Acts of the Spirit

a devotional inspired by the Liturgy of the Hours

Begins Pentecost Sunday (May 15th) With Posts Every Other Day Until June 30th

http://lcactsofthespirit.blogspot.ca

Fresco in the church of the baptistry at the Zica Monastery, near Kraljevo, Serbia. Photograph by BrankaVV on Wikipedia.

~ from the Acts of the Spirit website

Many of us desire to spend more time in prayer and contemplation than we do, but often find it challenging to make space for it in our lives. In the relative quiet of the church season after Lent and Eastertide, time for prayer and contemplation can feel less urgent. However, warmer weather and the possibility of rest and recreation time also offer ways to bring us in touch with nature. This devotional project may offer a way to take the spiritual practice with you, and increase a connection with God’s magnificent creation.

In the spirit of our previous Advent and Lenten projects, Lutherans Connect invites you to to join us this Pentecost and early summer for a few moments of making space for reflection. To assist you, beginning at Pentecost and continuing every other day until June 30th, we will offer a meditation, bringing together scripture readings, poetry, songs and reflections, from a range of ecumenical traditions.

Our Pentecost theme is ‘acts of the Spirit’. The Acts 2 passage in which the apostles are visited by the Holy Spirit, is the cornerstone in the story of the founding of the church. The works of the earliest disciples of Jesus are accompanied throughout the book of Acts by the pervasive presence of the Holy Spirit. Over the course of the 24 separate days of our project, sometimes as the focus and sometimes in the background, we will visit all but four chapters of the Acts of the Apostles.

We will do so in the company of our second theme: the four natural elements and their associations with the Holy Spirit. Earth, wind, water and fire all manifest as ways in which the Spirit is present. But these elements will also take us back into other appearances of the Holy Spirit in both the Old and New Testaments and some of the apocrypha. How did the Jewish people experience the Holy Spirit? From the waters of Creation to the fires on the shores of Malta, we will explore the presence of the Holy Spirit in Scripture.

This exploration will often be in relationship with the world we live in, where the four elements are suffering under man’s expression of ‘dominion’ over them. Taking inspiration from a few of the profiled peoples and stories of the Lenten LC† Welcoming the Stranger project, some update will occur on where and how those affected are now. How does the Holy Spirit work in our world to find restoration for the earth? for the water?

Join us, starting on Pentecost, Sunday May 15th and continuing every other day until June 30th. And may God’s nourishing love bless you this day and always.