The Citizen, 2012-05-31, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012.
By Rev. Dr. Peter Kugba-Nyande
Duff’s United Church, Walton
As part of my vocation in the
church I took an Introductory
Linguistics Course at the University
of Jos in Nigeria in 1990. The study
outline included the orthography
(branch of grammar which deals
with letters and their combinations
and words) and phonology (vocal
sounds and their classification).
Nigeria has more than four hundred
languages, however we studied a
dozen of them. The aim of the
course was to fluently speak my
language, Mende and be able to
write and teach others. During my
studies I discovered so many
similarities not only in sounds but in
meanings as well. For the short time
I was in Nigeria I became familiar
with several languages.
The Day of Pentecost is
sometimes called “the birthday of
the church.” The Holy Spirit came
on the day of Pentecost, after the
ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:6-11, to
empower the disciples and “devout
Jews from every nation” who were
assembled in Jerusalem. They
“began to speak in languages, as the
spirit gave them ability” (Acts 2:24).
As far as the disciples were
concerned, this is seen as fulfillment
of Jesus’ command and promised
that disciples would “receive power”
when the holy Spirit came upon
them (Acts 1:8).
When the church was born, it
emerged in a world almost as diverse
as our own. The story of the church’s
birth is set amid a cacophony of
different tongues, people chattering
away in Aramaic, Latin, Greek, and
in tongues most of us only encounter
when we draw the short straw and
are asked to read the second chapter
of Acts on Pentecost Sunday.
People from language groups
scattered throughout the ancient
world were together on the day the
church was born, “Parthians and
Medes and Elamites, and residents
of Mesopotamia, Judea and
Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and
the districts of Libya around
Cyrene,” as well as “visitors from
Rome,” Cretans and Arabs. There
were people present whose language
the Romans derisively called
“barbarian,” because to Roman ears
it sounded like a repeated, “bar-bar-
bar.” They were all chattering at
once. And, we are told: “when this
sound occurred, the multitude came
together, and were bewildered,
because they were each one hearing
them speak in his own or her
language” (Acts 2:6).
The church’s birth is swaddled in
listening to people who speak
differently. And as any linguist will
tell you, to speak a different
language means to experience the
world differently. A language marks
the boundary between different
cultures, different ways of
understanding the world around us.
Christian faith crossed these
boundaries not by force of argument,
but through the generous act of
hearing, listening, entering into the
ways others conceive of the world
we all inhabit.
Luke indicates communication is
possible when the Holy Spirit takes
control. Language and geography
are not barriers to working of God’s
will.
And when the church did utter its
first words at its birth, they were
words that bore witness to the fact
that in Jesus Christ God has come
into the world to seek out sinners, to
forgive us, to redeem us. The church,
at its birth, did not attempt to force
others into rigid agreement. And the
church certainly did not attempt to
build walls and construct moats to
keep out those who are different
(that reaction came a little later,
though the gospel broke through
those barriers and even Gentiles
were admitted to the faith). At its
birth, the church entered the
language worlds of those around us
so that it might articulate the
good news of Jesus Christ in
terms that could be heard and
understood.
Psalm 104 is an appropriate
response to the glory of God made
manifest, the source of all life and
nature. It engages us as
congregations that have just
embraced the memory of Acts 2:1-
11, affirming the power of God who
accomplishes God’s purpose of
blessing the community with order,
harmony, and spirit-filled mutual
understanding. Each one of us here
has been given by God our own
special day of Pentecost – a day on
which God imparted to us the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. What
God gives us are gifts designed for
the building up of the body of the
church, and for the individual
ministries to which we are called,
and for our spiritual life.
The key phrases of the scriptural
citation showcase themes recurrent
throughout Acts that proclaim the
universal outreach of Christianity,
the effect of God’s pouring out “My
spirit upon all flesh (v.17). The Spirit
leads them where to go, what to do,
how to worship, who should speak
in worship, who should lead in
community, how the community
should be led, how to relate to
outsiders, who should relate to the
outsiders and what to say when
under threat.
In an age of increasing cultural
diversity, religious pluralism, and
the perpetual rubbing of shoulders
across lines of nations, race and
class God offers authentic human
communion. What is amazing about
the Pentecost is that through
ordinary human speech, the Holy
Spirit establishes unity amid
diversity, a fulfilled promise that
even the most divided congregation
and communities can take to heart.
Such physical manifestations of the
Spirit are occurring occasionally in
many churches especially in Asia
and Africa where there are reports of
exorcisms, and strange abilities of
missionaries suddenly to
communicate in tongues without the
benefit of translators or study of
local languages.
As we celebrate Pentecost Sunday,
many of us may wonder what the
Spirit is doing today. The eighth
chapter of Romans assures us of the
activity of the Spirit in the lives of
believers, and this particular
periscope offers concrete hope to
those who are 2,000 years removed
from the vibrant activities of the
second chapter of Acts of the
Apostles. From the beginning Christ
calls individuals into a community
as a church. Pentecost allows us to
speak boldly to the church as we are
and about the church Christ would
have us to be. The many dimensions
of the church’s identity – local or
global and personal are interrelated
and essential.
Worship Service & Sunday School at 11 a.m.
CORNER OF DINSLEY & MILL STREETS
MINISTER
Rev. Gary Clark, BA, M. Div.
All Welcome
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Floyd Herman, BA, M. Ed.OFFICE: 519-523-4224
JUNE 3 ~ Pancake Breakfast fundraiser 8-11:30 and
Church Service at Camp Menesetung (service at 11:30)
JUNE 10 ~ All Actions, Good or Bad, Have Consequences
You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship
Hwy. 4, Blyth 519-523-4743
www.blythcrc.ca
SUNDAYS
Morning Service 10:00 am
Evening Service 7:30 pm
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
getlivingwater.org
Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848
Living Water
Christian Fellowship
June 3: Gen.2:4ff, 15ff; 3:17ff
10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School
at Blyth Public School,
corner of King & Mill
Tuesdays 7:30 pm - Wingham Bible Study
Thursdays 7:00 pm - Truth Project Small Group at Dows’
Evangelical Missionary Church
Truth
Project #11:
Labour -
Created to
Create
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, June 3
Brussels Public School
at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Sunday School for children
4 to 11 years of age at 9:30 a.m.
Childcare provided for infants and
preschoolers during the sermon.
Coffee & cookies after the morning service
For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621
Steve Klumpenhower 519.887.8651 Rick Packer 519.527.0173
119 John’s Ave., Auburn
519-526-1131
www.huronchapel.org
Rev. Mark Royall, Sr. Pastor
9:25 a.m.
Sunday School for all ages
10:30 a.m
Morning Worship Service
SUNDAY
& CHURCH
FAMILY PICNIC
Come celebrate our anniversary and
enjoy a fun time following with a
family picnic. There will be activities
for the children - a bouncy castle and
pool for the little ones and soccer and
frisbee for the older ones.
Bring a lawn chair too!
From the Minister’s Study‘Birthday of the Church’ is celebrated
By Madelaine Higgins
It was a short, but very busy week
at St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary
School. On Tuesday, the boys and
girls soccer teams played at the
school and the juniors played on
Wednesday. On Wednesday and
Thursday our tech students shared
their time and talents when they
participated in the Habitat for
Humanity Build in Clinton.
On Thursday, both the tennis team
and the track and field team attended
their own WOSSAA meets in
London. The track and field team
attended the meet on Friday as well,
where they competed for a chance to
move forward and attend west
regionals, followed by OFSAA.
Carpe Diem, a Catholic Student
Leadership Conference, was also
held in London on Thursday and
Friday, where guest speakers
presented to the group of youth to
highlight the power of the individual
and the consequences of bullying.
Huron Perth rugby was held on
Thursday in Wingham, where the
teams played in the hopes of going
to OFSAA in the next couple of
weeks.
Saturday, May 26 was the date of
the long-awaited SACSS Class of
2012 Prom with the theme of “Time
to Shine”. The graduation class and
their dates were dressed in their
most fancy attire and enjoyed one of
their last celebrations together as a
group.
Next week at St. Anne’s will be
the co-op fair on Wednesday and the
Grad Mass on Sunday, June 3.
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
Rev. Elwin Garland
SUNDAY, JUNE 3
Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available
519-887-9017
10:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship
- Sunday School
St. Anne’s hosts its prom
Sandra Cable, Worship Leader
Church Office 519-887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wightman.ca
Sunday, June 3
Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship
Ethel U.C. 135 Anniversary
& Closing Service
No Service at Brussels U.C.
BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE
UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA