Merry? Happy? What Do You Say on Pentecost?

The Best Traditional Greeting is Hiding in Plain Sight!

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What Do You Say on Pentecost?

We say Merry Christmas without thinking.
We offer up a “Happy Easter” or “He is Risen! with joy.
We even say “Have a Holy Lent” or “Have a Blessed Advent”.

But what do we say on Pentecost?

Inquiring minds want to know…

What’s the greeting for the third great feast of the Church year? No one really knows.

Pentecost doesn’t come with greeting cards or brunch menus or pastel colors. Just red vestments, wind and fire, a rush of speech, and an upper room full of people waiting for something they couldn’t explain and didn’t deserve.

💡But I thought of something this morning that makes perfect sense. It could be a trend. You already know it. It comes trippingly off the tongue, too.

And it is thoroughly Anglican.

We do have a Pentecost greeting. We’ve been saying it all along. It’s hiding in plain sight. We see each other and say with a handshake, a huge, or a wave:

“The Lord be with you.”

And the other person says in response.

“And also with you.”

That’s the greeting. That’s Pentecost.

Perfect, right?

Genius? Well, not really, but close! Pentecost means the Lord is with you—no longer just above or beside, but within. Christ has ascended, and the Spirit has descended, not in theory, but in fire. In language. In purpose. In you.

You’re welcome!

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The rest of this post is for paid subscribers to The Anglican. In it, I reflect more deeply on Pentecost as the Church’s “Tool Shower,” and explore the three ways the Holy Spirit equips us for life and mission: personally, publicly, and prophetically. I’ve also included the heart of my Pentecost sermon notes, which I’ll preach this Sunday at St. Stephen’s in Hurst.

To read the full post and support this work, consider becoming a paid subscriber. You’ll receive access to future sermon notes, theological essays, writing resources, and more.

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🔒 Have You Had a Pentecost? (Paid Subscriber Content)

Twenty-five years ago, my oldest son did the smartest thing he’d done up to that point: he married Stacy.

The women in both families dove into wedding prep with joy—showers, receptions, photos, and all the little details that make the day beautiful. But the men? We felt a little sidelined. Not excluded exactly—just… uninvited to the excitement.

So we planned something of our own.

We threw a party. A manly one. No floral arrangements. No cucumber sandwiches. Just men, gathered in my garage.