Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday and the birthday of the church, and it felt especially weird not to be in the church building, but of course just because we can’t meet in person doesn’t mean church is cancelled. So yesterday we listened to a radio service, watched our church on Facebook live, listened to a family prayer adventure podcast and joined a celebration event on Zoom. Thank goodness for modern technology enabling us to celebrate together!

With church happening in our homes it is perhaps easier to transfer the messages of Jesus from the service into our lives, though being with immediate family 24/7 it is sometimes more challenging to put it into practice!

This year I got a dose of my own medicine. Prior to lockdown even being on the horizon, I was asked to write a minute’s reflection on ‘offer’ for the Thy Kingdom Come initiative. Watching the finished result, voiced over ably by my sister Susannah and my friend Alaric, I realised I needed to hear and understand again how God’s Holy Spirit can transform our offering however meagre it may be. For me at the moment that means offering God what I can without being able to go out and meet people, trying to be a vessel for Jesus’ love within the limitations of the situation we are in.

My prayer is that we will all be filled with more of the Holy Spirit at this time.