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And Just Who on Earth is Casper? by Christa Buswell Well, it's a long story, but here's the Casper part of it. Some years ago, a friend was bound and determined − if not to say ruthless − to make a Christian out of me. One day, standing on deck of the Queen Mary the talk turned to the Holy Spirit. Rather than jumping overboard, I admitted that I could, sort of, relate to the Holy Ghost. Not realizing that they had changed his name to the more socially correct Holy Spirit (not that we believe in ghosts, of course). My friend's amused reply was: "Oh, you mean Casper, the friendly ghost." Which has remained between us to this day. Sort of like an affectionate nickname given to a family member. Shortly thereafter, the Spirit came calling on me. Friendly and gently at first, and when that didn't work, with fire and winds. He won. So, on to Pentecost. That strange name comes from the Greek for "50 days," the fifty days after Easter and after Christ's ascension. Maybe God realized that this suddenly orphaned little group of disciples needed some help and comfort and sent the Holy Spirit to the rescue. The Greeks, as so often, had a word for it: Paraclete, meaning advocate, intercessor, from the root word paraclom, meaning one who comes to ones aid. Now think about that… We believe in a triune God, so why is the Spirit relegated to an almost ordinary Sunday service while Christmas and Easter are the two major feast days of the year. Now, is this fair? In Europe, Pentecost is the third major 2-day holiday of the liturgical year: the first and second Day of Christmas, Easter Sunday and Monday, Pentecost Sunday and Monday. Sadly, church membership and attendance there have dropped to a depressing average of 20%. Even before that, there was a saying that someone was leading a "life like God" in France − meaning he had nothing to do, like the "life of Riley." (I'm not making this up, you know!) And there is another comment: "Nobody is so much of an atheist as to refuse helping celebrate the Christian holidays." They need a host of deputy spirits over there. If this were a school essay assignment, it would come back with a nasty note, in red, "Come to the point." The point is that this year's Pentecost observations were worthy of the neglected spirit. Joyous, grateful, and I hope with a promise to make it an annual "don't miss the date" entry on the liturgical calendar. Thanks to all who planned and executed this wonderful event. And a special thanks to our guest of honor who gifted us with a spirit-filled celebration: Casper. (Editor's Note: Pictures from the Pentecost Picnic can be found on our website at: www.saint-augustine.orgsa_pentecost07.) Copyright © 2007 St. Augustine by-the-Sea
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