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| Seasons & Festivals - Pentecost |
| The church exists first to offer worship (honour) to God and to thank him for the gifts he gives us, and secondly to honour and support each other because we're all fellow creatures of God, and so that honours him too.
Firstly: God deserves our worship because he's the supreme being who made us out of nothing in order to have a relationship with him. We destroy that relationship by our disobedience (sin), but God restores it again through the life and work of Jesus Christ. To help us to focus on God, the church divides the year into eight main Seasons, each with one or more Major Festivals. They remind us of the important times in the life and work of God and Jesus, and consequently have major significance for his followers and so are observed by most Christians. (Return to top)
Secondly: We honour each other because Jesus told us to - he taught us that we should care for our neighbour as much as we care for our self, because in doing so we honour God who made us all. As well as the seasons and major festivals, therefore, the church celebrates several 'Special Days' throughout the year to remember, honour or support each other and our work in God's world. Celebration of the "Special Days" is usually optional, Christians chose which they want to remember. (Return to top) |
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| Pentecost | |||||||||
| The Festival of Pentecost occurs towards the end of the season of Easter, 50 days after Easter Sunday and 10 days after Ascension ('Pentekoste' is Greek for 'fiftieth day'). Pentecost was originally the old Jewish festival of 'Shavuoth' or the 'Festival of Weeks', a form of Harvest Festival giving thanks for the first fruits of that year's crop, which the Jews celebrated 7 weeks (50 days) after the festival of 'Passover'. Over the years, it had changed into a festival celebrating the giving of the 'Law' to Moses (the Ten Commandments), which forms a major basis of the Jewish religion (Exodus Chapters 19 & 20). (Return to top)
The Apostles and many other disciples, including members of Jesus' own family, were gathered together to celebrate Shavuoth. Just before his ascension back to God in heaven, Jesus had told them to wait in Jerusalem for a 'comforter', a source of strength and guidance (Luke 24:49). The festival of Pentecost celebrates that gift, the gift of God's Holy Spirit, which changed the old Jewish Festival of Shavuoth into the Christian Festival of Pentecost. (Return to top) |
 A Classical Picture of Pentecost |
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| It revolutionised their whole existence. From a demoralised group hiding in fear from the religious authorities, they were transformed into a confident group spreading the message of the Gospel throughout the world ('Gospel' = Greek for 'good news'). (Return to top)
As the Disciples were gathered together, the Bible tells us that there came a noise like a rushing wind and something like tongues of fire landed on their heads. They were filled with courage and went outside to preach the Gospel to the large crowd that were gathered for the Festival. Those that heard them speaking, heard them in their own language, even though the disciples were not from those countries. As a result, more than 3,000 were baptised into the Christian church on that day, Pentecost is therefore reckoned to be the birthday of the Christian Church. (Return to top) |
 The Picture of Pentecost in Dymock Church |
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| Customs Associated with Pentecost | |||||||||
| Whitsun: In the past, it had become a custom to hold a special 'Confirmation Service' on Pentecost Day, thereby enabling children baptised when still a baby to 'confirm' for themselves the baptism vows made for them by their parents and Godparents, and so enter into full membership of the Church. It was part of that custom that girls wore white dresses, so the day became known as 'White Sunday', shortened into 'Whit Sunday' and eventually 'Whitsun'. Such Services are still held on that day but many are now held at other times - the term 'Whitsun' has therefore tended to be replaced by the more basic 'Pentecost'. (Return to top)
Pentecost Party: Most churches hold a special Service to celebrate Pentecost, but as the feast is regarded as the birthday of the church, some churches now also hold a party on this day to celebrate that fact. The 'party' may be held before or after the Festival Service and may include communal food, party games, etc. (Return to top) Outreach Event (Evangelism): As the disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit, went out and preached the Gospel, so some churches organise an 'outreach' event around the time of Pentecost to share the Gospel with church members and/or outsiders. This may take many different forms, such as a party as described above but at which the Gospel is preached as one of the activities, a quiz or car relay where questions on the Bible are featured, or a traditional 'Evangelistic Campaign' inviting non-church-goers to hear the Christian message. (Evangelism is a term used to describe the preaching of the Christian Gospel. It's derived from 'Evangel' which is an old word for 'Gospel'). (Return to top) |
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