Dear Church Family,
This week, on Thursday, we will be engaging in one of the oldest traditions of the congregation.  For more than 70 years the church has hosted a dessert reception for the 8th grade graduates of Lee Kellogg school.  Each teacher offers a tribute to the class, in remarks which are often funny, but also very touching. Thirty-one persons, students, parents, and teachers, are expected.  This event, which expresses the church’s commitment to the community, will be coordinated by a team from the Outreach Committee—Donna Heinz, Ruth Hadsell, Maria Bulson, Linda Ryan, and Kay Blass. 
Sunday is Pentecost, one of the 3 great Festivals of the Church, along with Christmas and Easter.  Pentecost actually antedates the celebration of Christmas, and marks the coming of the Holy Spirit on the gathered disciples, creating and empowering the church.  It is often referred to as the birthday of the church.   We’ll mark it by waving red streamers, symbolizing the coming of the Spirit like wind and tongues of fire.  Red is the liturgical color, so you are invited to wear red. 
We’ll be reading Acts 2:1-21, the story of the first Pentecost, and 1st Corinthians 12:1-13, which tells of the work and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  The sermon is “Becoming Christian.” 
See you in church. 
Rich