Stepping into Freedom: Expecting the Spirit to Show Up
This Sunday was Pentecost, the Sunday when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church as it is recorded in the book of Acts. We thought about what it means to be people who expect the Spirit to show up, in a world that so often is focused on our material realities alone. We heard wisdom passed on to the US Congress by Czechlozovakian play-write, dissident, political prisoner and then president in 1990, bore witness to the transformation of a founder of a cosmetic empire, and heard the moving letter of Major Sullivan Ballou to his wife as he prepared to head into battle at the beginning of the Civil War. Through it all, we saw signs of the Spirit at work and were encouraged to be attentive to the Spirit’s movement in our own lives.
Want to dig deeper? Check out the links below to connect to resources used by Pastor Clare in Sunday’s Sermon.
Acts 1:12-14 - Common English Bible
Acts 2:1-21 - Common English Bible
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer
“Christian Atheists,” The Praying Life, by Loretta Ross (includes a wonderful prayer exercise you can try at home.)
“He Helped Start a Cosmetics Empire, and then Gave it Up to Be a Priest,” by Michael Levenson of the New York Times, May 20th, 2026.
“My Very Dear Wife,” The Last Letter of Major Sullivan Ballou - National Parks Service