Pentecost Sunday with Foreign Language Readers

Dear faithful people of Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church:
 
Pentecost is on May 28, 2023, and it is a long-standing Christ the King Church tradition to read the story of Pentecost, (Acts 2 attached) “in various tongues.” With this letter, I am inviting all those who read or speak a language besides English to help us continue this tradition. Because we will be voting to call our next senior pastor that day, there will be only one service at 11:00 a.m. service. If you have never thought of sharing your gift with languages in this way or are concerned about speaking publicly in front of the congregation, please be assured that you will not be in front of the congregation but will stand and read from your seat; and at least a dozen other people will be standing with you and speaking in other languages at the same time. This enables everyone who wishes to participate to comfortably participate.
 
Enclosed is the relevant portion of the Acts Reading in English, with the assigned portions of the text in the languages we have them in. If you read in a language not listed below, please bring your own copy of the text in that language and do so. More languages are better! Either way, please stand and begin reading when the reader in the pulpit reaches the indicated verse in the reading from Acts 2:
 
Verse 5 Spanish
Verse 6 German
Verse 7 French, Swedish
Verse 8 Russian, Italian, Latin, Czech
Verse 9 Greek, Japanese, Chinese
 
If your language is not included above, come in on verse 7 or later as you please. Read through verse 11. Please remain standing, even after you finish reading, until the last language-other-than-English reader has stopped, and then sit down simultaneously with all the others as the reader in the pulpit continues to the conclusion of the text.
 
On Pentecost, it has been our tradition to dress casually and wear red. Please share that information with any guests you might wish to bring. If you know others who read a language other than English, please share this letter with them and invite them to read.
 
While Pentecost is always important to the Church’s life, this year it is especially important for us at Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church. After the liturgy, at which she will preach, we will have a congregational meeting to call the Rev. Dr. Jennifer Hope-Tringali to serve as our new senior pastor. Please plan to worship together on this marvelous day as we pray for and are led by God’s Holy Spirit.
 
Peace and Joy – and Courage,
 
Amandus J. Derr
Interim Senior Pastor