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Sunday is Pentecost. this special day that marks the gift of the Holy Spirit has taken on new meaning for me since becoming a pastor. A portion of that new is recognizing the work of the Holy Spirit, in that initial Pentecost and forever beyond, in moving us to new experiences, new chapters, new ways of being about the kingdom of God. Those who experienced the descending tongues of fire in Acts 2 were about to be a part of something very new, very exciting, and very scary. Is it any wonder, then, that some would have preferred to write it off to drunkenness? Or that it took the kind of experience of language differences being miraculously overcome for some to be not just able to hear, but willing? Thankfully the promise of the Holy Spirit is not big, occasional moments that confront, disrupt, then leave us to our devices until the next. The gift of the Spirit is the presence of God, of Jesus; the gift of availability. It is not simply the change, but the guidance, the comfort, the healing, and the empowering that makes such a change possible together. So while new chapters can be scary, Pentecost reminds us that they are only a part of the miracle. The miracle includes those who will be a part of it with us. Of how our gifts and passions will be utilized tomorrow in ways we may not be able to imagine today. Of God’s ever-presence, in ever-love. So even as I acknowledge a change in my future and in San Marco Church’s, even as I recognize the grief I feel around it, I celebrate on Pentecost the unimaginable ways that the Holy Spirit has been and will continue to be at work, even in new chapters. For all of you that make up the body of Christ that is San Marco Church, for its new pastor Steve Hart, and for me way down south, the Holy Spirit is at work. And will be. That’s the promise of Pentecost. Another transition on my heart this week is that of our District Superintendent, Durwood Foshee. I’ve had the privilege of working with him for the last two years and serving under his leadership in previous appointments. Tomorrow we will celebrate his decades of service and ministry as he also looks ahead to a new a new chapter: retirement. I invite you to consider coming to worship tomorrow morning, 10:30a at Riverside Park UMC if you’d like to celebrate Durwood. And I invite you to worship at San Marco Church on Sunday at 11 – Donut Hour starts at 10! – as we seek to celebrate the infinite presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit, and imagine together how it is calling us to be faithful parts of God’s kingdom. Rev. Ben Richards
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