May 22, 2015

#WearRedforPentecost

As church goers everywhere know, this year Pentecost falls on Memorial Day weekend. In many communities this means that attendance will be light for one of the principal feasts of the liturgical year as parishioners hit the road (cheap gas prices!) for a long-anticipated three day weekend.

While the cross always trumps the flag ("render unto Caesar" and all that), some congregations missed Jesus' memo on this.

Thus you end up with sanctuaries that look like this:


Instead of this:


But that's a separate axe to grind.

One of the fun traditions on Pentecost is encouraging people to wear red as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Yes, clergy will be vested and the altar will be dressed in red (one of only two Sundays in the church year when this happens, the other being Palm Sunday). But everyone is encouraged to wear red clothing or accessories to mark the celebratory nature of the day.

This year, I encourage you to take a picture of the red you're sporting (shirt, hat, shoes, pedicure, stole, socks, belt, whatever) and post it to social media with the hashtag #WearRedforPentecost.

Here are a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing (celebrities sold separately):




We may not break the internet but perhaps we'll dent it a little. And encourage others to learn a bit about this great day in the process. Come, Holy Spirit!

3 comments:

Ruth said...

Why are you facing the 'wrong' way Fr.Tim?

Jay Croft said...

The top photo is a stage in an auditorium, not a "sanctuary," no matter what the Baptists may call their set-up.

Unknown said...

Red Sox? Cardinals!