The Day of Pentecost marks fifty days since Easter Day and brings the Easter season to an end. It is a major feast of the Church’s year when Christians recall how God’s Holy Spirit was given to the disciples after Jesus’ ascension, empowering them to begin the work of spreading the Good news all over the world. It’s also known as the Church’s Birthday.

This year the whole season of Easter and then Pentecost was celebrated in lockdown, a time where public worship couldn’t go ahead and many might be forgiven for thinking that as the church doors shut, the Church itself took a break. But here in Merrow, like churches across the world, we demonstrated that the Church was definitely not shut! 

We celebrated Messy Church Pentecost with a wonderful virtual session of playing games, singing and storytelling and then dispersed to get creative using the packs of craft we had distributed around the parish. The crafts helped us to retell the story and decorate our houses in time for the Church’s Birthday!

Then as we approached Pentecost itself we wanted to recognise that we can still celebrate. We celebrate the joy that the Holy Spirit has brought for thousands of years, breathing life and love throughout our communities and so we celebrated the Church’s Birthday in style! We sent out 50 boxes of birthday cakes to people throughout the community to celebrate the day that the Good news started to spread around the world and ultimately the start of Church! 

Pentecost in lockdown was undeniably different but a wonderful reminder that the Church’s doors might be closed but we remain active and alive as we celebrate yet another birthday!