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Hi, I'm Richard England, Vicar of Crofton Parish
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Today is Pentecost Sunday, sometimes called Whitson. It used to be quite a celebration in our communities
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People would dress up and there would be local processions and parades. I went to spoke with an older Yorkshire lady who told me about the Whitson celebrations she remembered as a child
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She would always get a new white dress, which she had to keep clean, and the community would hold wit walks and fairs
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Why is Pentecost or Whitson important to Christians? Jesus said that he would give the Holy Spirit to his followers
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as a friend, a companion, a guide along the way of life
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It's that gift that we remember on Pentecost Sunday. Sometimes we can think of God as distant or austere
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perhaps even disinterested in our daily lives. But on Pentecost Sunday, we remember that the same God who made everything
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wants to be with us every day. He is infinite yet intimate with us by the Holy Spirit
