Free the Spirit

Anglicans letting their hair down always look slightly awkward. The congregation this morning at our united deanery celebration tried their best to say "Hey, look at us, we're relaxed, happening dudes!" but the fact that a lot of the men were in suits and ties on a stinking hot day didn't help. But... a cracking sermon from our bishop, though. I know you don't read that often on this blog, so I'll say it again; a good sermon by our bishop. Here is the gist of it.

Pentecost celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit, poured out on the disciples in tongues of fire and a howling wind. Strange things were happening. People from many different nationalities understood one another. How could this be? It was because they communicated in one or other of the universal languages; of tears, because we all know what suffering is like; of laughter and fooling around, because being funny is something we can all appreciate; of music, because we can all recognise a tune; or of creativity, because we can all enjoy colour and shape and design. It is words that divide us. It is ideas, theories and doctrines that drown us.

If only the rest of us could have come up to scratch. Two people walked out, appalled by free liturgy. The rest of us tried hard to relax. I remember the Private Eye spoof Church of England liturgical rubric; If a spontaneous act is to take place, it should happen at this point.

A little dog ran in during the sermon. It trotted round, wagging its tail and thinking what fun it would be to play with all these people. A sidesperson collared it and threw it out.