This year, Pentecost is the same Sunday as Mother’s Day. Given that the Hebrew word for Spirit is female, it seems appropriate.

Pentecost is the annual celebration of the events outlined in Acts chapter 2 in the New Testament. However, it is much more than remembering something that happened a long, long time ago. It also reminds us that the Holy Spirit is still at work.

So what is the Holy Spirit been up to lately? Quite a bit actually. For one thing, our church is now the host for two other congregations; one Haitian, the other Brazilian. It is clear that God’s Spirit is moving in our immigrant communities. In addition to our congregations, there are at least two other ethnic congregations starting out in “store fronts” in Medford alone.

In our congregation, we continue to work on strengthening our “Passionate Spirituality.” Our midweek Bible study will conclude its study of “Learning from Jesus” at the end of this month, and our Adult Sunday School continues its one year journey through the Bible, utilizing a resource called “Transformation Journal.” The conversation in both groups has been both interesting and exciting.

On Easter Sunday, we received three new members into our church, and may receive two more on Pentecost. In addition, there’s been some conversation around a Vacation Bible School this summer. It is beginning to look like this will be either the first or second week of August. We already have one volunteer to teach!

Our trustees continue to make progress on making significant improvements to our parsonage. Once all the work is complete, we’ll hold a service of dedication.

The last week of March our district distributed copies of “I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church” by Paul Nixon. This is the book that our Bishop has so strongly recommended each pastor in our Conference read. Look for information about our midweek study based upon this book in the June issue of The Oasis.

God’s Spirit continues to move.