\u201cWelcome to the Party!\u201d\u009d came the greeting from The Rev. Michael Pipkin as he appeared seemingly from nowhere out of the crowd. \u201cIt\u2019s good to see you here. Thanks for coming.\u201d\u009d The \u201d\u02dcparty\u2019 is the regular Sunday gathering of the members of The Falls Church \u201d\u201c Episcopal, a remnant of former members of the several-hundred-member break-away church now affiliated with CANA, who have placed themselves under the authority of Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria. This smaller group is made up of the approximately 10% from the original church who voted to remain in the Episcopal Church plus newcomers and occasional visitors who come for a Sunday or two to give visible support to the gathered church. They are meeting in the loft at the Falls Church Presbyterian, generously supported by that congregation and their pastor, The Rev. Dr. Thomas Schmid, who says, \u201cWe are so happy to have them here with us.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
The service was a celebration of the Eucharist with special prayers for Pentecost, the day remembered for the occasion of the followers of Jesus being empowered by the Holy Spirit 50 days after Jesus\u2019 Resurrection. In his sermon, The Rev. Pipkin explained how like so many, this holy day was taken from a Jewish festival commanded by God through Moses \u201d\u201c in this case, the Festival of Weeks. The Jewish tradition is one where, at the beginning of the harvest, the \u201d\u02dcfirst fruits\u2019 are given as a thank offering, waved by the high priest before God. In other words, The Rev. Pipkin said, the offering of thanks is made \u201d\u02dcnot knowing what the rest of the growing season will be like.\u2019 He suggested that making such an offering in our day would be akin to paying taxes on January 1st of the year in advance of securing our income for that year \u201d\u201c a practice that would probably be fraught with anxiety and fear. But, he reminded the congregation as he had been told in his youth, \u201canxiety and fear are not of God.\u201d\u009d Instead, he suggested, just like in the Pentecost story in the Gospel reading from John appointed for this day, Jesus approaches us saying \u201cPeace be with you\u201d\u00a6in all our anxiety about what will happen next, of not knowing what the next steps will be, God tells us to not fear.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n