 St Alban’s Episcopal Church Bolivar, Missouri Saturday, June 4, 2022 Pentecost Sunday celebrating the birthday of the Church  “We didn’t start the fire, it was always burning, Since the world’s been turning” See Genesis! And the entire Old Testament. But this is still somethign new –Pentecost Tomorrow. It’s a big deal at St Alban’s: the End the Culmination of Eastertide. Had Pentecoat never happened – you wouldn’t even know about the resurrection of Jesus. The diciples were cowering in fear, hiding out from Romans and their own countrymen -There is no way they’d have actually gone out and told the story, apart from the coming of the Holy Spirit, the permanent gift, the empowering Spirit of Jesus. You are invited to wear RED (or orange or yellow – fire colors). The banners will have changed to red also; the vestments and altar hangings are red.Even the after-Church treats will be red!  Fire and Water – both symbols of the Spirit  Hymn #226 (12th century Latin) See if you can sit with this hymn- in prayer for a little while. Let the language sink in, even if it is unfamiliar. And see what it is really asking of God – see if it resonates. Hymn #226 (12th century Latin) Come thou Holy Spirit bright; come with thy celestial light; pour on us thy love divine. Come protector of the poor; come thou source of blessings sure; come within our hearts to shine. Thou of comforters the best; thou the soul’s most welcome guest, of our peace thou art the sign. In our labor, be our aid; in our summer, cooling shade. Every bitter tear refine. Brighter than the noonday sun, fill our lives which Christ has won; fill our hearts and make them thine. Where thou art not, we have nought; all our word and deed and thought twisted from thy true design. Bend the stubborn heart and will; melt the frozen, warm the chill; rule us by thy judgment’s line. Cleanse us with thy healing power; what is barren bring to flower; to thy love our sins consign. To thy people who adore and confess thee evermore, thy blest sevenfold gift assign. Grant us thy salvation, Lord, boundless mercy our reward, joys which earth and heaven entwine.   |
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