Whirlwind
Stories
Object:
Contents
A Story to Live By: "Whirlwind"
Sharing Visions: "My Encounter with God" by Robert Gossett
Good Stories: "Pentecost Reflection" by Robyn Allen Goudge
Scrap Pile: "Pinwheels" by Kathy Donley
"Cut to the Heart" by John Sumwalt
We couldn't find any Parthian, Mede, or Elamite writers for the Pentecost edition of StoryShare, but we do have a New Zealander, a Baptist from Edinburg (OK, it's the Edinburg in Illinois), and a couple of reedy-voiced Wisconsin preachers. Robyn Allen Goudge, from that other beautiful land down under, shares a touching Pentecost reflection. Robert Gossett writes from the shores of Lake Michigan about his struggle with speaking in tongues and a powerful encounter with God that changed his life. Kathy Donley, the aforementioned Baptist of Edinburg, tells about the mighty wind that can be created if you give each child a pinwheel during the children's moment.
A Story to Live By
Whirlwind
In The Land Remembers: The Story of a Farm and Its People (New York: Viking Press, 1975), Ben Logan tells of the life he knew as a child in the hill country of southwest Wisconsin in the 1920s and '30s. He describes a fierce argument that took place between the Protestant and Roman Catholic children one day at recess outside their one-room schoolhouse. A boy named Tom Withers, who was rarely in school because he couldn't stand to be indoors, bid them all meet him on the hillside after school. They all met at the appointed place, and when the teacher was out of sight, Tom "... climbed onto a rock, raised his arms above his head, and looked straight up.... A sound began in Tom's throat. He stretched his arms higher. His mouth opened and the sound roared out: 'THEY AIN'T NO GOD!' went the echo. 'STRIKE ME DOWN DEAD IF THEY'S A GOD!' Tom yelled ...
"We waited. Then a little whirlwind came along the hillside, rattling the dead oak leaves, seeming to attack one tree at a time. It took hold of the tree where we stood, thrashed with it, filling the woods with sound. Then it moved on. Tom lowered his arms. He looked at us, baring his teeth in a smile, jumped from the rock, and ran along the hillside out of sight. We waited a little longer, and then without a word to one another, went our different ways. We didn't talk much about religion in school after that."
The psalmist sang, "The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; ... The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say glory!" (Psalm 29)
Sharing Visions
My Encounter with God
by Robert Gossett
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Acts 2:4
A United Methodist pastor lying on a Lutheran gymnasium floor, struggling with God about speaking in tongues, is not something you would expect to see very often, but that is a part of my story. That incident took place in about 1974, and it is still an important part of my spiritual life. A little background might be helpful in understanding it.
I grew up in the Evangelical United Brethren Church, which merged in 1968 with the Methodist Church to form the United Methodist Church. Sunday school, Youth Fellowship, and other church activities were always an important part of my life. Five years after I graduated from high school, I entered college with the intention of becoming a pastor. There was no dramatic call from God at that time; just awareness on my part and that of others that this seemed to be a place where I could serve.
My search for a deeper experience of God may have been present for some time, but I became more aware of it as I saw in some lay people an awareness and experience of God that I knew I didn't have. They talked about a personal relationship with Jesus, and being filled or baptized with the Holy Spirit, which made their faith alive and vital. They sometimes offered books, tapes, and invitations to prayer groups or special speakers, which answered some of my questions and further heightened my interest. My biggest question was about speaking in tongues. I had heard it at a youth prayer meeting once, and I had done a lot of reading about it, but I wasn't sure I wanted anything to do with it.
My interest in these topics culminated one night following a Bible study at church. I asked several of the lay people to pray for me concerning my questions and desire for a deeper relationship with Jesus and experience of the Holy Spirit. I knelt at the altar while they placed their hands on my head and shoulders and prayed for me. There were no flashing lights, visions, speaking in tongues, or anything like that, but I could tell I was changed. The Bible came to life in ways that it hadn't before; my preaching became more positive and Christ-centered; prayer became more exciting; and the desire to share my faith became more intense. It was a major turning point in my faith, but God wasn't done with me yet.
Several months later, my wife and I went to St. Louis to visit former members of our church who had moved there. An evangelist with a healing ministry was speaking, so we all decided to go. Following her sermon, the evangelist invited people to come forward to accept Jesus and receive prayer for healing or any other need. Many people went forward for prayer. As some received prayer, they fell to the floor. We had never experienced that before and thought it was a little strange, but it happened to a United Methodist pastor and a young boy, among many others, so we didn't question its validity. We learned later that it was called "being Slain in the Spirit," as people came under the power of the Spirit. My own encounter with the Spirit was drawing closer.
Later that summer, my wife and I went to a Lutheran gymnasium to hear a couple who had become Christians later in life and wondered why everyone wasn't as excited about the Christian faith as they were. They had written a number of books, which I had read, so I wanted to hear them in person. Following their presentation, they invited people to come forward for prayer to receive Jesus, be filled with the Holy Spirit, receive prayer for healing or other special needs. Two long lines formed, one for the husband and one for the wife, and Jeri and I got into the line to see the wife. When we got to her, I told her that I was a United Methodist pastor, and that I wanted more of the power she had been talking about. She asked me if I had received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and I said that I believed I had. She asked if I spoke in tongues, and I said that I had a lot of questions about it and problems with it. She placed her hand on my shoulder in prayer, and the next thing I knew, I was down on the gym floor. Jeri didn't know what to do, and the evangelist said, "Don't help him, he's under the power of God."
I'm not exactly sure what I was experiencing and feeling on that gym floor, but I'm sure I was struggling with God. I have no concept of the amount of time I was there, but when I got up, Jeri and I talked to the speaker again. She asked me if I had spoken in tongues; I said not and that I still had a lot of questions and problems with it. She said, "Just try it." I told her I had, but nothing came out. She said, "You know what's going to happen if you don't?" And then I was on the floor again, struggling with God and my questions and fears about speaking in tongues. Again, I don't know how long I was there. Jeri went to the bleachers to sit with some friends. They told me later that they had been praying, "Knock him silly, Lord." I think their prayers were answered.
As I lay on the floor, a word or phrase came to mind which I didn't understand. I don't know if I thought it or said it, but it was the beginning of a new prayer language, which has become part of my new prayer life. It is something I use regularly as an expression of praise to an awesome God or when I pray for a situation in which I'm not sure what the specific need is. I use it often throughout the day in my private expressions of praise and prayer, and use it only rarely with another person or group.
When I share this experience, I always say that this does not make me better than anyone who has not experienced it. I can only say that it has made my personal awareness of God much deeper and my desire to serve God greater. The power of God is awesome. Your experience may take you down a different path, but don't be afraid of seeking and accepting all God has for you.
Robert L. Gossett is pastor of Grand Avenue United Methodist Church in Port Washington, Wisconsin, where he lives with his wife Jeri. Bob has had several articles published in Marriage magazine. Bob's story appears in Vision Stories: True Accounts of Visions, Angels, and Healing Miracles edited by John E. Sumwalt (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 2002). Vision Storiesis available from CSS through their website (www.csspub.com) or by calling 1-800-241-4056. Vision Stories is also available at Cokesbury, Family Christian Stores, and many local Christian bookstores.
Good Stories
Pentecost Reflection
by Robyn Allen Goudge
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.
Acts 2:1-2
Lord Jesus, on the night before you died you shared a meal with your friends. You told them you were going away, but they did not want to believe you. You told them you would suffer and be betrayed, but who wants to hear that? You promised them, "But I will not leave you all alone, like orphans or abandoned children. I will ask the Father to send you another Helper, who will be with you forever." But the promise did not sink in. No one recognized its significance. Well, not until some time later - after your death and resurrection - after you had ascended into heaven and your physical body was no longer present upon the earth. That's when your promise was fulfilled. And who would have predicted how it happened, Lord?
When you began your ministry and were baptized in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit came upon you, and the gospel writers described it as being in the image of a dove. A dove we associate with peace and innocence, with soft feathers, billing and cooing, and everything being lovey-dovey. But that wasn't how the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost; not as a soft, snow-white dove, tame and predictable, but as a roaring hurricane, as a rushing and a whooshing, and a stirring upside-down, and no one knew what was going on or what would happen next. And then there was the indescribable fire, like the fire that Moses saw at the burning bush. A fire that burnt but did not consume. A Holy Fire - ablaze and very bright. A fire of glory and of power.
And the fire spread. Tongues of flame jumped from person to person to person, like a raging bush fire. Soon another and then another caught the joy of your Holy Spirit. It could not be stopped, could not be contained. They say three thousand people were added to your followers that day.
I wish I had been there, Lord. What an amazing experience! Why don't you do that for me now? Though perhaps I might have resisted, been a mocker and a scoffer. Or worse still, not even noticed. Too busy hurrying to my next appointment.
Yet if I am honest, there was once, Lord, when you picked me up by the scruff of my neck and shook me around. I'd nearly forgotten about that. And there was another time when I just knew that you loved me. It was like being in a bath of liquid love. Was that your Holy Spirit? I didn't notice any wind blowing.
And that other time when I was so terribly depressed, I thought that I was having a breakdown, and someone unexpectedly arrived with flowers. Was that your Holy Spirit, too?
I used to think that your Holy Spirit was like a special reward that you reserved for extra special saints. You know, those really "Holy Christians" who pray for hours each day, fast twice a week, and never get fed up with their kids.
But Peter told the crowd in Jerusalem that your Holy Spirit is not a religious snob. "God says: I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message" - no discrimination on the grounds of sex or gender - "Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams" - no discrimination on the grounds of age, either.
"Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour our my Spirit." It seems that you make no distinction on the grounds of social class or income either, Lord.
And wasn't it true that people of many different ethnic groups heard and understood your message in their own language? I don't know if the miracle was in the listeners' ears or in the speakers' tongues, but your Holy Spirit sure knows how to overcome the language and culture barrier, Jesus.
We need more of your Holy Spirit in our world, Lord Jesus. Your Holy Spirit is a force for good that has no dark side.
Would you grow deeper and stronger within me?
And within my friends, who are gathered here as well?
At the beginning of the service we lit seven candles to represent seven gifts your Spirit brings. Joy, Truth, Life, Hope, Love, Wisdom, and Peace.
Lord Jesus Christ, we need these things and so we pray to you: O Christ, our dearest Savior, kindle the flames of our hearts, that we may evermore shine with your Spirit and receive unquenchable light from you that will lighten our darkness and lessen the darkness of the world. Come, Holy Spirit, come!
(Prayer adapted from St. Columba)
Robyn Allen Goudge is pastor of Devonport Methodist Church, on a beautiful seaside, suburban peninsula in Auckland, New Zealand. After studying for degrees in psychology and theology, Robyn has worked full- and part-time in parish ministry in various parts of New Zealand over the last 17 years (including three years off having children). She is married to Geoff, step-mum to Rowyn (17), mother of Beren (11), Morgan (8), and Aidan (4 months). She is interested in theatre, music (classical and folk), and Celtic Christian spirituality. As a singer, composer, and harpist, she often performs at church and community functions. In 1998, she produced a CD of original songs titled The Love I'm In Write to Robyn at: robyn-g@clear.net.nz.
Scrap Pile
Pinwheels
by Kathy Donley
Last year on Pentecost Sunday during the children's time, I taught them the Greek and Hebrew words for "spirit/wind." I talked about how the Holy Spirit is like the wind - moving freely, unseen but causing visible effects, etc. Then I passed out one pinwheel to each child and we practiced blowing on them to make them move. I told the children that in a few minutes, during the sermon, I wanted them to listen for the words "wind" and "Spirit," and every time they heard me say one of those words, they were to blow on the pinwheels. It was fun to see who was listening by seeing which pinwheels were moving. The most fun were two 5-year-old boys who were sitting together. They were not listening quite as intently as some others, so when the others would blow on their pinwheels there would be a delay, and then one of the 5-year-olds would say quite audibly, "She said 'Spirit!'" and then blow quite loudly on his pinwheel.
Kathy Donley is the pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Edinburg, Illinois. Bethel is an American Baptist congregation in central Illinois with a vision for ministry with children and their families. Kathy is currently planning a child-led Pentecost worship service for 2003 that involves kites as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Kathy may be contacted at jimkathy1987@earthlink.net.
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Cut to the Heart
by John Sumwalt
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?"
Acts 2:37
This is the rest of the Pentecost story beyond the lectionary text, the response to Peter's sermon.
Have you ever been cut to the heart? Has anyone ever told you something that cut through you like a sharp knife? Will anyone be cut to the heart by anything that is said in your church on Pentecost Sunday?
In the fall of 1987, James Meredith was invited back to the University of Mississippi to speak on the 25th anniversary of his admission as the first African-American student in the history of that institution. "Meredith enrolled at Ole Miss in the fall of 1962 amidst the rising civil rights movement, instigating the desegregation of the 114-year-old institution. More than 30,000 federal troops and Mississippi National Guardsmen were called to Oxford by then-President John Kennedy to assist in the resulting historical riots in front of the Lyceum." (http://dm.olemiss.edu/archives/97/9703/970321/970321N5meredith.HTML) The troops led him past hundreds of screaming hecklers, but he was admitted.
When he stood up to speak 25 years later they gave him a standing ovation. One would think that might have given Meredith a great deal of satisfaction, even some sense of personal triumph, but it did not. In the speech that followed he reminded them that in a state where over 50% of the population is black, only 9% of the Ole Miss student body is African-American - and that the university hired only enough minority faculty members to meet federal regulations. When he was finished speaking only the African-American members of the audience and a few whites rose to applaud. Most of the audience sat silently in their seats. They were cut to the heart. Meredith told them the truth about themselves, and they knew it. Some of them must have wondered, "How could he do this to us after we were nice enough to invite him back and greeted him so warmly?"
"This Jesus whom you crucified," Peter said. And he said it to the believers as well as to the unbelievers, to the faithful as well as the mockers and the taunters.
Can you imagine the hurt and anger this must have caused, especially among the faithful?
They were cut to the heart and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?"
John Sumwalt is the editor of Vision Stories: True Accounts of Visions, Angels, and Healing Miracles.
We are pleased to announce that the second volume in the vision series, titled Sharing Visions: Divine Revelations, Angels, and Holy Coincidences has now been released. It is available from CSS Publishing Company through their website (www.csspub.com) or by calling 1-800-241-4056.
The 85 contributing authors include the Canadian writer Ralph Milton, author of Julian's Cell; singers Kerri Sherwood, Cheryl Kirking, and Lee Domann; professor Linda J. Vogel of Garrett-Evangelical Seminary; and Rosmarie Trapp, whose family story was told in the movie The Sound of Music. Rosmarie also has a wonderful story in Vision Stories, which you will find in the bookstore when you visit the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont, as we hope to do next summer.
John and Jo are collecting personal stories for a third collection to be released in 2004. The working title is Holy Moments: Life-Changing Visions And Other Signs of God's Presence. They are broadening the scope a bit to include any experience of the holy. Send stories to jsumwalt@naspa.net.
Praise For Sharing Visions
Bishop Richard Wilke, creator of the Disciple Bible Study series, writes: "I am rejoicing as I read the testimonies in Sharing Visions. What an inspiration! I recall my father, an unemotional man, telling me that his mother (who had died some years before) appeared to him in a dream and gave him counsel on a difficult decision he was wrestling with."
To learn more about John and Jo Sumwalt, visit their church website: http://www.waumc.org/. Click on "staff" for bios and photos.
StoryShare, June 8, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
A Story to Live By: "Whirlwind"
Sharing Visions: "My Encounter with God" by Robert Gossett
Good Stories: "Pentecost Reflection" by Robyn Allen Goudge
Scrap Pile: "Pinwheels" by Kathy Donley
"Cut to the Heart" by John Sumwalt
We couldn't find any Parthian, Mede, or Elamite writers for the Pentecost edition of StoryShare, but we do have a New Zealander, a Baptist from Edinburg (OK, it's the Edinburg in Illinois), and a couple of reedy-voiced Wisconsin preachers. Robyn Allen Goudge, from that other beautiful land down under, shares a touching Pentecost reflection. Robert Gossett writes from the shores of Lake Michigan about his struggle with speaking in tongues and a powerful encounter with God that changed his life. Kathy Donley, the aforementioned Baptist of Edinburg, tells about the mighty wind that can be created if you give each child a pinwheel during the children's moment.
A Story to Live By
Whirlwind
In The Land Remembers: The Story of a Farm and Its People (New York: Viking Press, 1975), Ben Logan tells of the life he knew as a child in the hill country of southwest Wisconsin in the 1920s and '30s. He describes a fierce argument that took place between the Protestant and Roman Catholic children one day at recess outside their one-room schoolhouse. A boy named Tom Withers, who was rarely in school because he couldn't stand to be indoors, bid them all meet him on the hillside after school. They all met at the appointed place, and when the teacher was out of sight, Tom "... climbed onto a rock, raised his arms above his head, and looked straight up.... A sound began in Tom's throat. He stretched his arms higher. His mouth opened and the sound roared out: 'THEY AIN'T NO GOD!' went the echo. 'STRIKE ME DOWN DEAD IF THEY'S A GOD!' Tom yelled ...
"We waited. Then a little whirlwind came along the hillside, rattling the dead oak leaves, seeming to attack one tree at a time. It took hold of the tree where we stood, thrashed with it, filling the woods with sound. Then it moved on. Tom lowered his arms. He looked at us, baring his teeth in a smile, jumped from the rock, and ran along the hillside out of sight. We waited a little longer, and then without a word to one another, went our different ways. We didn't talk much about religion in school after that."
The psalmist sang, "The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; ... The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say glory!" (Psalm 29)
Sharing Visions
My Encounter with God
by Robert Gossett
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Acts 2:4
A United Methodist pastor lying on a Lutheran gymnasium floor, struggling with God about speaking in tongues, is not something you would expect to see very often, but that is a part of my story. That incident took place in about 1974, and it is still an important part of my spiritual life. A little background might be helpful in understanding it.
I grew up in the Evangelical United Brethren Church, which merged in 1968 with the Methodist Church to form the United Methodist Church. Sunday school, Youth Fellowship, and other church activities were always an important part of my life. Five years after I graduated from high school, I entered college with the intention of becoming a pastor. There was no dramatic call from God at that time; just awareness on my part and that of others that this seemed to be a place where I could serve.
My search for a deeper experience of God may have been present for some time, but I became more aware of it as I saw in some lay people an awareness and experience of God that I knew I didn't have. They talked about a personal relationship with Jesus, and being filled or baptized with the Holy Spirit, which made their faith alive and vital. They sometimes offered books, tapes, and invitations to prayer groups or special speakers, which answered some of my questions and further heightened my interest. My biggest question was about speaking in tongues. I had heard it at a youth prayer meeting once, and I had done a lot of reading about it, but I wasn't sure I wanted anything to do with it.
My interest in these topics culminated one night following a Bible study at church. I asked several of the lay people to pray for me concerning my questions and desire for a deeper relationship with Jesus and experience of the Holy Spirit. I knelt at the altar while they placed their hands on my head and shoulders and prayed for me. There were no flashing lights, visions, speaking in tongues, or anything like that, but I could tell I was changed. The Bible came to life in ways that it hadn't before; my preaching became more positive and Christ-centered; prayer became more exciting; and the desire to share my faith became more intense. It was a major turning point in my faith, but God wasn't done with me yet.
Several months later, my wife and I went to St. Louis to visit former members of our church who had moved there. An evangelist with a healing ministry was speaking, so we all decided to go. Following her sermon, the evangelist invited people to come forward to accept Jesus and receive prayer for healing or any other need. Many people went forward for prayer. As some received prayer, they fell to the floor. We had never experienced that before and thought it was a little strange, but it happened to a United Methodist pastor and a young boy, among many others, so we didn't question its validity. We learned later that it was called "being Slain in the Spirit," as people came under the power of the Spirit. My own encounter with the Spirit was drawing closer.
Later that summer, my wife and I went to a Lutheran gymnasium to hear a couple who had become Christians later in life and wondered why everyone wasn't as excited about the Christian faith as they were. They had written a number of books, which I had read, so I wanted to hear them in person. Following their presentation, they invited people to come forward for prayer to receive Jesus, be filled with the Holy Spirit, receive prayer for healing or other special needs. Two long lines formed, one for the husband and one for the wife, and Jeri and I got into the line to see the wife. When we got to her, I told her that I was a United Methodist pastor, and that I wanted more of the power she had been talking about. She asked me if I had received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and I said that I believed I had. She asked if I spoke in tongues, and I said that I had a lot of questions about it and problems with it. She placed her hand on my shoulder in prayer, and the next thing I knew, I was down on the gym floor. Jeri didn't know what to do, and the evangelist said, "Don't help him, he's under the power of God."
I'm not exactly sure what I was experiencing and feeling on that gym floor, but I'm sure I was struggling with God. I have no concept of the amount of time I was there, but when I got up, Jeri and I talked to the speaker again. She asked me if I had spoken in tongues; I said not and that I still had a lot of questions and problems with it. She said, "Just try it." I told her I had, but nothing came out. She said, "You know what's going to happen if you don't?" And then I was on the floor again, struggling with God and my questions and fears about speaking in tongues. Again, I don't know how long I was there. Jeri went to the bleachers to sit with some friends. They told me later that they had been praying, "Knock him silly, Lord." I think their prayers were answered.
As I lay on the floor, a word or phrase came to mind which I didn't understand. I don't know if I thought it or said it, but it was the beginning of a new prayer language, which has become part of my new prayer life. It is something I use regularly as an expression of praise to an awesome God or when I pray for a situation in which I'm not sure what the specific need is. I use it often throughout the day in my private expressions of praise and prayer, and use it only rarely with another person or group.
When I share this experience, I always say that this does not make me better than anyone who has not experienced it. I can only say that it has made my personal awareness of God much deeper and my desire to serve God greater. The power of God is awesome. Your experience may take you down a different path, but don't be afraid of seeking and accepting all God has for you.
Robert L. Gossett is pastor of Grand Avenue United Methodist Church in Port Washington, Wisconsin, where he lives with his wife Jeri. Bob has had several articles published in Marriage magazine. Bob's story appears in Vision Stories: True Accounts of Visions, Angels, and Healing Miracles edited by John E. Sumwalt (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 2002). Vision Storiesis available from CSS through their website (www.csspub.com) or by calling 1-800-241-4056. Vision Stories is also available at Cokesbury, Family Christian Stores, and many local Christian bookstores.
Good Stories
Pentecost Reflection
by Robyn Allen Goudge
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.
Acts 2:1-2
Lord Jesus, on the night before you died you shared a meal with your friends. You told them you were going away, but they did not want to believe you. You told them you would suffer and be betrayed, but who wants to hear that? You promised them, "But I will not leave you all alone, like orphans or abandoned children. I will ask the Father to send you another Helper, who will be with you forever." But the promise did not sink in. No one recognized its significance. Well, not until some time later - after your death and resurrection - after you had ascended into heaven and your physical body was no longer present upon the earth. That's when your promise was fulfilled. And who would have predicted how it happened, Lord?
When you began your ministry and were baptized in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit came upon you, and the gospel writers described it as being in the image of a dove. A dove we associate with peace and innocence, with soft feathers, billing and cooing, and everything being lovey-dovey. But that wasn't how the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost; not as a soft, snow-white dove, tame and predictable, but as a roaring hurricane, as a rushing and a whooshing, and a stirring upside-down, and no one knew what was going on or what would happen next. And then there was the indescribable fire, like the fire that Moses saw at the burning bush. A fire that burnt but did not consume. A Holy Fire - ablaze and very bright. A fire of glory and of power.
And the fire spread. Tongues of flame jumped from person to person to person, like a raging bush fire. Soon another and then another caught the joy of your Holy Spirit. It could not be stopped, could not be contained. They say three thousand people were added to your followers that day.
I wish I had been there, Lord. What an amazing experience! Why don't you do that for me now? Though perhaps I might have resisted, been a mocker and a scoffer. Or worse still, not even noticed. Too busy hurrying to my next appointment.
Yet if I am honest, there was once, Lord, when you picked me up by the scruff of my neck and shook me around. I'd nearly forgotten about that. And there was another time when I just knew that you loved me. It was like being in a bath of liquid love. Was that your Holy Spirit? I didn't notice any wind blowing.
And that other time when I was so terribly depressed, I thought that I was having a breakdown, and someone unexpectedly arrived with flowers. Was that your Holy Spirit, too?
I used to think that your Holy Spirit was like a special reward that you reserved for extra special saints. You know, those really "Holy Christians" who pray for hours each day, fast twice a week, and never get fed up with their kids.
But Peter told the crowd in Jerusalem that your Holy Spirit is not a religious snob. "God says: I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message" - no discrimination on the grounds of sex or gender - "Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams" - no discrimination on the grounds of age, either.
"Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour our my Spirit." It seems that you make no distinction on the grounds of social class or income either, Lord.
And wasn't it true that people of many different ethnic groups heard and understood your message in their own language? I don't know if the miracle was in the listeners' ears or in the speakers' tongues, but your Holy Spirit sure knows how to overcome the language and culture barrier, Jesus.
We need more of your Holy Spirit in our world, Lord Jesus. Your Holy Spirit is a force for good that has no dark side.
Would you grow deeper and stronger within me?
And within my friends, who are gathered here as well?
At the beginning of the service we lit seven candles to represent seven gifts your Spirit brings. Joy, Truth, Life, Hope, Love, Wisdom, and Peace.
Lord Jesus Christ, we need these things and so we pray to you: O Christ, our dearest Savior, kindle the flames of our hearts, that we may evermore shine with your Spirit and receive unquenchable light from you that will lighten our darkness and lessen the darkness of the world. Come, Holy Spirit, come!
(Prayer adapted from St. Columba)
Robyn Allen Goudge is pastor of Devonport Methodist Church, on a beautiful seaside, suburban peninsula in Auckland, New Zealand. After studying for degrees in psychology and theology, Robyn has worked full- and part-time in parish ministry in various parts of New Zealand over the last 17 years (including three years off having children). She is married to Geoff, step-mum to Rowyn (17), mother of Beren (11), Morgan (8), and Aidan (4 months). She is interested in theatre, music (classical and folk), and Celtic Christian spirituality. As a singer, composer, and harpist, she often performs at church and community functions. In 1998, she produced a CD of original songs titled The Love I'm In Write to Robyn at: robyn-g@clear.net.nz.
Scrap Pile
Pinwheels
by Kathy Donley
Last year on Pentecost Sunday during the children's time, I taught them the Greek and Hebrew words for "spirit/wind." I talked about how the Holy Spirit is like the wind - moving freely, unseen but causing visible effects, etc. Then I passed out one pinwheel to each child and we practiced blowing on them to make them move. I told the children that in a few minutes, during the sermon, I wanted them to listen for the words "wind" and "Spirit," and every time they heard me say one of those words, they were to blow on the pinwheels. It was fun to see who was listening by seeing which pinwheels were moving. The most fun were two 5-year-old boys who were sitting together. They were not listening quite as intently as some others, so when the others would blow on their pinwheels there would be a delay, and then one of the 5-year-olds would say quite audibly, "She said 'Spirit!'" and then blow quite loudly on his pinwheel.
Kathy Donley is the pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Edinburg, Illinois. Bethel is an American Baptist congregation in central Illinois with a vision for ministry with children and their families. Kathy is currently planning a child-led Pentecost worship service for 2003 that involves kites as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Kathy may be contacted at jimkathy1987@earthlink.net.
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Cut to the Heart
by John Sumwalt
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?"
Acts 2:37
This is the rest of the Pentecost story beyond the lectionary text, the response to Peter's sermon.
Have you ever been cut to the heart? Has anyone ever told you something that cut through you like a sharp knife? Will anyone be cut to the heart by anything that is said in your church on Pentecost Sunday?
In the fall of 1987, James Meredith was invited back to the University of Mississippi to speak on the 25th anniversary of his admission as the first African-American student in the history of that institution. "Meredith enrolled at Ole Miss in the fall of 1962 amidst the rising civil rights movement, instigating the desegregation of the 114-year-old institution. More than 30,000 federal troops and Mississippi National Guardsmen were called to Oxford by then-President John Kennedy to assist in the resulting historical riots in front of the Lyceum." (http://dm.olemiss.edu/archives/97/9703/970321/970321N5meredith.HTML) The troops led him past hundreds of screaming hecklers, but he was admitted.
When he stood up to speak 25 years later they gave him a standing ovation. One would think that might have given Meredith a great deal of satisfaction, even some sense of personal triumph, but it did not. In the speech that followed he reminded them that in a state where over 50% of the population is black, only 9% of the Ole Miss student body is African-American - and that the university hired only enough minority faculty members to meet federal regulations. When he was finished speaking only the African-American members of the audience and a few whites rose to applaud. Most of the audience sat silently in their seats. They were cut to the heart. Meredith told them the truth about themselves, and they knew it. Some of them must have wondered, "How could he do this to us after we were nice enough to invite him back and greeted him so warmly?"
"This Jesus whom you crucified," Peter said. And he said it to the believers as well as to the unbelievers, to the faithful as well as the mockers and the taunters.
Can you imagine the hurt and anger this must have caused, especially among the faithful?
They were cut to the heart and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?"
John Sumwalt is the editor of Vision Stories: True Accounts of Visions, Angels, and Healing Miracles.
We are pleased to announce that the second volume in the vision series, titled Sharing Visions: Divine Revelations, Angels, and Holy Coincidences has now been released. It is available from CSS Publishing Company through their website (www.csspub.com) or by calling 1-800-241-4056.
The 85 contributing authors include the Canadian writer Ralph Milton, author of Julian's Cell; singers Kerri Sherwood, Cheryl Kirking, and Lee Domann; professor Linda J. Vogel of Garrett-Evangelical Seminary; and Rosmarie Trapp, whose family story was told in the movie The Sound of Music. Rosmarie also has a wonderful story in Vision Stories, which you will find in the bookstore when you visit the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont, as we hope to do next summer.
John and Jo are collecting personal stories for a third collection to be released in 2004. The working title is Holy Moments: Life-Changing Visions And Other Signs of God's Presence. They are broadening the scope a bit to include any experience of the holy. Send stories to jsumwalt@naspa.net.
Praise For Sharing Visions
Bishop Richard Wilke, creator of the Disciple Bible Study series, writes: "I am rejoicing as I read the testimonies in Sharing Visions. What an inspiration! I recall my father, an unemotional man, telling me that his mother (who had died some years before) appeared to him in a dream and gave him counsel on a difficult decision he was wrestling with."
To learn more about John and Jo Sumwalt, visit their church website: http://www.waumc.org/. Click on "staff" for bios and photos.
StoryShare, June 8, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
