Monday, June 25, 2018

The Day of Pentecost

Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

-- BCP, page 227

 Texts

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26; Psalm 1;
1 John 5:9-13; John 17:6-19
The following is excerpted and adapted from a letter co-authored by The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church. With the Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners, Bishop Curry comments here on the issuance Thursday of a document that addresses the paramount importance of reclaiming the name of Jesus at this moment in our history. -- DDR+

You may already have heard about Reclaiming Jesus: A Confession of Faith in a Time of Crisis, which has been commended to the churches by a group of elders from across the traditions of our Christian families.

Conceived and discerned during an Ash Wednesday retreat, written and prayed over during Lent, announced to some colleagues and a few publications at Easter, it will finally be launched to the churches at Pentecost -- when the early Christians took their faith to the streets in the public square.

Those who have come together did so on the basis of relationships more than formal representation, are all in their sixties or seventies, and are either current or former heads of churches or church organizations.

The declaration, as well as a summary version that has been published in both church and secular publications, are here.

We also want to draw your attention to a short but moving video here, with several of our elders speaking to the need to reclaim the name of Jesus in a time such as this.

The video has just been released. In a little more than a day, it has been viewed by almost half a million people because, we believe, there is a great hunger in the churches and beyond for an alternative faithful Christian voice to what many people are hearing or not hearing at this historical moment.

Please join us for a service and vigil in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, May 24, at 7:00 p.m. It will take place at the National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle.

Following the service we will lead a candlelight procession to and prayer vigil at the White House. You can find more details about the service and vigil here.

We encourage you to share the event details with your churches and networks and encourage them to join you -- either in person or by watching the live stream of the service.

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