In March 2021, the Northeastern Jurisdiction College of Bishops announced that Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball and Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi will provide episcopal leadership and coverage of Susquehanna, West Virginia, and Western Pennsylvania Conferences during the interim period of September 1, 2021 through December 31, 2022 due to the postponed General and Jurisdictional Conferences. Get to know our new bishops by viewing this video and through the following letters.
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| Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi |
The first Pentecost Day was so astonishing it almost overwhelmed the thousands of people who were gathered together. Indeed, God did a new thing as God, through the rush of the wind, poured out God’s Holy Spirit over thousands of diverse people; and the church was born. That rush of wind was such a seminal experience in the life of the church that 2,000 years later, not only do we commemorate that singular day, but we spend an entire season celebrating God’s gift of the Holy Spirit for the work of the church. Pentecost extends from May through the start of Advent in November.
Sometimes as a result of the typical summer programming lull in many churches, we don’t take full advantage of this time in the liturgical year to really celebrate and praise God for the new thing that God did for the church. This year, I am going to be more intentional about celebrating Pentecost in my personal devotion time, and I invite you to do the same. I encourage you to commit to praying, throughout this season, prayers of thanksgiving and praise to God for Pentecost.
Here is one of my prayers for us all:
Almighty God, the only One who can impart the Holy Spirit like a rush of violent wind and tongues of fire, we thank you for all you have given to your church. We praise you for the gift of diversity that you blessed and made holy on that first Day of Pentecost. Thank you for the times that your Spirit breaks through our humanness and causes persons who come from different backgrounds, experiences, cultures, and perspectives to speak to one another in ways that lead to understanding, commitment to a common mission, and the conversion of others.
Forgive us for the times we have sneered at and judged those whom you have gifted with the desire and ability to listen to and understand the other. Forgive us for the times we have squandered, ignored, been afraid of, mistrusted, or otherwise misused these and other gifts you have given us for the building up of your church. We thank you for your patience with us, God.
O God, we ask that you ignite in us the same level of joy and awe those first churchgoers felt because of the presence of your spirit among them. Help us to continue to be or to become overwhelmingly, obnoxiously, astoundingly excited about being members of the United Methodist Church. Help us to feel the same urgency felt by those early converts who were “cut in the heart” and asked Peter and the apostles what they should do in response to their experience with your Holy Spirit.
God, to You we give all honor, glory, and praise. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
One reason I want to be more intentional about celebrating this year is because I believe it is the providence of God that we will be embarking on our experiment in episcopal coverage for Susquehanna, Western Pennsylvania, and West Virginia during Pentecost. Bishop Steiner-Ball and I come to Susquehanna from different regions with diverse experiences, distinct expectations, and - because of all of the acronyms that we United Methodists use - different languages. We will need a little Pentecost to do this to work.
Because of my faith, I expect God’s Holy Spirit will come to us and we will be able to understand one another, be in awe and wonder of God, get excited about discerning what God would have us to do, and commit to doing God’s will. Bishop Steiner-Ball and I already experienced a little Pentecost when all three cabinets gathered in Hershey the second week in June. We were encouraged and invigorated by our connecting and planning. We are anxious to do God’s will.
So I will intentionally be praying for Pentecost to be fully experienced in these three annual conferences so that thousands might ask of us, “What must we do to be saved?”
To God be the glory.
