Revd Richards Letter ( May 2024)

Thoughts from the Church for May

This month sees three Church festivals. Most people outside the church are probably

unaware of them: they’re not the big ones like Christmas and Easter. Quite a lot of people

inside the church possibly won’t celebrate one of them, as it falls on a weekday. But because

Easter was so early this year, May will contain Ascension Day, Pentecost, and Trinity

Sunday.

Ascension Day marks the moment when the risen Jesus ascended to heaven. This

celebration happens on the fortieth day after Easter, and has been marked since the late

fourth century. Before he left them, Jesus promised his disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit

and told them to continue his work. Ten days later, the Church celebrates Pentecost.

Pentecost is a bit like the Church’s birthday. Christmas celebrates Jesus’ birth, Easter

celebrates his resurrection: Pentecost celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus

promised. The arrival of the Spirit caused the disciples to speak in many different languages,

and tell all sorts of people the good news about Jesus. This was something that was for

everyone, and everyone should know. From this point on the early Church began, and for

this reason Pentecost is thought of as the birthday of the Church.

Now that the Church has come to know God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy

Spirit, it can celebrate Trinity Sunday and acknowledge the mystery of God who is three in

one.

These three celebrations together remind us that the Church is not just for those on the

‘inside.’ We are called to be outward looking: to baptise disciples of all nations, and teach

them as we have been taught (Matthew 28:19-20). What this looks like in practice can vary

hugely. But one thing we can say is that your local church is there for you. You may not

choose to come in on Trinity Sunday and listen to someone attempt to explain one of the

hardest concepts in Christian theology, but the church door is open to anyone who wants to

explore faith for themselves, to experience something of who God is for them, and to know

that they are loved by God.