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SOPRANO SOLO STARTS:

MUSIC:听 Choir, Introit 鈥� COME HOLY GHOST (Thomas Attwood)

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MINISTER, REV NEIL GARDNER:

Good morning and welcome to our celebration of Pentecost, often referred to as the birthday of the Church. Canongate Kirk is the parish church for the Palace of Holyroodhouse, The Queen鈥檚 official residence in Scotland, and we are conscious today too of the ongoing celebrations of Her Majesty鈥檚 ninetieth birthday, not least in the grounds of Windsor Castle this weekend. Here in Edinburgh our service is supported by the choir of Fettes College, whose founder Sir William Fettes is buried in our Kirkyard on The Royal Mile. That gentle introit reminded us that it was at Pentecost that God sent his Holy Spirit to inspire the first generation of Christian people 鈥� today, in our own generation, we seek the inspiration of that same Spirit.

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MUSIC:听 HYMN 鈥� COME DOWN, O LOVE DIVINE (Down Ampney)

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NEIL:听 Now Elspeth McPheat, a Deacon in the Church of Scotland and part of our Kirk Session, leads us in prayer.

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ELSPETH:听听听 Let us pray: 听Almighty Lord and everlasting God, the heaven of heavens cannot contain you, much less the temples which our hands have built, yet you are always near those who are humble and contrite. Pour out your Holy Spirit on your servants gathered here, that, cleansed and illumined by your grace, we may worthily show forth your praise and obtain a gracious answer to our prayers; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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NEIL:

We say together the ancient prayer of confession that is part of our regular Sunday worship here:

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We confess to God almighty, to all the company of heaven, and to each other, that we have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed, by our fault, by our own fault, by our own most grievous fault. Therefore we beseech almighty God to give us the grace of true repentance, to have mercy upon us, and cleanse us from our sins.

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Lord have mercy.

Christ have mercy.

Lord have mercy.

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The Almighty and Merciful Lord grants unto you, being penitent, pardon, absolution, and remission of all your sins. Amen.

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ELSPETH:听听听 Almighty and ever-living God, you fulfilled the promises of Easter by sending your Holy Spirit and opening the way of life eternal to every race and nation. Keep us in the unity of Your Spirit, that every tongue may tell of your glory: through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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PETER:听 Our first reading is from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2, verses 1-11 -听 The first Pentecost:

2听When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2听And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3听Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4听All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5听Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6听And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7听Amazed and astonished, they asked, 鈥楢re not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8听And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9听Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10听Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11听Cretans and Arabs鈥攊n our own languages we hear them speaking about God鈥檚 deeds of power.鈥�

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ELSPETH:听听 The choir sings the anthem, 鈥楲et all the world in every corner sing鈥�, by Vaughan Williams.

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MUSIC:听 Choir, Anthem 鈥� LET ALL THE WORLD IN EVERY CORNER SING

(Vaughan Williams)

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IMOGEN:听 The second reading is taken from the Gospel according to St John, chapter 14, verses 8-17 鈥� The promise of the Holy Spirit to be with us for ever.

8听Philip said to Jesus, 鈥楲ord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.鈥� 9听Jesus said to him, 鈥楬ave I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 鈥淪how us the Father鈥�? 10听Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11听Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12听Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13听I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14听If in my name you ask me[] for anything, I will do it.

15听鈥業f you love me, you will keep[] my commandments. 16听And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[] to be with you for ever. 17听This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in[] you.

ELSPETH:听 In a few moments the Reverend Neil Gardner will give the address.听 First we sing together once more 鈥� to the tune Hereford, 鈥極 thou who camest from above鈥�.

MUSIC:听 HYMN - O THOU WHO CAMEST FROM ABOVE (Hereford)

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NEIL:听 ADDRESS

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In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

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The terrible devastation wrought recently by the wildfires in Canada has demonstrated all too vividly the destructive force that can be released when wind and flames combine. I once saw something of that for myself 鈥� it鈥檚 nearly thirty years since the church of my boyhood and youth, Dunbar Parish Church in East Lothian, was destroyed by fire. It was after darkness had fallen in early January 1987 when an electrical fault presumably above the ceiling caused a fire to break out through the roof, there to be fanned quickly beyond any possibility of control by the strong winds driving in off the Firth of Forth. And that dramatic night is forever etched on my mind. The inextinguishable blaze could be seen from miles around until the cold light of dawn revealed the extent of the damage. The roof had gone, the stained glass windows had melted, the pews, the pulpit, the communion table, the organ were all reduced to ashes, even the stone pillars had withered and all that was left was the outer shell, the walls and the tower, battered and broken, empty and forlorn, but somehow against all the odds still standing. Nearly thirty years on, the walls and the tower still provide the same familiar landmark as you drive past on the A1 or speed past on the train, and from the outside the church looks exactly the same as it always did. But on the inside it is entirely different, after a serious and prolonged fundraising campaign eventually supplied a brand new modern interior.

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To my mind there are obvious parallels between these unforgettable images and the day of Pentecost, when, we are reliably informed, 鈥渟uddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them and a tongue rested on each one of them鈥�. But mercifully this combination of wind and flame was constructive rather than destructive, and the force it released was a force for good.听 鈥淎ll of them were filled with the Holy Spirit鈥︹�� The effect in the end though was not so very different from that at my old home church. For the disciples might still have looked the same on the outside, but on the inside, in their minds and in their hearts they were made quite new again. Coming so soon 鈥� just ten days 鈥� after the Ascension, you can鈥檛 help wondering how reluctant they might have been to follow Jesus鈥� final instruction to wait there in the city until they were armed with power from above, how ready they might have been to go back to their old ways, how frustrated they must have been, how disappointed and exhausted and empty and uncertain when after all they had been through together Jesus simply disappeared from their sight. But our Gospel reading today reminds us how he had promised them another to be their advocate who would be with them for ever 鈥� the Spirit of truth. 鈥淭he world cannot receive him,鈥� he tells them, 鈥渂ecause it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him because he abides with you and he will be in you鈥�. And now there and then just ten days after the Ascension on the very day of Pentecost it had happened, what the world neither saw nor knew nor understood, but what those who were there saw and knew and understood, that they were filled with the Holy Spirit, that they were enabled, literally, to understand other languages and speak as it were the same language, you know him because he dwells with you and will be in you. The same language and the same Lord who still dwells with us and in us here and now, and even in today鈥檚 challenging world enables and encourages us to seek and serve his loving purpose for all people.

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Canongate Kirk is the Kirk of Holyroodhouse and of Edinburgh Castle and between those two famous landmarks tourists and visitors come and go, up and down the Royal Mile, all the time. You can walk a good way without ever hearing English spoken, for visitors come from every corner of the world, speaking their own languages. From this time of year onwards we welcome visitors to our church from all over the world too, and we provide them with a guide to the building, telling something of our story in a wide variety of languages to suit. Not just French and German, Spanish and Italian; but Finnish and Greek, Serbo-Croat and Japanese, and they all learn in their own language something of our story, just as those listed in the second chapter of the Book of Acts learned something of God鈥檚 story on the day of Pentecost. 鈥淚n our own languages we hear them speaking about God鈥檚 deeds of power鈥�, they declared in amazement. Today as the Church around the world celebrates its birthday, the birth of a new knowledge and understanding, may the wind and fire of the Holy Spirit alight on each one of us wherever we are and whatever language we speak, that we might add our voice to that of those who speak and sing with knowledge and understanding of God鈥檚 good and constructive deeds of power.

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MUSIC:听 HYMN 鈥� HOW SHALL I SING THAT MAJESTY (Coe Fen)

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ELSPETH:听 Let us pray:

Come, Holy Spirit, comforter, disturber, inspirer and advocate. Come, fill the Church with the gifts earth can neither produce nor afford. Come, fill our lives with that rich mixture of peace and restlessness, calm and enthusiasm, which are the hallmarks of holiness...

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MUSIC:听 Group of male voices 鈥� VENI CREATOR听 Verse 1

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PETER:

Loving God, as the Spirit came in wind and fire, blow through us and enflame us, that our lives may bear witness to your liveliness, and to the passion with which you love your people. Today we pray for those who suffer from the destructive effects of fire, especially in Canada, and for all who are scorched by the flames of war and conflict around the world, and of prejudice and intolerance nearer home. Into the lives of all who suffer, come Holy Spirit...

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MUSIC:听 Group of male voices 鈥� VENI CREATOR听 Verse 2

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TRACY:

We pray for The Queen as her birthday celebrations continue, and we give thanks for Her Majesty鈥檚 constant sense of duty and service. We pray for the Forces of the Crown and for the leaders of the nations, for a new Spirit of wisdom and understanding to prevail. We pray for all who walk in corridors of power and especially for those recently elected to positions of responsibility, not least in the Scottish Parliament. Into the lives of all who serve, come Holy Spirit...

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MUSIC:听 Group of male voices 鈥� VENI CREATOR听 Verse 3

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NEIL:

Loving Father, by the power of your Holy Spirit you transformed Peter and Andrew and all who were present on the day of Pentecost. We pray today for individuals and communities that are weary and worn and sad, that you would transform them with a sense of your presence and your purpose and your peace; and in this Christian Aid week we pray for those who suffer and struggle with poverty and oppression around the world and for all who work to bring transformation into their lives, come Holy Spirit...

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MUSIC:听 Group of male voices 鈥� VENI CREATOR听 Verse听 4 & doxology

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And so we thank you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for lives transformed and made new, for old thoughts giving way to new dreams, for old ways giving place to a new life in Christ, for old caution giving way to new courage, for old fears giving way to new confidence.

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These and all our prayers we bring together in the words Jesus taught us:

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

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NEIL:听 Our final hymn in celebration of Pentecost evokes an essential ingredient of many a celebration especially here in Edinburgh:

鈥楲ike fireworks in the night, the Holy Spirit came鈥�.

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MUSIC:听 HYMN 鈥� LIKE FIREWORKS IN THE NIGHT (St John/Havergal)

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Choir hums tune 鈥楢e Fond Kiss鈥� 鈥�

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NEIL:听 Go now in peace to love and to serve and to follow the Lord, and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit descend upon you and remain with you always. Amen

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Then choir continues 鈥楢e Fond Kiss鈥� with words: 鈥�

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MUSIC:听 Choir 鈥� MAY THE GOD OF PEACE GO WITH US

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MUSIC:听听 ORGAN VOLUNTARY

Fantasia super: Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott 鈥� J S Bach, BWV 651