Religious Education News

Pentecost Sunday

We all have birthdays we look forward to and so does the church!

This Sunday, 8 June is Pentecost Sunday which is known as the birthday of the church. 

The feast of Pentecost occurs 50 days after Easter when the apostles prayed together and the Holy Spirit descended on them. The name comes from the Greek word pentekoste which means fiftieth.  

At Pentecost, the Apostles and their followers were gathered in a room. Jews from all over the world were gathered with Peter, the leader of the Apostles and the Eleven. At this time, a great wind blew and a flame appeared as a tongue of fire, which split itself into many individual flames above the heads of all those present. 

The disciples received the “gift of tongues” – the ability to speak in other languages – and immediately began to preach about Jesus Christ to Jewish people from all over the world who flocked to Jerusalem for the Feast of Shavuot.

Despite the fact many had no common language, they were perfectly able to understand one another.

The symbols of Pentecost are the flame, wind, and the dove, which represents the Holy Spirit. The color of Pentecost is red which represents the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Many parishes celebrate Pentecost by acknowledging the different cultures and nationalities that are part of their parish as one community of faith, that celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit amongst the faithful.

Vicky Pejic

Religious Education Leader