Ben’s June Letter
Dear friends in Christ,
On June 8, we celebrate Pentecost in worship. We remember the Holy Spirit arriving among the disciples as tongues of fire, sending them out to the edges of the known world. It is a day when we celebrate Jesus’ promise that we wouldn’t be left alone when he departed; it is a day when we consider our own calling to ministry and service; it is a change to remember that faith was never meant to stay in a single room.
This month is a busy one at Evergreen: on June 1, elders and deacons will take home communion kits to friends and homebound members. On June 15, Sheila Lichtenberg from Operation Give Back will share about her organization, one of our favorite mission partners. And on June 28, the Earth Care festival will return for its second year, after lots and lots of preparation. So much of what we do this time of year is about taking what we have learned in the sanctuary out into the world—as the Holy Spirit sends us.
The Upper Room might have been where the disciples encountered the Holy Spirit, and it might have been where they were prepared for ministry by the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. But it wasn’t where they were supposed to stay. They were being prepared for something on the outside, nothing short of the transformation of the world. In the same way, our sanctuary might be where we encounter the Holy Spirit, and where we are prepared for ministry by the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. But it’s never been where we are supposed to stay. We are being prepared for something on the outside, nothing short of the transformation of the world.
In the season after Pentecost, we scatter: taking what we have learned at Evergreen out. This is the purpose of our faith, the purpose of our worship, the purpose of our church life. We are prepared here—to go to the world in Jesus’ name.
So in the spirit of the season, I tell you: get out of here. It’s what we’re meant for.
In Christ,
Rev. Ben