On Sunday (20 May) Christians around the world will be celebrating Pentecost. As described in Acts 2:1-31, it is an occasion that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and other followers of Jesus, and is referred to by many as ‘the birthday of the Church’.

The Revd David Grosch-Miller, immediate-past Moderator of the United Reformed Church General Assembly, offers the following reflection:

If Pentecost is the birthday of the Church then balloons and party poppers are a poor substitute for wind and fire. When the Jewish Festival of Pentecost was given a makeover, a disruptive force was released which challenged assumptions, tore down barriers and invited the whole world to dream a new dream. Luke has already given a warning of what is to come when, in the Gospel, he names the female followers of Jesus as the witnesses to the Resurrection. The fact that it has taken the Christian Church the best part of 2000 years to catch on suggests that the Holy Spirit has some work to do to shake us up as we listen to what God is about.

The United Reformed Church has joined a group of churches and faith-based organisations and issued a welcome to the government’s response to the review of fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs).

In a statement, the URC, The Salvation Army, The Methodist Church, The Church of Scotland, The Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Evangelical Alliance UK, Quaker Action on Alcohol and Drugs, CARE, The Mission and Public Affairs Council of the Church of England said:

The Revd Philip Brooks, United Reformed Church Secretary of Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, visited Israel last month and took part in an Israel-Palestinian task group to learn about and educate the denomination on issues affecting Israel and Palestine ahead of a denominational tour in 2019. He reflects on his trip in the wake of the controversial news that the United States moved its embassy to Jerusalem.

This week sees a small US consulate in Jerusalem become the focus of a global controversy. Situated in Arnona, a quiet neighbourhood in the south of Jerusalem, the consulate building, with fewer than 100 employees, will be transformed into the official US Embassy for Israel. Forty miles away, the former fortress-like embassy, and its 800-strong staff, will become the ‘Tel Aviv Branch Office’.