For Your Planning Team

Planning for This Service

Today’s service of Pentecost, the 50th day of Easter Season, (pentekosta is Greek for 50th) culminates both this series and the Easter Season with rich celebration of the many gifts and ministries the Spirit has poured out upon us, both within this congregation (recognized in the commissioning of laypersons to their ministries discerned through the formation group process these past weeks) and as members of The United Methodist Church, whose 50th anniversary we also recognize and celebrate this Heritage Sunday.

You will need to do some preparation of the video to use it properly in worship. The timings indicate which clips you may take from the video (using a typical video editor) or audio (using an audio editor on the video) or transcribe and perform live in worship. Video may be your best bet to get the full experience of that day at the opening of worship today, these 50 years later. If you don’t have a display to show these clips, borrow one-- the simplest would be for someone simply to bring in a large flat panel TV. If you don’t have a way to make the clips, find a congregation or anyone with video editing skills in your area to help you. This is a day for exceptional things.

The reading of scripture today has a strong role for congregational participation. Together you will recreate the experience of many voices in many languages declaring the word of God at once. The languages chosen are intentionally “foreign” to most US Christians, though they are among the many spoken by United Methodists in this country and around the world. Tagalog, Lingala, Swahili, and Portuguese are among the most spoken languages outside the US. Before worship begins, encourage congregation members to pick the one version they will speak, and simply to say it boldly and confidently as they can, seven times, when the time comes. It doesn’t matter if they “get it right.” It matters that they do it! The phonetic pronunciations provided will help.

Plan to discuss the logistics of the commissioning with your ushers so they are prepared with how to direct persons non-verbally (few things ruin strong ritual action more than giving stage directions before or after them!). And rehearse this action with all those being commissioned at this service 30 minutes or more prior to its start.

Stay in touch with the leader(s) of the formation group(s) to get the names of all the people being commissioned, and make sure there is at least a double invitation to all of them to be part of the service-- one from the group leader, and one from the pastor. Again, these invitations should be personal, by phone or visit. Each person’s gifts and ministries are unique. Invite each uniquely.

After worship, continue the celebration with a birthday party-- for the whole Church, as Pentecost marks its birthing, for The United Methodist Church, in this 50th year since its creation, and of the new ministries into which persons have been commissioned in this service. This may mean at least three birthday cakes!

Finally, remember that series end marks also the opportunity to invite persons to the series next to come.

Here’s a map for our next series, “Transitions,” a title chosen because many of us are making transitions during this month-- through weddings, or graduations, or changes in appointments, or just beginning the “summer” as opposed to the school year.

Transitions

Week 1: May 27 Life in the Trinity: Prologue to Post Pentecost
Romans 8:12-17

Week 2: June 3 WHAT? (is changing, is God doing)
I Samuel 2:1-10

Week 3: June 10 WHY? (when transition is unwanted)
I Samuel 8:4-11, 16-20

Week 4: June 17 WHO? (will lead us?)
I Samuel 15:34-16:13

Week 5: June 24 HOW? (will our next stage go? will our new leader lead?)
I Samuel 17:32-49