Welcome to the Parish of Modbury and Golden Grove

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Pentecost begins not with confidence, but with fear. In John’s Gospel, the disciples are

gathered behind locked doors, uncertain of the future and afraid of what might come next.  Into that fear, the risen Christ speaks peace and breathes the Holy Spirit upon them. In Acts, that same Spirit bursts forth like wind and fire, transforming frightened followers into courageous witnesses. And in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the Spirit creates not uniformity, but a community of diverse gifts bound together as one body in Christ.

 

This sermon reflects on Pentecost not simply as a dramatic event in the history of the Church, but as an ongoing work of the Spirit within ordinary human relationships and communities. It explores the way fear can shape our responses to difference and conflict — our instinct to defend ourselves, to fight, or to retreat behind locked doors of certainty and pride.

Drawing on a personal story of working alongside someone with very different gifts, perspectives, and leadership instincts, the sermon considers how the Holy Spirit often works precisely through the people who unsettle us. Sometimes the people we resist most strongly are those through whom God is trying to deepen our humility, widen our understanding, or reveal our blind spots.

 

Pentecost reminds us that the Spirit does not erase difference. The miracle is not that everyone suddenly becomes the same, but that people learn to hear one another across difference. The Spirit creates communion where fear once created division. In a world increasingly shaped by suspicion, outrage, and fragmentation, Pentecost offers another possibility: communities where peace is stronger than fear, where forgiveness matters more than winning, and where diverse people discover that they belong to one another in Christ.

The Spirit still breathes through locked rooms. And the doors are still being opened.

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Usual weekly services and activities:

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Sunday:        Holy Communion 8.00 am

                       Holy Communion 10am

Monday:       Bible Study 10.00 am 

Tuesday:       Holy Communion 8.30 am

                        Community Garden 9.30 am

                        Christian meditation 9;30-10am alternate Tuesday from

                        21 Jan 2025

Wednesday: Bible Study 10.00 am

                        Fortnightly Foodbank   10.00 am

Thursday:      Holy Communion 10.00 am

Friday:            Community Garden 9.30 am

                        

 

1st Tuesday of the month Community Garden BBQ 11.30 am

1st and 3rd Sunday of the month Bari Service 11.30 am

2nd Thursday of the month Men's Group 7.30 pm

1st Friday of the month "Come as You Are" - Women's Fellowship 10-12 ​

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