Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: [00:00:00] Welcome to Holy Shenanigans. I'm your muse, Tara Lamont Eastman, pastor, podcaster, who's always on the lookout for the holy shenanigans of the sacred showing up in everyday life. Welcome to the windy month of May, full of sparkling sunshine, just enough warmth to plant flower seeds and bulbs, and that first pass to clean up the yard and get ready for the summer season ahead.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: In my corner of the world, it's also the perfect time of year to get out a kite and take it for a whirl at the local park. The practice of flying kites is a somewhat old-fashioned childhood activity, but I think it's one that could do our hearts and [00:01:00] spirits some good. What might walking outdoors, building a simple store-bought kite, and with the help of a good strong wind, to launch that kite to dance and sway in a blue sky with puffy clouds.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: What could this have to offer us? A break from work, some sunshine and fresh air, or perhaps a whole new spiritual perspective. When was the last time you flew a kite? Well, perhaps you might remember it from the jubilant ending of Mary Poppins as the Banks family finally heads to the park to spend some long-awaited time together singing Let's Go Fly a Kite.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: In that wind and in the intention of time to play, [00:02:00] going to fly a kite offers a pause to reset from what was to something lively and new. For me, when I think about going to fly a kite, I find some interesting correlations and connections to some spiritual practices and connections to church world, one of which is the opening stanza of thanksgiving in communion.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: The Lord be with you and also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord. In this short dialogue between the minister and the congregation as they come to the table to take part in communion, they set their attention and intention on a change of heart, a literal lifting of their hearts and [00:03:00] all they hold- Up before God.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: As they approach this table, and even before receiving the cup and the bread, they begin with an intention to lift up their hearts to God so that as they receive those elements of bread and cup, they can go back out into the world filled up with God's grace and love. They first come to communion lifting up their hearts to God to be filled, and leave with a blessing and care to then go lift up others.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: And so as communion lifts up our hearts and blesses others, I invite you to think about this metaphor of flying a kite as another way of giving and receiving, of letting go and being filled up, of receiving a blessing so that it can be [00:04:00] shared with someone else. Coming up on Sunday, May 24th, there's another way for the church to engage with this windy kite metaphor as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: On this day, the Christian Church celebrates its official beginning, and some say birthday, in a historic and dramatic arrival of the Holy Spirit, as noted in Acts 2. In this scripture, we hear of the dramatic arrival of the Spirit described as wind, fire, and the good news message of God's love proclaimed in many languages.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: Acts 2:2-4: Without warning, there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force. No one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread [00:05:00] through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit's arrival is loud and dramatic.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: The rushing wind of the Holy Spirit inspires the disciples to live out their calling in new ways. Before Pentecost, Peter was impulsive, James and John were competitive, and Thomas was skeptical. Following Pentecost, Peter was empowered, James and John worked together, and Thomas was tenacious. And with the help of the Holy Spirit, the disciples and the church begin a new journey of faith that would take them into the whole world.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: Some disciples became prophets, others healers or caregivers. Some would travel the [00:06:00] world. Others would stay behind the scenes caring for the poor, but all of them were inspired to be the church and to live out their faith in new, bold ways. And so with this Holy Spirit Pentecost inspiration, I wonder what this season is calling us to.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: What new bold adventures are ahead? This year with Pentecost falling in this windy month of May, I can't help but think of kite flying from a spiritual perspective, to consider where God is calling my attention to shift. And so I invite you to join me for a moment of a kite-inspired spiritual practice for Pentecost.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: With the help of your imagination or a literal kite and a [00:07:00] good strong wind with this, let's go fly a kite prayer. Let us pray. Oh, God, if I were to lift up my heart to you like a kite on a string, I could offer you my worry, my hurts, my burdens, and I could lift them by name. Then, as I look up and imagine that kite flowing in the current of the wind, I ask you, God, to open my heart and mind to new directions and new ways of following your Spirit.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: Then, as I imagine drawing that kite back in, I give thanks [00:08:00] for the strength and help in the ways that you, God, will fuel my days ahead. In this prayer practice, first, we let go, then we open up to what is new. And then with our hearts lifted and filled, we move forward boldly in love. The Lord be with you and also with you.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord. In this coming season of Pentecost, our celebrations of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the church continue with joyous music, wearing bold red clothes to worship, and having birthday cake for fellowship on that Sunday [00:09:00] But I wonder, maybe we should add giving out kites to remind us of Pentecost and the new things that we're called to, to let go of our burdens, to be opened up to the leading of the Spirit, and to boldly move forward in love.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: So let's go fly a kite. A poem for Pentecost. There is nothing better than a windy day, one that arrives with almost too much force, disheveling hair, opening the door of my soul, stealing the sound of my laughter like a game of hide and seek, whipping round my arms and legs, holding space for me to ebb and flow, like a seagull held secure in her [00:10:00] headfirst wing-flapping flight, going somewhere and nowhere at the same time.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: This is a playful space to pull and press worry, hope, and wonder in and around me, refreshing, drawing out, and channeling away everything that keeps me from flying.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: I am your Holy Shenanigans muse, Tara Lamont Eastman. Thank you for joining me for windy Pentecost Holy Shenanigans that surprise, encourage, redirect, and turn life upside down, all in the name of love.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: This is an unpredictable spiritual adventure that is always sacred, but never stuffy. Thank you to all who listen and support Holy Shenanigans podcast in your neighborhood and all around the world, [00:11:00] in the United States, Germany, Canada, Finland, and Singapore, as well as those friends in the United States from Jamestown, New York, Buffalo, Warren, Pennsylvania, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and our neighbors in Frankfurt, Germany.
Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: Gratitude to Ian Eastman for sound editing and for all who support Holy Shenanigans podcast over at www.buymeacoffee.com/taraleastman or at our Buzzsprout page, holyshenanigans.buzzsprout.com. In this season of Pentecost, let's go fly a kite to let go of what no longer serves, to be opened up to something new, and boldly bring a blessing that will lift up someone else's heart [00:12:00]
