A little background on Pentecost:
Pentecost stands for the great 50 days after Easter. In case you counted, this is actually the 7th Sunday after Easter – or 49 days. Pentecost is technically on Monday, but we celebrate the birthday of the church today. Pentecost is the day we celebrate being given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The first Pentecost was celebrated when Jews from all over the world journeyed to Jerusalem – to the temple – to give the first fruits of the harvest to the priests to make their offering to God. The festival was called the festival of Shavuot – which occurred (guess what?) 50 days after Passover. During Shavuot, Jewish people celebrated the giving of the Torah – the first 5 books of the Bible. Are you starting to see the connections?
So, people journeyed from all over the world –different cultures, languages, backgrounds. BUT a common faith. And this amazing thing happens. As the Galileans start to talk in their language, everyone can understand exactly what they are saying AS IF it were spoken in their own language. It was a reversal of the Tower of Babel – a story from the first book of the Bible (Genesis 11) where people were trying to build a tower to God and God decides to confuse all their languages, so they’d have to work at understanding each other.
On Pentecost, the Spirit brought unity and understanding.
Being understood is so important.
My background:
I don’t fit the mold of a pastor. My family were alienated Catholics, which meant that we didn’t go to church hardly ever. We didn’t even make the obligatory Christmas and Easter mass. Still, I did end up discovering the church because of friends and curiosity. I was called into ministry in my second year of college (I know, not exactly the typical time when people find Jesus!– and I wasn’t exactly on the straight and narrow). Plus, I didn’t understand or want to be called to ministry. It kind of got on my nerves, at first. I didn’t know how to speak church-ese. So, not knowing any better, I told my pastor I thought I was supposed to be a minister. Problem is…I had to wrestle long and hard with this call because I saw a lot wrong with the church. I finally decided that the church is the place God desires to gather people together to work toward the transformation of the world and to change lives. And I finally (with a fair amount of kicking, screaming, and skepticism) decided to give ministry a chance. God wouldn’t allow me to run from the call (much as I tried). I knew the church needed to look a lot different – LOTS of changes need to take place to get to on track with who God wants us to be. So, I started my ministry a bit like Jonah trying to run from the call, but God wouldn’t let go of me AND here I am J.
ILLUSTRATION: Postcards. We came across these old postcards when we were getting the space ready for Soul Café. They are pretty something! There’s a picture of mother and a father clutching their Bibles with their son and daughter who are all impeccably dressed and walking to church. My mom could never have gotten me that dressed up once a year, let alone every Sunday—and definitely not in the morning! I am not a morning person.
In my home church (the one I went to in college), I found acceptance. But, I’ve also seen plenty of messed up things in churches, too. Not everyone finds acceptance in the church when they’re “outsiders” like I was. But, see, the church exists for “outsiders.” Jesus spent almost all his time with “outsiders.” The disciples began as strangers, “outsiders,” to Jesus, too. There are so many people who don’t connect with all of the “friendly,” “traditional,” “picture-perfect” churches that can be found all over State College. I knew from the beginning my calling was to reach those who don’t feel fed by the traditional church…to minister to and with people who love God, but haven’t exactly gotten excited by what they’ve experienced in church.
The church should be a place of acceptance.
ILLUSTRATION: CLIP about Ben Comen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_sHBgUgFP8)
That’s the image of the church for us. When God pours out the spirit, God creates a team of people bound together with a common goal; a team willing to run alongside those who are struggling, to encourage them when they fall, and to strive to be their personal best for God. We don’t run the race alone. We need each other. That’s the way God intended it.
We all have times when we give life all we’ve got, only to find that we struggle to keep going. We all know people who, right now, are struggling to pick themselves up and continue on with their day to day challenges. We all need a place where we can belong; to not feel alone, but connected. There are plenty of lonely, disconnected souls who need a place to belong – to be accepted for who they are. Our hope, prayer, and calling at Soul Café is to create a community (a team) of support, encouragement, and hope: a place to belong.
- Renee Ford
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