ITEMS OF INTEREST

Pentecost

Pentecost is the Greek for "the fiftieth" (day after Easter). It is a feast of the universal Church which commemorates the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, fifty days after the Resurrection of Christ. Pentecost occurs on the ancient ancient Jewish festival called Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22 and Deuteronomy 16:10). For many centuries, Pentecost was known in the English speaking world as Whitsunday (White sunday) because, though the vestments were red, candidates for baptism were dressed in white.

I Wonder

This is an occasional column that answers interesting questions.

Do Episcopalians leave church early?

"It's not that we can't, its just that we - don't.

Chalk it up to our English heritage, but few people seem to make a motion for the door until the last line of the last hymn is completed, and the deacon or priest gives his formal dismissal.

In fact, Episcopalian owe more than we're aware of of our deferential Anglican roots. As we know, all churches have distinctive aesthetic, or DNA. Some of our proclivities are seen in

*the polite distance we tend to give visitors;

*our hesitancy to talk about money;

*our aversion to any kind evangelism that would make someone feel uncomfortable;

*the particular gusto with which we sing our hymns;

*our desire to stick around until worship services are officially over."

Source: The Episcopal Handbook (New York, NY: Church Publishing 2008) p. 59.