PENTECOST

The Season of Pentecost

Ways to celebrate Pentecost in your home

1.  Fast and Simple: Gather up some red items around the house, (don’t forget the box of Christmas decorations when it comes to this!) Use simple things like red candle holders, red ribbons, etc. and place around the house.

2. Table: Place red placemats or napkins on the table.

3. Hang windchimes and enjoy them through the season of Pentecost/ Ordinary time. When you hear the wind through the chimes; let it bring thoughts of God’s abiding spirit rustling through you.

4.  Doves: Other well-known themes of Pentecost include fire and flame as well as doves, all symbols of the Holy Spirit. You can make simple dove shapes to hang in your window. Get a piece of watercolor paper, get the paper wet and drop dollops of water color onto the sheet. The result, once dry, was a bright and beautiful rainbow of colors. (Or just use regular paper and color it!) Make a simple drawing of a dove shape and cut several doves out of the paper. On each dove you can also write words like love, peace and hope in different languages in remembrance that the Holy Spirit came down and gave the Apostles the ability to spread The Good News in languages from around the world. You can look up these words in any language using Google Translate.

5. Fly a kite: here’s a simple one you can make with one sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper and a  wooden skewer– and it works! Instructions can be found here.

6. Make strawberry shortcakes an upside-down strawberry looks a lot like a flame, and the whiteness of whipped cream evokes the traditional “Whitsunday” name for this feast. 

7. Make a fruit salad bringing to mind the fruits of the spirit; “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22

8. Bake a cake and put a candle on it as you wish Happy Birthday to the church!

9. Make an origami dove, a symbol of the Holy Spirit, instructions can be found on our YouTube Channel or written instructions here.

10. Wear RED; red is the color of Pentecost!

Ways to celebrate Pentecost online

Video: The Rev. Winnie Varghese, Trinity Episcopal Church Wall Street, explains the origins of Pentecost, one of the major feast days in the church, and what it means for us today. This video can be found on our Pentecost playlist on our YouTube Channel.

Music: If you use Spotify to listen to music, Sacred Ordinary Days has a Pentecost playlist of musical pieces centered on the Holy Spirit and the season of Pentecost.

Sing some of the wonderful Hymns for Pentecost “Hail Thee, festival day”, “Veni, Creator Spiritus” or “We Are One in the Spirit, We Are One in the Lord” or “In Christ There Is No East or West.” These hymns can be found on our Pentecost playlist on our YouTube Channel.

Remember Pentecost lasts for several weeks; so you can try these ideas over the summer and early fall to remind you of the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. 

To view or print the St. Michael's Pentecost booklet of celebration ideas and prayers, click the image below.