Picture looking up at the wooden ceiling of a church, with the image of a dove in the middle of a quadrangle. Text over the top: Air, fire, water, clay (a poem celebrating the Holy Spirit) Faith in Grey Places

Air, fire, water, clay (a poem celebrating the Holy Spirit)

Pentecost is often celebrated as the birthday of the church. We remember how the Holy Spirit came in power upon the apostles, how they preached in Jerusalem and how everyone heard them praising God in their mother-tongue. The story is recorded in Acts 2.

Pentecost, if you didn’t know, is so named because it’s the fiftieth day after Passover; it marks the festival of first fruits in the Jewish calendar (Deuteronomy 16:9-12), which is why there were so many Jews in Jerusalem. 

For myself, I think one of the most important things about the Holy Spirit that I’ve come to reckon with, is that the Holy Spirit is a person. 

Continue reading Air, fire, water, clay (a poem celebrating the Holy Spirit)

Prayer of welcome for the Holy Spirit

I was tasked with writing a prayer of adoration for Pentecost – and came up with these ways of describing the Holy Spirit. For a while afterwards I wanted to put them to a picture, though it’s hard to find images for the Holy Spirit that do justice to this wonderful person of the Trinity. Imagine my delight then, when I was able to photograph a lectern hanging, whilst visiting a small village Methodist church.

Continue reading Prayer of welcome for the Holy Spirit