Pentecost

Sartorial Saturday…on a Monday?–International Flair for Pentecost

On Easter, I wondered which holiday would be my next dirndl holiday. Well, I didn’t have to wait long…50 days, to be exact! I decided there is no better church holiday for dirndl-wearing than Pentecost, the day when the Holy Spirit came to Jesus’ disciples, and the Word came to people of all backgrounds who spoke many different languages. I even managed to work red, the traditional liturgical color for Pentecost, into my look for the day!

Now that we’re entering the endless green season of the church year, I won’t have church holidays for dirndl-wearing for a bit, but I’m still planning on finding at least one opportunity each month to wear a dirndl!

Hymn of the Day–“O Day Full of Grace”

Of course this Pentecost hymn was an appropriate closing hymn this Pentecost Sunday, but the last verse had extra meaning for our congregation today, and was both a comfort and heart-wrenching at the same time.

O day full of grace that now we see
Appearing on earth’s horizon,
Bring light from our God that we may be
Replete in His joy this season.
God, shine for us now in this dark place;
Your name on our hearts emblazon.

O day full of grace, O blessed time,
Our Lord on the earth arriving;
Then came to the world that light sublime,
Great joy for us all retrieving;
For Jesus all mortals did embrace,
All darkness and shame removing.

For Christ bore our sins, and not His own,
When He on the cross was hanging;
And then He arose and moved the stone
That we, unto Him belonging,
Might join with angelic hosts to raise
Our voices in endless singing.

God came to us then at Pentecost,
His Spirit new life revealing,
That we might no more from Him be lost,
All darkness for us dispelling.
His flame will the mark of sin efface
And bring to us all His healing.

When we on that final journey go
That Christ is for us preparing,
We’ll gather in song, our hearts aglow,
All joy of the heavens sharing,
And walk in the light of God’s own place,
With angels His name adoring. Lutheran Service Book #530

A Pentecost Tea

I know it’s a week late, but…we had our Pentecost tea party, that I had originally planned to actually have on Pentecost Sunday, a few days ago, but at least it was in the same week! I worked with a theme of red, and, since it’s spring, strawberries (which are conveniently also red!).

P1270167

We had lots of fresh strawberries we picked ourselves at Eckert’s:

P1270164

And strawberry muffins, made with more of the fruits of our labor (literally!):

P1270155

We also had red jello, not strawberry, but cherry, to mix things up:

P1270156

Since lemons go so well with strawberries, we had my favorite lemon shortbread:

P1270162

We also had chocolate chip scones, just because:

P1270150

Some English muffins:

P1270161

And a variety of toppings, including a special strawberry-peach jam:

P1270158

P1270160

The tea of choice was Constant Comment, partly because it’s one of my favorites, and partly because it comes in red packets!

P1270165Next month, I’m hoping to have another tea party to coincide with the Queen’s “official” birthday!

A Pie for Pentecost

Last year, I made a different cake for every week of the season of Easter, plus a bonus red velvet cake to celebrate Pentecost Sunday. This year, I made a variety of pies throughout the season of Easter, ending with a red (of course!), strawberries and cream pie for today:

P1270038

I wonder what kind of theme I can up with for next year?

The Day of Pentecost

From the Treasury of Daily Prayer:

The Church lives and moves and has her being through the gracious inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Without God’s Spirit, no one could come to Christ or believe in Him. The fifty-day celebration of Easter ends with this joyous festival. The risen and ascended Savior has sent the Holy Spirit to be our Sanctifier, entering our hearts at Holy Baptism, nurturing us through the Word, and enabling us to understand the Gospel and to live a life that honors God and serves our neighbor.

Hymn of the Day–“Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest”

“Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest,
And make our hearts Your place of rest;
Come with Your grace and heav’nly aid,
And fill the hearts which You have made.

To You, the Counselor, we cry
To You, the gift of God Most High;
The fount of life, the fire of love,
The soul’s anointing from above.

In You, with graces sevenfold,
We God’s almighty hand behold
While You with tongues of fire proclaim
To all the world His holy name.

Your light to ev’ry thought impart,
And shed Your love in ev’ry heart;
The weakness of our mortal state
With deathless might invigorate.

Drive far away our wily foe,
And Your abiding peace bestow;
With You as our protecting guide,
No evil can with us abide.

Teach us to know the Father, Son,
And You, from both, as Three in One
That we Your name may ever bless
And in our lives the truth confess.

Praise we the Father and the Son
And Holy Spirit, with them One,
And may the Son on us bestow
The gifts that from the Spirit flow!” Lutheran Service Book #499