website. On June 12th and June 26th you are invited to participate in a live virtual worship service of prayer, scripture, fellowship and song. More details to follow. Please email Andrew Ancona if you would like to help lead or volunteer for these services.

About the Author

The Rev. Andrew Ancona

Father Ancona is a Connecticut native where he was raised in the Episcopal Church. He attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he discerned his call to the priesthood through campus ministry, and received a B.A. in Architecture in 2016.

Father Andrew completed his studies for ministry at Berkeley Divinity School and Yale University. He also prepared for ordination at Westcott House in the Cambridge Theological Federation, and Cambridge University, UK. His areas of interest include Liturgical Studies, Gregorian Chant and Sacred Music, the work of Christian formation and hospitality, as well as Architecture, Sacred Space, and the Divine in the built environment.

In his free time, Fr Andrew enjoys walking and eating his way around New York City with his Siberian husky Nord, drawing and painting, winemaking, cooking, and vacationing with family.