The feast of Pentecost is often referred to as the Birthday of the Church and indeed some churches will celebrate with a birthday cake on this Sunday. (Next year we will have to do this as Pentecost is also on the 144^th Anniversary of the founding of the Parish.) As we recall on this day the massive people movement that became the church, perhaps it is a good day to reflect on what it means to be the church - if you like, the technical term - to do some ecclesiology.

Now I am not one who believes that we should dwell too much on the academic stuff but I think it is important that we reflect upon our origins as this will give us a glimpse at the vision of the early church. It is my belief that unless we gather a firm understanding of what it means to be church, we are unlikely to be able to corporately fulfil the task that has been allocated to us.

One of the things that I have found interesting is to note the evolution of language with the development of technology. In days past, when Greek and Latin were commonly taught, new technology was often described in these terms - take telephone (far sound) or television (far vision). But in recent years, the new technology has tended to be an adaptation of an original concept like e-mail or e-zine. As these technologies develop, they lose their resemblance to the original item and we are left with an anachronism like ???

When the church was born, they faced the problem of how to name it, in such a way that those hearing it will understand what they are getting at. The Greek word used by Scripture for the church is ecclesia - It is derived from two words Ek - out of or from and Kaleo - I call. Literally it means the ones who were call out, and referred to elected or chosen officials in the Greek society. When they translated the Old Testament into Greek in the 5^th Century BC, the translated used this word to refer to the assembly or the congregation of Israel. They were the ones chosen or the elect.

Israel was chosen from among the nations by God. This selection is for a purpose. Israel was called out from among the nations to serve as a nation of Priests to bring the love of God to the nations of the world. Sadly, this has led to an elitist understanding at various times, whereas the sense is always being called out or selected from among. As the church, or the called out ones, we are called out from among those whom we are to serve. There is no separation of church from those whom they are to serve.

So church is not a building or an elite group, but rather individuals chosen by God for a task. We, you and I, are all called - although it has become fashionable to only refer to the clergy as having a calling. Lay and ordained, we form the church and are called by God to ministry (or service). The calling of the ordained is a specific function within the church, and in no way negates the understanding that each person has a part to play. One of the specific tasks of the clergy is to help others in the identification of their area of service.

So our dual understanding is that the church is a part of the community that it is called to serve and that all are called to this task. But this is not what Pentecost is about.

Pentecost is about the coming of the Holy Spirit. The another comforter promised by Jesus. The experience of the apostles on that morning was not about organising the structure of the church or planning an evangelism campaign. Indeed, the events came without any warning, like the rushing wind and nothing was the same again. In as much as Jesus had endued them with the Holy Spirit on the evening of the resurrection, now it was with power that they were touched. And with power they touched the lives of others. Acts continues with the record of Peter preaching to the crowd, with the result that around 3,000 were saved that day. Simply put, God the Holy Spirit equipped them and enlivened them that they might do God's work.

So here is the clue. If we are interested in Ministry, then we are on our own and trusting in our own resources, unless we are prepared to allow God into the picture. The coming of the Holy Spirit may not be as dramatic as on the first Pentecost, but unless we are prepared to become a Pentecostal church then we will be limited by our own abilities. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we will be able to complete the task. So we must pray for the continual equipping of God's people here at Cressy to do the work that is before us.

It is God's promise to equip us to meet the task and perhaps the biggest problem is that we need to get out of the way. Often we limit God's ability to act through us because we are reluctant to put our trust in his leading. You and I need to be prepared to trust God as he leads us down new paths and gives us new opportunities in the year ahead. It is really a question of faith

So let us pray together that God will increase our faith that we might be prepared to see the Holy Spirit active through the individuals in the parish.