DownloadJuly 6, 2009 issue
Pentecost for Philadelphia churches
By Felly VeliciaPHILADELPHIA — It was perhaps as close to the first Pentecost as Anabaptists could get.
Pastor Aldo Siahaan of Philadelphia Praise Center leads worship for a Pentecost service June 8. — Photo by Felly Velicia
The annual joint Pentecost worship service for Kingdom Builders Anabaptist Network of Greater Philadelphia June 8 at Philadelphia Praise Center brought together many congregations and cultures.
The theme was “Breaking Bread Together.”
Kingdom Builders is com-posed of 20 Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Church of the Brethren congregations and ministries.
Philadelphia Praise Center is a congregation of Franconia Conference of Mennonite Church USA and is located in the southern part of the city.
During the first hour of the June 8 celebration, the group had fellowship around tables full of Asian snacks. Then they went up from the packed and noisy basement to the sanctuary for worship.
People speaking in eight languages read Acts 2:41-42: “So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Each one present worshiped in his or her own way and in his or her own language.
The Abundant Life Chinese Mennonite Church and a new Haitian group offered songs.
Celmali Jaime, a Mennonite student at Eastern University near Philadelphia, performed some of her poetry, including “Dinner Has Been Served.”
The Pentecost celebration gave people from each culture a chance to teach about their culture and learn about those different than their own.
Leaders from different parts of the world broke bread together and led communion for the group.
“We come to worship him together no matter what language we speak or who we are,” said Rachel Howe, a member of Philadelphia Praise Center.
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