GREETINGS TO THE LIGHT SHINING PEOPLE OF CHRIST THE KING,
My Epiphany word is KEFI, Greek for “the spirit of joy” and our congregation's Epiphany word is LIGHT. These words pair well for me. KEFI has led me back to the discipline of a gratitude journal where I simply find three things to give thanks to God for each day. This nurtures a spirit of joy within me.
This word journey has also led me to look for the glory of the coming of the Lord, the bits of God’s glimmering light in our midst. So when I heard about the Asbury Revival, I was curious to learn more. Asbury University is a Christian private university in Wilmore, Kentucky. It is a non-denominational school aligned with Wesleyan-Holiness movement.
A chapel service that began on the morning of February 8 didn’t end with a benediction and the gospel choir’s song but started a prayer and singing service that has continued 24/7, for 12 days, ending on Feb. 19 and news of the event spread through social media.
Thomas H. McCall, Asbury theology professor wrote in Christianity Today, “They were praising and praying earnestly for themselves and their neighbors and our world – expressing repentance and contrition for sin and interceding for healing, wholeness, peace, and justice. McCall attended the Feb. 8 chapel service.
When you search for more information, you will find loads and there is much to sift through. You have probably heard your favorite news people or podcasters report on it. We live in an age where we do not have to listen to someone’s report on an event. So go and listen. Listen to the first chapel service that started it. They were studying Romans. Listen to them sing and pray. Form your own analysis of this event that happened among Christians.
I found a Youtube stream and listened for a short time. I listened to a bit of the chapel sermon/teaching that started it all. And I saw KEFI, I saw the spirit of joy in that chapel. I was filled with joy and hope to see a chapel filled with college students singing and praying. The Wednesday chapel services that I attended both in college and seminary rarely had a packed out attendance. So for a pastor who has served for 31 years in a long period of decline for Lutherans and Christianity in general, this is hopeful and brings me a spirit of joy and a glimmer of the coming of the glory of the Lord. God is faithful and we get to be a part of what God is up to in this world.
I know enough about the Bible to know that God often shows up in the little places, the outback areas, like a little private college in Wilmore, Kentucky. God is faithful and shows up here too on our little corner of Melrose and Mormon Trek and we get to be a part of it. Be on the lookout for the coming of the glory of the Lord shining in our midst.
Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,
Pastor Connie Spitzack
