Pentecost

Pentecost Post-it mural created by 2010 Confirmation Class at Riverton Congregational Church.

On June 8 we will celebrate Pentecost, a holy day that marks the beginning of the Christian Church and celebrates the work of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost has always been one of my favorite holidays. I have to admit I have a soft spot for "minor" Christian holidays. By "minor" I don't mean unimportant, but uncommercialized. And I also don't think of Pentecost as a minor holiday at all. That's why I like to pull out as many stops as I can when observing Pentecost in church. This post will offer up some of the ways I've observed Pentecost, along with tips for DIYers who might want to try the things I've done.
I can't claim credit for the project depicted at the top of this post, the Post-It mural. I copied the idea from another church (Center Church on the Green in New Haven Connecticut), showed photos to my Confirmation class, handed them about $30 worth of Post-It notes and then gave them free reign to design and create their own version of a Post-It mural for Pentecost. I think they did a great job.

Another favorite Pentecost idea of mine is Prayer flags. I came up with the idea and a church member at First Church of Christ Congregational UCC in New Britain ran with it, buying and sewing the flags. The flags were available for inscribing with prayers (using Sharpie permanent ink pens) for a few weeks before the holiday, and then they were strung up outside of the church entrance for Pentecost.  Fortunately it was a breezy day!

Another way to observe Pentecost (which is conveniently relatively easy) is to create a Pentecost-themed altar display using candles and "hot" colors (red, orange, yellow and hot pink).

This altar display also featured suncatchers hung by fishing wire, which are somewhat easier to see in the second photo.

To create the suncatchers I used meltable plastic bits and some beads, but any method of creating suncatchers would work as well.

I also like to extend the festivities into the fellowship time, by including Pentecost- themed refreshments. One year I created a cupcake tower featuring red and pink roses (it was rose season, so the flowers and mint leaves came from my garden.)

I created the cupcake tower by gluing together cupcake rounds with red plastic cups in the middle, but I have since learned how to create reuseable cupcakes stands using recycled glass and industrial velcro.

For Pentecost you could even use red glass.

A simpler Pentecost treat involves using strawberries to decorate cupcakes or cakes.

 If you don't feel like cooking, you can even use a Sarah Lee Poundcake.

And, last but not least, you can encourage everyone to come to church wearing red:

Prayer Beads: Not Just for Celebrities Anymore

Prayer beads may come and go as a fashion accessory, but prayer beads can be a useful and meaningful part of Christian spirituality. This is true for Protestants as well as Catholics, and for those who prefer extemporaneous and spontaneous prayers as opposed to memorized prayers. 

The website Karen's Prayer Beads  offers instructions for re-purposing and modifying a traditional Rosary for a variety of prayer styles and for making a number of other types of prayer beads. 

The idea of prayer beads has intrigued me for a while. I never liked the idea of the traditional Rosary--probably because I was raised as a Protestant.  I can see how using the traditional practice of the Rosary might be meaningful for some, but as of right now I don't feel ready to try it. I do like the idea, however, of a Joys and Concerns Rosary, a type of Rosary designed by a Unitarian Universalist minister:

The bracelet has four sections of seven beads each, separated by four larger beads (like the Anglican Rosary). The first section is green, the second is yellow, the third is blue, and the fourth is red. You could also use rainbow colors, as in Jim Casebolt's sermon. The four large beads can be black or white or gray or some other contrasting color. 

On the first large bead (before the green section) ask God to be with you on your journey, or enter a time of reflection in some other way.

On the seven green beads, enter the sacred space by naming seven things that seem holy or magical to you. These can be places or relationships or works of art or music or anything else that has a numinous feeling for you. When you reach the next large bead, sit in silence for a while and listen for the voice of God within you.

On the seven yellow beads, name your joys, count your blessings, offer up thanksgiving for the good things in your life. Think of seven things you are thankful for, or joyous about. Again pause and listen on the next large bead.

On the seven blue beads, name your concerns, think of seven things that you are worried or remorseful about, things that you want to do better in your life. Pause and listen on the next large bead.

On the seven red beads, share your love. Send your love and good wishes and prayers out to seven people or categories of people, ask for a blessing on them. Pause and listen on the large bead, and come out of the prayer time.

Praying is to the spirit as exercise is to the body: It needs to be done regularly in order to keep in good shape and prepare for times of stress. Prayer beads are a useful aid in starting and maintaining a regular prayer practice--kind of like a treadmill for your spiritual walk. I have decided to create one of these Joys and Concerns bracelet, using beads and elastic cord I have lying around my home from jewelry making projects. Just as you don't have to join an expensive gym and hire a personal trainer to begin a physical fitness regimen, you don't need to go to a retreat center to begin a spiritual fitness regimen. All you need is willingness and openness.

Reformation Sunday 2010

In order to make the Reformation come alive for the congregation I crafted some hats in the style of famous Reformers. The hats were available for folks to try on during coffee hour; unfortunately I forgot my camera. I enlisted a willing volunteer at home in case you missed it. Here are the hats with the captions from the Wikipedia entries of the Reformers who wore them underneath. If you would like to learn more about the Protestant Reformation, you can learn more at the main Wikipedia entry.

Jan Hus also known as Jan Huss, John Hus, John Huss ; ca. 1369 Husinec, Bohemia – 6 July 1415 Constance (today Konstanz, Germany)), often referred to in English as John Huss or variations thereof, was a Czech priest, philosopher, reformer, and master at Charles University in Prague.

Martin Luther (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest and professor of theology who initiated the Protestant Reformation.

ohn Wycliffe (pronounced /ˈwɪklɪf/; also spelled Wyclif, Wycliff, Wiclef, Wicliffe, orWickliffe) (c. 1324 – 31 December 1384) was an English theologian, lay preacher, translator,reformist and university teacher who was known as an early dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century.

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (October 28, 1466 – July 12, 1536), sometimes known asDesiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist and a Catholic priest and theologian.

Huldrych (or Ulrich) Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland.

John Calvin (Middle French: Jean Cauvin) (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564) was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation.

What are you, some kind of animal?

Early on in my ministry at Riverton Church I learned that most of our members are heavily involved in the annual Riverton Fair, a large fair held on the second weekend of October. Wanting to participate in some way, my first year at Riverton I baked some cookies, affixed a label with information about the fair, and passed them out on the main fairway. The next year I planned to do the same (except with purchased candy--it takes a long time to bake cookies for a fair that has about 20,000 visitors annually) when I spied a cow costume while shopping one day. That year marked my first as a fair "animal." In subsequent years the church began to host a duck race fundraiser at the fair, so I switched to dressing like a duck.

From the start people remarked upon my bravery for stepping out in public dressed as a large farm animal. From the outside it might look brave, but the view from inside the costume is very different. When I walk around as just-plain-me children don't jump up and down with excitement at my approach and tug their parent's sleeves to have a look at me. I don't get asked to pose for photos with dozens of people. Even though you can't see my face in these pictures, I assure you that I'm smiling down to my toes. Yes, I'm uncomfortably hot in the costume much of the time, and the visibility is poor, but the opportunity to be a human day-brightener, even in a small way, makes it well worth it. It makes me realize how much we as people can do to spread joy to each other when we take the time to make the effort. When I'm a duck I make an effort to be friendly to everyone I see. When I hear music I like I sway and dance. In real life I can be more shy and retiring. The fair is over for another year and I'm back to being just-plain-me again, but I'm going to try to bring my duck attitude into my regular life.

Star Gifts Sunday

On the first Sunday of the new year, church members choose, at random a paper star inscribed with a word such as "love" or "sharing" or "prayerfulness," in celebration of the gifts that the Magi (also called Wise Men or Kings) brought to the Christ child. There are a total of 128 gifts in all, so even in a large congregation there are only a few repeats. Each person is instructed to take their gift home, put it somewhere they will see it often (computer monitors and refrigerators are popular spots) and meditate upon it whenever they see it. Some people find this to be one of the most meaningful Sundays of the entire church year. I first encountered this worship practice at South Church/First Baptist in New Britain, when I worshiped there in the early 90s. I received the gift of "sharing" and instantly rolled my eyes. Didn't I do enough "sharing?" But even though I wasn't excited by my gift, I placed it on my refrigerator, where it caught my eye every time I went to get some milk for my coffee (which is to say, pretty often.) Over the course of several weeks and months I gradually became aware of how often people shared with me--shared of their wisdom or their bounty (fresh produce!) or thoughtfully included me in their lives. I approached other church members and asked them if their star gifts were meaningful as well, and everyone I talked to said yes. The following year I found a way to distribute the stars to the entire faculty and staff of Central Connecticut State University, where I served as the Ecumenical Protestant minister. I did remove some of the exclusively Christian words to make it more universal, and I explained the story of the Magi, and the gifts got a delighted reception. Over the years I have distributed literally thousands of these stars.

I have long since lost track of the original source of the idea. It came from a Presbyterian publication (if you know, please provide it to me so I can credit the author.)

Currently we create the stars on brightly colored card stock. It has become a family project to cut out the stars. I also make star-themed snacks (usually cut-out cookies.)