Testify
Andrew Bolton of Leicester, Leicestershire, England
You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. …When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth… -John 15:27; 16:13a
Brought up a Roman Catholic, I had some vague idea about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was part of the Trinity, and we prayed to the Holy Spirit when we needed wisdom.
As a young adult I met Community of Christ members, first in Germany and later in South Wales. I heard testimonies from ordinary people talking about a Living Presence who had blessed them with a sense of love, joy, and new direction. Sometimes testimonies involved working through considerable struggle and change. They were dramatic. Huw Evans, for instance, had stopped drinking. I loved hearing these testimonies.
There came a point when I felt I, too, must decide whether to be baptized. I was afraid of the leap of faith into the unknown of a kingdom/Zion way of life. It meant possible ridicule from family and friends. But it offered hope.
I went for hope and asked to be baptized. It was Huw Evans, then an elder and pastor of the Penllergaer Congregation in South Wales, who baptized me on a cold, wet, January day. Apparently, the sun briefly shone through the window as I emerged from the water.
My confirmation two weeks later was quiet, gentle, prayerful. Three months later a teenager called Kim was to be baptized. I prayed for her, the congregation, and finally myself all to be blessed by her step of faith. All three parts of that prayer were answered wonderfully. I had an experience of the Holy Spirit that lasted 13 hours and was so real, surprising, moving, and astonishing that I confessed, “God is real, God is real to me.” I was moved to tears that I could not control. Pentecost happens also today to ordinary people trying to find their way.
Prayer Phrase
“Attention is the beginning of devotion” (Mary Oliver).
Spiritual Practice
Holy Attention
Engaging in the practice of holy attention allows us to suspend our inner conversations and agendas and give reverent and receptive focus to a specific person or portion of God’s creation. Regarding another as an unrepeatable miracle whose life journey is unique and sacred brings awareness to and affirmation of God’s presence in all creation. We do this in the spirit of Christ who saw into the deep hearts of people and recognized their true identities as God’s beloved. Spend time this day in prayerful attention to God’s creation, to the people in your life, and to your daily surroundings.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
