From The Pastor:

Pastor Michaele Wood

Its Pentecost Again

It’s Pentecost again.  In Acts, chapter 2, verses 1-4, “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.  And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.  They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”  

This month (June 8th) we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. While most people attribute the happenings of Pentecost to the birth of the church and the coming of the Holy Spirit who brings unity to believers there is often little thought given to anything beyond divine pyrotechnics.  For instance, what is the purpose behind the whole event?  Why do so many traditions encourage the wearing of red on Pentecost?  And why is the speaking of tongues such a big deal that it has divided churches for centuries?

The use of the color red in the church during Pentecost is commonly associated with the flames of the Holy Spirit, which descended upon the apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ as tongues of fire. The significance of red as the color of fire and blood is a natural choice to represent this element.  And red serves as a powerful visual reminder of the transformative power of faith.  Vestments and paraments for the day are red, often with a descending dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit.  Red is easy to understand but what about the sign of the disciples speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance?”  This was another indication of the spirit coming upon believers.  Referred to as the Gift of Tongues it was speaking languages by divine utterance not previously known to the speaker.  

When Peter and the disciples go out into the crowd the people are amazed that each of them could hear the disciples in their native language.  Some have argued that the disciples weren’t speaking in other languages but the people were hearing them in other languages.  To-ma-to / To-mot-o.  Most of those arguments miss the real point – it had to be the Spirit to provide that communication no matter how you perceive it.  It was a gift not experienced by the general public before.  A miracle of God’s intervention.   But why tongues in any form?  Allow me a moment of privilege to provoke your deeper thinking.  Let's go back to the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. God was concerned that the people having a unified language were determined to build a city and a tower to heaven to make a name for themselves as equal to God.  God intervenes, confusing their language, causing them to no longer understand each other.  The people then scatter throughout the earth stopping the work they had begun.  They assemble together with those who speak as they do but the confusion of languages causes disunity in the earth.  

Why tongues?  Why not tongues?  God gives a unified heavenly language of the spirit to bring people back to one purpose, building the kingdom of God.  The key words here are that they spoke as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance.   It was not a man's idea, it was a God idea to again unify the people of the earth as Eph 4:4-6 says, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, One faith, One Baptism, One God and Father of us all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.  So wear your red in celebration of the unity the Spirit brings and remember to speak as the Spirit gives you utterance.  Happy Birthday Church.

Pastor Michaele

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Rev. Michaele RJ Wood was born the eldest of four children in Harrisburg PA. Her father was a Marine and Korean Veteran and her mother was a caterer. Michaele says, “Dad maintained order and discipline and mom added the spice.” She attended Catholic school through her junior year before graduating from a public school closer to home. It was during a school assembly about teen suicides that the message “God is love” became real and the Bible became a favorite read.

The years following high school were a hodgepodge of military service as an EMT / Practical Nurse and a liaison to the Military Police Units working narcotics, often accompanying them on the execution of search warrants and arrests. She met and married her husband during that tour and one year later put military service behind to be a mom to a new daughter. The following year she gave birth to twins.

In 1990, she was ordained as a minister in Kingdom Fellowship Ministries, a Charismatic fellowship, and assigned to Fountain Gate Ministries, an inner-city Harrisburg Church. There she served for 15 years as an elder, ordained minister associate and part-time instructor in Biblical & Church History for the ETS School of Ministry. She also held the position of Chief Financial Officer for a Harrisburg non-profit organization, while maintaining employment as a medical claims adjuster and raising a family.

The church grew quickly but the authoritarian form of government did not support the growth which led to problems of discipline and doctrine within the fellowship. This led her to a time of discernment. Seeking the help of a more experienced female pastor, who just happened to be Presbyterian, she was introduced to the Book of Order and Reformed Theology. Michaele states, “I had found the missing piece of my faith journey but the church I served was not ready

to change its style of government.”  In 2005, she became a member of Capital Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg. She was soon asked to serve on session and was ordained as an elder in the Presbyterian Church. Michaele completed the Dubuque CRE training in January 2006 and was then accepted to Lancaster Theological Seminary receiving her Master of Divinity in 2009.  In 2010, she was ordained by Carlisle Presbytery as  Minister of Word & Sacrament. Subsequently, she was  accepted as a member of the initial class of the “For Such A Time As This Program” leading to her installation as the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Pontotoc, Mississippi,  where she served until December 2017. 

She now comes to Gainesville as the called pastor of Kanapaha Presbyterian Church and will be installed as the way is made clear.

Pastor Michaele holds an Associate in Human Services from Harrisburg Area Community College; a Bachelor of Christian Ministry from Chesapeake Bible College; a Master of Divinity from Lancaster Theological Seminary; a diploma from the CRE program at Dubuque Seminary, and Certificates of Completion in Spiritual Direction; Clergy Tax Management & Law (Chitwood); and Stewardship (Kirby-Smith).

She is the widowed mother to three adult children, grandmother to (10) ten grandchildren, great-grandmother to two boys, ages 2 years and an infant of 3 months, with another due in October. Saying of her journey thus far, “Life has not always been easy, but then, God didn’t say it would be. God did promise to give us strength to continue the journey even when it seems impossible, even when we are afraid, even when we aren’t sure where God is leading us.  And so, I look forward to our journey together.”

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