Anthem Spotlight: The Feast of Pentecost-6.5.25

Pentecost is one of the major celebratory days in the New Testament. It also references long-standing Old Testament stories centered around a brilliant fire that doesn’t burn anything down.

In the Old Testament, windstorms were often accompanied by fire or lightning, signaling God’s presence and the formation of a temple. In the Gospel of John, Pentecost marks the beginning of a new ‘Christian’ world. It is much more than just the moment when the Holy Spirit enabled everyone present to speak in tongues—it signifies that each of us becomes a living temple, and that God dwells within us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our anthem is a blend of two songs about the Holy Spirit. The first part is called Spirit Song, written in 1979 by John Wimber, who was not originally a person of faith. In fact, he was a vocalist in the rock group known as the Righteous Brothers.

Despite his success, John felt something was missing in his life. One Sunday evening, he walked into a church to see what it was all about. Amusingly, he even asked the usher to seat him in the “smoking section.” The usher was kind and did his best to make John feel welcome. That marked the beginning of John's transformation and his journey to becoming a committed Christian. He started bringing some of his bandmates with him, and before long, the church was quite full. One week, a parishioner told him that he was bringing so many people they were running out of seats—and encouraged him to keep up the Lord’s work!

The second part of the anthem is Where the Spirit of the Lord Is, a simple hymn based on 2 Corinthians 3:17. It reminds us that the presence of the Spirit brings love, light, and life, as well as help and power.

There is truly much to celebrate on Pentecost Sunday!