Wednesday, June 4, 2025
MUSINGS June 4, 2025
Andrew Hight | Family Ministry Coordinator
Summer weather is finally here! (Well, at least for this week.) We’re in the home stretch of the year for our kids’ programming, and what better way to kick it off than with Pentecost this Sunday — which, in my opinion, is one of the most fun Sundays of the year! Fire, balloons, cupcakes… it’s a birthday party for the church! What more could a kid ask for?
Amidst all the celebration, we’ll pause to remember what Pentecost truly marks: the birth of the early church. The Spirit came down like wind and tongues of flame, and Peter — yes, that Peter, who once sank while walking on water and denied even knowing Jesus — stood up and preached. Thousands were baptized in Jerusalem that day. It’s a powerful story of transformation, and as always, we’ll make it meaningful and memorable for the kids.
The following week, June 15th, we wrap up our program year with Going Through the Gates — our annual tradition at St. Andrew’s that recognizes children’s growth and accomplishments through promotion. The Gates themselves remain a bit of a mystery. No one seems to know exactly how they got into the building or who started the tradition. Even Rev. Dr. Finlay Stewart’s daughter, Jo Ann, has no idea — just that they’ve always been there.
While our archives haven’t revealed the origin of the Gates, Sunday school records from as far back as 1912 show that promotion and the presentation of Bibles used to happen on Rally Sunday (the first Sunday back after summer). By the 1950s, these celebrations shifted to June, and it was around that time that Edward Johnstone, then music director, introduced the solo “Open the Gates for the Dear Little Feet” — a simple hymn we still sing today.
So whether it’s September or June, with or without the actual Gates, this Sunday of recognition has been part of St. Andrew’s for over 100 years — and will always be something special.
As we head into summer, I’m reminded of a picture book I love: Summer by Alice Low (1963). It follows two kids and their dog as they soak up the simple joys of summer — swimming, riding bikes, catching butterflies and fireflies, eating watermelon and ice cream, and ending their day atop a haystack under the stars. The book closes with these words:
We let the fireflies go away.
The moon is out.
It lights our way.
We hear the horse
go clop-clop-clop.
Our pup goes
fast asleep on top.
We stay awake
and think of things...
the happy things
that summer brings!
Here’s to a joyful, Spirit-filled Pentecost… and all the happy things that summer brings.
Warm regards,
Andrew Hight | Family Ministry Coordinator