Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Walnut Hill Church Weekly Letter

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Greetings to all!

This Sunday, May 20, is Pentecost Sunday, a celebration of the Holy Spirit's
outpouring upon the disciples as told in Acts 2.  It is also one day on the
church calendar given to acknowledging and exploring the Spirit's presence 
and work in our lives.  Frederick Buechner offers a few thoughts about the
word "spirit."

Like its counterparts in Hebrew and Greek, the Latin word spiritus originally
meant breath (as in expire, respiratory, and so on), and breath is what you
have when you're alive and don't have when you're dead.  Thus spirit = 
breath = life, the aliveness and power of your life, and to speak of your spirit 
(or soul) is to speak of the power of life that is in you.  When your spirit is 
unusually strong, the life in you unusually alive, you can breathe it into other 
lives, become literally inspiring…God also has a spirit - is Spirit … Thus God 
is the power of the power of life itself, has breathed and continues to breathe 
God's self into the creation.  In-spires it.  The spirit of God, Holy Spirit, Holy 
Ghost, is highly contagious.  When Peter and his friends were caught up in it 
at Jerusalem on Pentecost, everybody thought they were drunk even though 
the sun wasn't yet over the yardarm. They were.
(as found in Wishful Thinking)

The lectionary texts for Sunday, May 20, The Day of Pentecost…

The Gospel of Thomas, an exploration into the wisdom sayings of Jesus,
continues on Sun, May 20, 10am, in Trinity Hall.  Sunday's session is titled 
The Vertical and the Horizontal, featuring sayings 3, 5, and 7.  You might 
want to visit this video presentation by Ron Miller, of which brief segments 
are being used each Sunday.

THE SPRING POTLUCK will be held after worship this Sun, May 20, in Trinity 
Hall. Bring a salad, side dish, or dessert. Fried chicken, a special cake in honor 
of confirmands/graduates, and beverages will be provided. Don't miss this 
delicious Walnut Hill tradition.

Calling All Graduates - Be sure to join us on Sunday, May 20, as we will 
be recognizing and celebrating your accomplishments during worship.

Walking Through Scripture: Several Walnut Hill members and friends have 
been walking through scripture in recent months, reading and reflecting upon 
the Sunday lectionary texts.  A new "walking guide" for the next quarter of the 
year is available in the Sanctuary foyer. You may also subscribe to Mike's 
weekly introduction and commentary on the readings.  Use reply email to 
subscribe.

In the Community: The Nathaniel Mission is gearing up for its summer
program including 5 weeks of day camp in various locations during the months
of June/July.  Check out their volunteer sign up for information regarding 
camp dates and locations.

In the Nation: The Poor People's Campaign 2018, forty days of protests
and demonstrations intended to bring attention to ongoing issues of
poverty in the U.S., began this week.  The "campaign" is intended to echo 
and build upon Dr. Martin Luther King's Poor People's Campaign of 1968. 
For more information, visit Poor People's Campaign 2018 . 

Peace to all.

Mike Ward

 

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