We have an especially full worship service this morning. It is Pentecost and the Art and Worship Board has the sanctuary decorated with red. White doves, representing the Holy Spirit are evident on banners and a beautiful Pentecost hanging. There will be plenty of special music. One member of our confirmation preparation class will be playing the violin during the prelude time, another will be playing the piano for the postlude. The bell choir will be ringing two pieces. The congregation will sing one of my favorite Pentecost hymns, “Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness,” by Jim Manley.

We will be commissioning our Stephen Ministers, members of the congregation who have received special training in providing one-on-one Christian care to people who are hurting. Our Stephen Ministers provide special outreach to those who are experiencing grief and loss as well as those who are experiencing health challenges and disease. They are available for conversation and support in the chapel after worship. Their ministries are especially evident during that difficult first year after congregational members have lost loved ones.

We will be receiving new members to our congregation. We will celebrate the sacrament of communion. There will be special prayers for the students who have participated in the confirmation preparation classes.

Yes, the service will probably run a little bit long. We have planned carefully, but there is a lot going on and there are some things that simply have to be allowed time.

This service remembers the event that many Christians view as the beginning of the church. On Pentecost Sunday we read the story from the 2nd chapter of the Book of Acts that reports the coming of the Holy Spirit to a gathering of disciples. There is much in the story that makes it clear that words do not adequately describe the day’s events. The story is rich in simile. “A sound like a mighty wind,” “Divided tongues as of fire” — you can tell by the choice of words, even in translation, that the impact of the experience was beyond the power of words to communicate.

We don’t attempt to replicate the experience. We simply remember it.

Today is unique in my experience of ministry because of the individuals who have been participating in the confirmation preparation class that we have been leading this year. This class is unique in many different ways. The class is small, just three students and their mentors. Small classes are not unusual in the church these days. Not all youth are ready to make the commitment to participate in what can be a long and challenging process of learning. One of the things that makes this class unique is that all three students have had perfect attendance. No one missed any of the class sessions, even though we met during the seasons of Covid. In fact one of the students will be missing this morning’s service because he caught Covid, but only after he had completed every class session.

What I will always remember about this group, however, is something different. None of the three will be confirmed today. We always make sure that we communicate that confirmation is a free choice and that there is no pressure to choose confirmation, but we also are clear that we are preparing them for the rite of the church, explain its meaning, and invite them to do so. I won’t be able to fully communicate all of their thinking in a journal entry, but part of the decision for all three is a deep question about whether or not they are ready to make a commitment to the wider church. All three are serious about their faith and have developed statements of belief that reflect many elements of Christian theology. Two of the three are very ready to become members of our local congregation. They appreciate its ministries and find it to be a good place to engage their faith. All three, however, have serious questions about some of the things that have happened and continue to happen in the name of Christianity. They see examples of congregations that engage in discrimination, perpetuate injustices, preach a prosperity gospel, deny science, and expert psychological and financial pressures on members. All three have experienced people who call themselves Christian who practice open discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and questioning youth. They don’t want to be associated with some of the things that Christians do.

We have agreed to continue our conversation. Even though Pentecost Sunday was set as the end of the confirmation preparation classes, we have not yet reached a place where the youth are ready and comfortable with the commitments of the rite of confirmation. They are taking this decision very seriously and they are ready to continue the conversations, learning, and preparation. We are very fortunate to have in our midst youth who are so honest and caring.

Today we will celebrate the journey that we have shared so far and make a fresh commitment to journeying together in faith in the time to come. Mentors will continue their relationships with the youth. We will provide other opportunities to talk about faith, the church, and membership. We will provide other opportunities for confirmation for these youth and for other youth who chose not to participate in the class. These three youth, with the support of their families and mentors, will form the core of a very important conversation in our congregation.

Every generation of Christians needs to take seriously questions about what it means to be Christian. There have been people in every generation who have claimed the title “Christian” but whose behavior, both pubic and private has not been an expression of the faith of Jesus. Saying you are Christian doesn’t make you Christian. We have the good fortune to have in our midst youth who are unwilling to compromise their integrity and who represent a challenge to the entire church to become more faithful.

Like that first Pentecost, I see today as the beginning of something very important. Our youth are calling us to live our faith so that they can see it in our behavior. They are willing to join us and walk beside us, but they intend to call out hypocrisy when they experience it, alert us to the inconsistencies of our faith and practice, and help us evaluate our relationships with others who call themselves Christian.

May we show as much integrity and commitment to the ongoing conversation as have our youth. May this Pentecost mark the beginning of a bigger and bolder journey of faith.