Just before he ascended to heaven, Jesus spoke this promise to his disciples:  “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’  (Acts 1:8)

Still sometimes today we don’t feel very powerful.  I see too many people shrug their shoulders and say ‘what can we do?’, or ‘that’s just the way the world is going.’  I know that we’re entering the summer season, but it is also the season of the church.  We are still among Jesus’ disciples, and are recipients of the very same power, the very same Holy Spirit.  Sunday, May 27^th this year is the celebration of Pentecost when we remember the gift of that promised Holy Spirit.

The Spirit which empowered those first disciples to face a busy, sometimes hostile, often indifferent, and very hurting world is the very same Spirit which remains in our midst today.  We too face a busy, sometimes hostile, often indifferent, and very hurting world.  The question for us is will we shrink from the task, wander off to lesser pursuits,  just shrug our shoulders and hope that someone else will say something, or will we lay claim to that gift which God’s Spirit has placed within us.

As I write this I hear the sounds of construction equipment building a space for the ministry of ELC to expand and grow, and my prayer for myself, and all of you, is that God will create a space in our lives, our calendars, our hearts, and our homes for that Spirit to grow and flourish.  We have all the gifts needed to do this by God’s Spirit.  We live with the promise, but also know that the Spirit has come and continues to fill God’s Church.  Remember the story of Pentecost?

… And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. (Acts 2:2)

God’s Peace,

Pastor John Twiton

“The sower sows the word…And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’” Mark 4:14,20

It is the time of year for planting and growth. I’m always anxious to see the green beans, peas, and tomatoes growing and producing. First I have to break up the soil and prepare the ground, but nothing will grow until seeds are sown, and then nurtured, fed, and watered. Then we can look forward to the harvest.

A couple of Sundays ago we gathered on the site of the church expansion and asked God’s blessing as we broke the ground, and then the machinery arrived to remove the old house and prepare the ground for the expansion of our building.

Here, too, that’s just the beginning, there is much more to be done.  Certainly there are days of construction ahead, and we’ll see the building take shape in the coming weeks. But the true growth for our congregation will not be about the building. It is only a framework, like a garden patch, that will need to be transformed into a life-giving place.

This expanded ‘garden’ can be a great place to see growth, but we need to be sowing the seeds now. Jesus says the seed is the Word. It is that Word that must be planted, in Sunday School classes, adult classes, Bible studies, and discussion groups, all the ways we can nurture growth. Along the way there will be times for worship, fellowship, conversation, fun, and fond memories, but it is the Word that brings growth.

So I encourage you to start planning and dreaming of ways to share in the ‘garden project’ and look forward to a new season of life and growth.

In Christ,

Pastor John Twiton