When the day of pentecost came, all the believers were gathered...

It was utterly coincidental I think, but wonderful, that the next step of lockdown easing which allows church gatherings came about in time for Pentecost Sunday. 

For the first time since I arrived here, the church across the road (pictured below with daisies)
pealed out over half an hour of bells. The church I wanted to check out is only a couple of blocks away round the corner - so the bells serve as a good "Yo, get out the door" reminder. 

The quote above is from Acts 2, and the sermon from the Pastor this week was beautiful, drawing together themes of togetherness and of the holy spirit, which never left any of us no matter how zoomed out and disconnected from church we may have felt. 

She had dutifully punched out handfuls of dove shaped paper confetti, and at one point, with us all socially distanced and masked, she encouraged us to throw this confetti over ourselves. It was ridiculous, and sweet and wonderful. (Her point was, like the flutterings of tiny paper birds, we are not going to be harmed by the spirit.)

There was singing, muffled and muted. 

They prayed for the NHS - for the fatigue of the "after" that everyone is feeling (its now, after the crisis, that everything is starting to hit people - in need of a break, but as ever, not the staffing to really allow it), and for others in the church community who over the last year have gotten sick and couldn't come back, or who were dying, or had died. 

There was a real gentleness. 

I look forward to joining them again.