– Rev. Taylor Mills, Anti Racism Team
In our churches we recently celebrated the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. In that Acts 2 story we hear about all the places people came from to come to Jerusalem for the Passover. By the time Pentecost arrived (the Feast of Weeks) “were pious Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem” [Acts 2:5 CEB]. Think about that: “every nation under heaven.”
The ancients didn’t know that the earth was round or what lay beyond the oceans. So when they thought about how far everyone had come, it was like they came from every nation. Some of those nations and places we know today: Crete, Arabia, Asia, Egypt, Libya, and more. Some of the places have other names now.
Folks, this was diversity! These people from all these different places spoke different languages. They probably ate different foods from one place to another. Clothing styles probably differed. Their customs were different. But they had something in common too: they were all Jews. And now they experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit together.
Here in the Sound District people have come from different places. Some come from down east. Others come from cities like Greenville or New Bern. Some of us eat collard greens and some of us eat oysters. Some people trace their lineage back several generations here and some people moved here yesterday.
According to all projections, our district area will become even more diverse by race, language, and other markers in the years ahead. The world is changing, even in the Sound District. And we can choose to push against the tide (which down by the water we know is impossible). Or we can choose to see the years ahead as a gathering of believers from “every nation under heaven” upon which the Holy Spirit descends and blesses.