Christ Church Happenings: 🔥 Pentecost & Renewal of Baptismal Vows

THIS SUNDAY,
MAY 31:
PENTECOST

This Sunday, we mark Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit among the apostles and followers of Jesus. Celebrated 50 days after Easter (including the day of Easter itself), the name of the holiday comes from the Greek Pentēkostē, which literally means “the 50th day.”

The events of the day are foretold by Jesus in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, just before his Ascension. While his followers were with the risen Christ, he tells them, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5, NRSV). He goes on to say to them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The followers would not wait long for the promised Spirit. The author of Acts, traditionally believed to be Luke, recounts:

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each” (Acts 2:1-6).

We celebrate Pentecost as the inauguration of the Church’s mission in the world. Empowered by the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are to go out into our neighborhoods and the wider world—to Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth—witnessing to the risen Christ.

The Day of Pentecost is identified by the Book of Common Prayer as one of the feast days “especially appropriate” for baptism (Book of Common Prayer, p. 312). Because of this, Pentecost is also known as “Whitsun” or “Whitsunday” (“White Sunday”), a term used to describe the white baptismal garments worn by those who were baptized at the Vigil of Pentecost and then worn to church on the Day of Pentecost.

Collect for Pentecost

Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 227).
Text credit: episcopalchurch.org; Image credit: Kossowski, Adam. Veni Sancti Spiritus, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.

JOIN US FOR VIRTUAL COFFEE HOUR
Pentecost Sunday
May 31, 2020 10:45 am

WEAR RED + And in honor of the birthday of the church, come prepared to SHOW or TELL
A FAVORITE BIRTHDAY JOKE,
QUOTE, CAKE, STORY OR PRESENT.

Join Zoom Meeting via SMART PHONE, IPAD OR COMPUTER here:
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Meeting ID: 928 1656 3437
Password: 204251
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Image credit: unitedwalpole.org

SEEKING VIRTUAL COFFEE HOUR HOSTS

The Hospitality Chairs (Jeane and Leslie) and the Bishop's Committee would like to invite volunteers to step forward to "host" virtual coffee hour. Is this something you feel called to do? Duties could include one or more of the following: 1) signing into the meeting 5 minutes prior and admitting folks to the Zoom meeting 2) serving as conversation facilitator and tech advisor as needed and/or 3) providing conversation questions or themes each week. Training and support provided. Contact myra@laughingflowerlabyrinth.com with questions or interest.

BAPTISMAL VOWS GUIDE OUR LIVES

All are invited to bring a bowl of water with you for worship on Sunday.

Dear People of Christ Church,

One of our baptismal vows is this:

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons,
loving your neighbor as yourself?

In this vow we are invited to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. This is one of the two, key values of the Abrahamic traditions, along with loving the creator of life above all else.

In this vow, we are invited not only to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, but are invited to see them in a particular way. We are invited to seek and serve Christ in them. The Christ we seek in others is the Christ who

embodies the fullness of the image of God
risked his life for the well-being of human beings and the earth
was raised from the dead by the glory of God

This vow, in part, invites us to see the person we love not only as a recipient of love, but also as someone capable of loving us. We are challenged in this vow to recognize that our salvation (i.e. our healing, both individually and collectively) is inextricably bound with that of other human beings and the whole creation.

This Sunday we will renew our baptismal vows. We often do this on major feast days. I encourage you to join us in renewing our vows by having a bowl of water with you for worship on Sunday. Particularly in these challenging times, we need these vows to guide our lives and to help us see the humanity of others.

Peace,
Terry
The Rev. Terry Kyllo

INVITATION TO DIOCESAN ONLINE WORSHIP SERVICE 6/7/20

Dear Friends,

A week from this Sunday, on Sunday, June 7, 2020 at 11:00 a.m., the Diocese of Olympia will worship together in an online service. Therefore, for that one Sunday, there will be no Facebook Live Streaming Morning Prayer service for Christ Episcopal Church, Blaine. Let’s join our sisters and brothers in Christ worshipping together that morning. You will find the details below. You can enter the service through Facebook or YouTube.

If you have questions, please contact me. (rbarrett@wavecable.com)

Faithfully,
Rilla+ (for the supply clergy)
The Rev. Rilla Barrett

BISHOP'S COMMITTEE NEWS

Christ Episcopal Church's Bishop's Committee met Sunday, 5/17/20 via Zoom (pictured above). Here are a few highlights from the meeting that may be of interest to the parish:

Susan Thomson and Jodith Allen just completed an update to our church website. Please take a few moments to visit our site. We have added a giving page to make it easier for members and visitors to make online donations. Susan Thomson has also added a donation post to our Facebook page.

We have received some guidance from our Bishop with protocols for reopening the church as our state begins to relax restrictions on gathering together. A task force was formed to make recommendations for the Bishop's Committee and Wardens to review. We will continue to offer online worship for at least a few more months. Watch this newsletter for updates as we research and plan together. The committee is comprised of April Thomson, Jodith Allen, Gary Little and Mary Rebman.

CHRIST CHURCH CALENDAR

5/31 Pentecost Sunday
6/1 Loads of Love
6/7 Diocesan Worship Service (No Christ Church Live Stream)
6/15 Loads of Love