Pentecost Sunday - 8 June 2025

Dear friends of BCUC“In the last days, God says,    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy,    your young men will see visions,    your old men will dream dreams.Even on my servants, both men and women,    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,    and they will prophesy.”    Acts 2:17-18It’s Pentecost Sunday. A wonderful celebration known to be the birth of the church. I love the inclusive nature of the work of the Holy Spirit as declared in this quote from the prophet Joel. Prophesy, vision, dreams will be gifted to all, no matter their gender, social status or age. As a scientist I appreciate just how alike all humans are from a genetic point of view. We share roughly 90 percent of our DNA with mice, dogs, cattle, and elephants. Whereas any two human beings are 99.9 percent identical in their DNA. Craig Venter who was nearing the completion of the human genome project in 2001 commented that with regard to DNA “we are all essentially identical twins.” It’s wonderful to have so much variation between individuals, their stories, character, gifts and graces. It’s also  nice to know we’re all basically the same. So, when it comes to the Holy Spirit coming to the whole room of 120 people and the gifts of the spirit being for everyone, I love it!Some reading this passage will be really familiar with the passages of Acts 2. This Sunday we’re going to explore further one of the consequences of the Holy Spirit mentioned in this prophecy… “they will prophesy”. What does prophesy mean, and does it happen still today?I’m also really looking forward to testing out some new technology this Sunday, it’s a church translation program called “OneAccord”. Some of us will be trialling whether the service (and particularly the sermon) can be translated live into both Korean and Mandarin. I hope it works well. If it does, we have the option of including multiple other languages. Please speak with us if there is a language you wish us to consider. It’s quite poetic that the message of Acts will be proclaimed in at least 3 languages at Pentecost. If you are not sure what I mean and want to find out, read Acts 2.Look forward to seeing you soon.Benji