 On June 4, 2017, the Church will celebrate Pentecost, or at least Christians who are on the same Liturgical Calendar as us. This day completes our Easter Season. For those who are reading this and thinking ‘Who cares? It’s just another day,” I would respond: “It’s the BEST day on the Christian calendar and it’s my absolute favorite holiday!” Why? 1. The world received the Holy Spirit! If you aren’t familiar with the first Pentecost, I’ll let you catch up. Read Acts 2. Before this moment, only certain people (think Moses, the prophets, King David, Job, etc.) had limited access to God’s spirit. That changed on Pentecost! On that day and every day after, anyone anywhere at anytime can access God’s spirit, not just a select few. 2. The Church was born! Pentecost is also the Church’s birthday. As professing believers, we are born again by water and the Spirit into a new family. The Church is not a building; it’s all of us who believe in the grace Christ created when He died for our sins and the sins of the world. We are a family not by birth or blood, but by choice and belief. Moreover, we become Kingdom citizens when we accept Jesus’ forgiveness. 3. Together we have changed the world! Sure, Greece is credited with the first democracies and Rome with the first republic, but have you ever considered how awful those times were? Slavery was commonplace, and fathers could legally kill their wives and children. I contend that Spirit-led believers helped transform the world because the Spirit had first changed their hearts and lives in the process of Sanctification. Even today, believers are standing up for social justice.  Here’s your challenge this June 4, 2017: Participate in our Pentecost Photo Scavenger Hunt and light up social media! Do this activity as a group or individually. Share one image, a few, or upload all of your responses. Some ideas might be better communicated with a video. Additionally, consider writing something to go with each picture about what the Holy Spirit means to you. Note: This is not a competition; it is an opportunity to express the meaning and power of the Holy Spirit and the Church in your life.  Symbols of the Holy Spirit:
The previous section is fairly straight forward; this section requires a bit more abstraction. Names of the Spirit:
Post to Social Media! On Pentecost the disciples were fired up, proclaiming Jesus in languages unknown to them. Today, we have the Internet where anyone anywhere who is digitally connected can see our posts and translate them to their own language!  AuthorLeah McGlynn, Youth Ministries Director, York River District UMC
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