This week we celebrate a very important birthday…the Church! And by Church, I don’t mean just our congregation of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, or even the United Methodist Church itself. I mean, quite simply, THE Church. The church of Jesus Christ. The body of Christ in the world.

We call the day itself Pentecost (from the Greek word for 50), because it comes 50 days after Easter. It launches a season that will last until the first Sunday of Advent! It is indeed the longest season of the church year.

Which gives us a lot of time to consider what it means to be the body of Christ in the world…and take a look at how we’re doing!

This Sunday we will begin a sermon series entitled “The Once and Future Church.” We’ll begin with a powerful story about Jesus looking for his disciples after the resurrection. Where did he find them? Were they making lunch for hungry people? Were they hosting homeless families for an overnight stay? Were they making sure moms had plenty of diapers for their infants?

Well…not exactly. But I can’t give away the end of the story now. Come to church on Sunday and find out.

~ Pastor Sandra Cox