The Day of Pentecost, a principal festival of the church year occurring fifty days after Easter, celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit to the crowd gathered in Jerusalem. It was celebrated at our services of Holy Communion on Saturday and Sunday, May 18 and 19. Red, symbolic of the fire of the Holy Spirit, is the liturgical color for this festival and visible in the gates of our weavings on the south wall of the sanctuary and new red paraments.
Several symbols of fire and wind were displayed in the sanctuary and outside the church for this celebration. A significant event during the Sunday service was the dedication of a new set of red altar and pulpit paraments, designed and woven by congregation member and professional weaver, Barbara Berg. They are a gift to Good Shepherd from Jane Kemp and Anna (Kemp), Russell, Maggie, and Jack Norris in memory of Don Kemp (1940-2003). The paraments depict the Holy Spirit in wind and flames against a red background; an abstract dove appears on the altar parament; water, woven in shades of blue along the bottom edges of both paraments, represents Baptism. Bouquets of red gladiolas, symbolizing tongues of fire, flanked the altar and pulpit; red ribbons representing tongues of fire replaced the door wreaths; and red and silver pinwheels, ‘planted’ by our Sunday School, lined the entry sidewalks and twirled in the wind.
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Good Shepherd is fully accessible to all. 