Come Holy Spirit

Letter From the Pastor

Acts 2:4 – All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

 

Come Holy Spirit 

Summary: Pentecost marks the birth of the Church, when the Holy Spirit empowered believers to boldly share the gospel.

Pentecost has deep roots. Long before Acts 2, it was a Jewish harvest festival—called the Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Harvest—celebrated 50 days after Passover. It marked the beginning of the wheat harvest and was one of the pilgrimage festivals mentioned in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

But something extraordinary happened one Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection. In Acts 2, as Jesus’ followers gathered in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit came like wind and fire, filling the house and the people. Suddenly, they began to speak in different languages. A crowd gathered, amazed. Peter stood and preached with power, and that day, 3,000 people joined the church.

That moment changed everything. The same Peter who had fumbled and failed became the bold voice of the gospel. And the Holy Spirit—the promised Comforter from John 14:26 and the fulfillment of Joel 2—became the living presence of God in the church.

For us today, Pentecost isn’t just history—it’s a call. The church was born in fire and boldness. We are invited to that same Spirit-filled life: empowered to speak truth, to love boldly, to live with courage and compassion.

So no, we don’t celebrate Pentecost with wheat and sheaves. But we do celebrate it with open hearts, ready for the Spirit to move.

Come, Holy Spirit. Fill us again,

Pastor Anny+

The Rev. Dr. Anny Genato+

Rector, St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church