Did You Know?

Many have asked, "What's Pentecost?" We celebrated the day of Pentecost in Sunday worship on May 15th with the lighting of candles and the wearing of red. The Season lasts 28 weeks, culminating on "Christ the King Sunday" and immediately followed by the Season of Advent.

The following notes are adapted from an article in The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Enjoy, and may the spirit given at Pentecost to the early church continue to lift, challenge and guide us.

PENTECOST (Gk. pentecost, the 'fiftieth day'). The name was first given to the Jewish Feast of Weeks, which fell on the 50th day after the Passover, when the first-fruits of the corn harvest were presented (Duet. 16:9) and, in most later times, the giving of the Law of Moses was commemorated. As the Holy Ghost descended on the Apostles on this, the 50th day after the Resurrection (Acts 2:1), the name was applied by the Church to the feast celebrating this event, popularly called Whitsunday...

... The vigil of Pentecost became a baptismal occasion, and the white robes of the baptized account for the English 'Whitsunday.'

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Cross, F. L., Ed. Oxford University Press, New York.

The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology. Richardson, A. and Bowden, J., Eds. The Westminster Press, Philadelphia.