Collective Worship (S): Pentecost

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AGE: Secondary

THEME: Pentecost

AIM:

To create understanding of the meaning of the festival of Pentecost.

To draw upon pupils' own experience to develop insight into the nature and activity of the Holy Spirit.

RESOURCES:

Sound effects recordings of wind and fire.
List of greetings in a wide range of languages.

DEVELOPMENT:

Play some of the sound effects, and shortly after they have started, read the following extract from Acts 2.1-4 (GNB).

When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

LEADER: Wind and fire and speaking in other languages. Strange and vivid pictures. Let's explore them more closely. The first two, at least, we know in our own experience. Wind and Fire. What pictures of these formed in your mind when you listened to the sounds at the beginning?

[At this point students could suggest any pictures that they have in their mind's eye. Alternatively a group could read from prepared lists, such as those below, pausing between each to allow time for the image to form in the mind.]

Wind:

A howling gale bending the trees or driving a blizzard.
A breeze bringing relief on a stifling hot day.
Sailing boats or windsurfers twisting and turning skilfully to harness the wind.
Wind turbines.
Flying a kite.

Fire:

Raging fire sweeping through a building, a forest or moorland - destructive and terrifying.
A bonfire, either in the garden or as part of a celebration.
A blazing fire in the hearth giving warmth and cheer.
A blowtorch scorching off old paint.
A candle flame - quiet, steady, giving out a surprising amount of light.

And now we turn to the even stranger part. When it comes to speaking in other languages, it is harder for us to imagine what was going on, especially if we think of this as some sort of simultaneous translation that miraculously occurred somewhere between the speaker and the hearer - rather like at the United Nations but without any of those translators in headphones. There are many theories of what 'speaking in other languages' or 'tongues' means. Perhaps it may be that we should think of it not as a miraculous translation of what the apostles were saying but as a sudden outburst of praise in a multitude of languages so that the hearers each heard a snatch of the language of their own home country. As with most Bible stories, if we find it hard to imagine what took place (or, indeed, if we are not sure how it could have taken place at all) we may learn most if we start by asking what the meaning or message of the story is. In fact that is what we are encouraged to do by the story itself. Verse 12 says: Amazed and confused, they kept asking each another, 'What does this mean?'

Here's another interpretation:

[At this point some students could speak in different languages, all saying the same thing, e.g. a greeting. Make sure they smile and shake hands or wave as they do so.]

We may be divided by language, but we do understand if we are communicating universally shared feelings. Everyone smiles in the same language, for instance. Perhaps it is at this level that the Spirit works - creating and working through the universal values of love, peace and kindness and (to continue one of the images discussed earlier), through a burning desire for justice.

Today we have been exploring the meaning of the festival of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit to the early Christian Church. There are many questions about what actually happened that day. But if we look at those images of wind, fire and speaking in tongues, in each case there is power, a power greater than humans, a power that can overwhelm us if it is not understood and respected. And yet that power is available to us if we recognize the way it works and work with it. It's a power that can energize. A power that can make things happen. Invisible yet very real in its effects. A source of comfort, life-giving. But some of the images we have been looking at may help give insight and challenge stereotyped ideas of what the Holy Spirit is.

Perhaps the most important message of Pentecost is that the Spirit can bring fresh and new life into situations and, through these, bring healing to a divided world.

READINGS:

Acts 2.1-12

REFLECTION:

A prayer or meditation could be made up of a selection of the wind and fire images, now applied directly to the Spirit's action within our lives, for example:

Lord, may your Spirit warm me... give me strength and energy... light my way... etc.

You could even include lines from John Donne's famous sonnet
'Batter my heart, three-personed God... break, blow, burn and make me new...'
(This can be found in many anthologies including Prayers from the Heart, ed. Richard Foster, Hodder and Stoughton, 1994 ISBN 0-340-63024-8)

MUSIC:

The simple Jewish song 'Shalom haverim' could be used with extra verses devised that say 'Peace be with you' in several other languages.

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES:

Explore the background to Pentecost. The name is derived from the Greek word for 'fifty' and refers to a period of fifty days: the fifty days of the grain harvest in ancient Israel. It was counted from when the sickle was first put to the grain and the first newly harvested sheaf was presented at the beginning of Passover.

Pentecost celebrated the end of harvest and was a time of rejoicing and thanksgiving - not only for the harvest but also for God's goodness and mercy to his people. From these roots it came to be regarded as the anniversary of the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. Pentecost therefore comes fifty days after Passover. After Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection at Passover time, the first disciples stayed in Jerusalem (as Jesus instructed) until Pentecost and it was while they were gathered together to celebrate the feast that the Holy Spirit came upon them and empowered them to begin the Christian mission. Thus Pentecost is sometimes described as the birthday of the Church. The term 'Pentecost' may also be used to refer to the whole period between Easter and the day of Pentecost - also known as Whitsun, or Whit Sunday ('White Sunday'). Pentecost has traditionally been a time for baptism in the Church and 'White Sunday' refers to the white garments worn by those who have just been baptized.
Discuss the images of wind and fire used in the collective worship. What do they have in common, and what might they suggest to us if they are seen as symbols of the Holy Spirit? What other symbols are used to represent the Spirit? (Sword, dove etc.)
Improvise an evocation of the story of Pentecost with percussion, voices and other sound effects.

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