The Church Has Left the Building

Rev. Amy Miracle

Acts 2:1-21  |  May 24, 2026

Broad Street Presbyterian Church
Columbus, Ohio

Worship on Pentecost Sunday should be interesting. The first Pentecost was interesting. There was fire and wind and people speaking in languages they didn’t know. That first Pentecost was anything but boring. It was full of color and sound. It was loud. It was exciting.

So, we worship leaders should try to make Pentecost interesting. Red orange and yellow ribbons are popular. So are red balloons. There is a lot of creativity out there. Some churches eat birthday cake on Pentecost because this day is considered to be the birthday of the church.

I read about a church that plans to have flame shaped pieces of red netting coming down from the ceiling all over the worship space. Fans will blow on the netting so that it moves over the congregation’s heads. At the same church, the baptismal font, draped in red, will have an artificial flame coming out of it created from a mixture of rubbing alcohol and Epson salt that evidently produces a red flame. It sounds like that church is going to have an exciting Pentecost service.

At my last church we had something that we called a dove on a stick. It was a paper mâché dove that was attached to the end of a long pole. The pole has some bend in it so we could make it swoop over people’s heads as you carry it down the aisle. The dove is one of the symbols for the Holy Spirit and we always brought it out on Pentecost, and it sure added some pizzazz to the service.

Look around. No balloons, no banners, no dove on a stick, no birthday cake, no red netting, no artificial flame. We don’t even have the choir.

How can we possibly do justice to the spirit of Pentecost?

The truth is that we aren’t missing anything. Pentecost isn’t about what happens inside the church. It’s about what happens out in the world. Think about that first Pentecost. It takes place during a harvest festival that brings Jews from all over the civilized world to the temple in Jerusalem. It is one of three obligatory feast days, so everyone is there. The city is packed full of smells and sounds; Jerusalem is pulsating with energy. People are out on the street, eating, singing, talking in their own languages. Everyone is out on the street. Except for the followers of Jesus. They are inside.

Before Jesus ascends, he promises that God will send his Holy Spirit. So, the disciples sit in a room and wait to see if God will make good on God’s promises. They don’t go outside. They stay inside – isolated
and worried.

I think about the early days of the pandemic. The state of Ohio was in lockdown. We were not supposed to go anywhere. Except for occasional forays to get groceries we stayed at home. Isolated. Worried. We
can relate to the disciples on Pentecost morning.

That first Pentecost, there were no balloons, no dove on a stick, no banners, no birthday cake. Just a bunch of scared people in a room. And then the Spirit gets hold of them. The Spirit enters into them, and
they find themselves able to communicate with all those folks who are there for the festival.

The Spirit gets a hold of the church and the followers of Jesus leave that room and they never look back.

I reread the passage several times to pinpoint the exact moment when the church walks outside and into the world. The passage doesn’t reveal that. At the start of the day the church is inside; by the end of the
day there is no doubt that the followers of Jesus are out in the world. It’s as though the walls of the house that they are staying in dissolve – the barrier that separates insiders from outsiders disappears.

The church goes outside that day – sharing good news, healing, teaching, feeding, inviting others into community. The Book of Acts tells the story of how the church continues and deepens that work. It isn’t
easy – there are lots of debates and arguments about how to do this work, but the church never wavers from its commitment to being out in the world.

“Elvis has left the building!” is a phrase that was often used by public address announcers following Elvis Presley concerts to disperse audiences who lingered in hopes of another Elvis encore. It was first
used by promoter Horace Lee Logan on December 15, 1956. Since then, the phrase has entered into the pop culture lexicon.

On Pentecost, the church leaves the building. According to Pentecost the church needs to leave the building in order to be the church.

I want to talk this morning about one of the most important ways in which the church leaves this building: money. At Broad Street, at this time of year, people give us money and for the next 12 months,
it leaves the building in the form of rental assistance and food. In 2025, 1.5 million dollars left the building in the form of rental assistance. In 2025, your dollars enabled us to provide food to 65,303
people. All of that food left the building.

We are in the final days of our Neighborhood Ministry campaign. We are currently short of our $400,000 goal. A generous donor has offered to match every dollar given between now and next
Sunday, up to $100,000. Since we announced that match a week ago, you all have given $80,000. Which means we need an additional $20,000 to take full advantage of this match.

None of that money will go to maintain this 77,000 square foot building. None of it will pay for my salary or the salaries of staff who shape worship. This money goes to our neighbors in the form of food,
rental assistance, and tutoring supplies and so much more. This money leaves the building.

This church has left the building stuff is not just about church sponsored activities. It’s about taking God’s love into every corner of our lives. No matter what challenges and situations we face, we have the
opportunity to be the church. In our workplace. In our home life. We can try to be the best parent, sibling, co-worker, friend, citizen that we can be. Every week we have the opportunity to do the
kingdom work of showing compassion to our family, neighbors, and friends, caring for God’s creation, being generous with our time, energy, and money.

I’m betting that for most of us, in any given week at some point in those seven days we come face to face with someone who is hurting, someone who is overwhelmed, someone who is afraid, someone
whose heart is breaking. And we have the opportunity to stop and listen to that person with all of the patience and compassion that God has put in us. God does God’s best work outside the church building.

Through us.

On this Pentecost 2026, we don’t have any banners. We have a food pantry. No dove on a stick. We have a rental assistance program. No red balloons. We have our hands and feet, eyes, and ears.

I don’t really have an ending for this sermon. This sermon is going to continue to be written as you all leave this church in order to be the church. This sermon is going to continue to be written by you as you
leave this building and go out into the world – in your workplace, in your home life, in your community – Monday through Saturday.

Leave the church…. So, you can be the church.

Amen.