Giving away some Whit sunshine

Ask any Sheffielder over a certain age about Whitsunday. It may not ring a bell if you’re under the age of 50, but for others it was one of the highlights of the year, second only to Christmas for its celebrations. The city’s churches, uniformed organisations like the Boys and Girls’ Brigade, Scouts and Guides took to the streets and parks to mark the Christian festival, and simply to have a great time.

The Well Sheffield meets in a former Methodist building. Many times I have heard our older local residents reminisce about the huge Whit marches: parades through their local neighbourhood, with banners held high and brass bands blazing. Thousands would flock to our large local parks like Endcliffe. There would be the ‘Whit Sing’ as choirs entertained, followed by races, games and a big "tea".

For children it meant shopping for new clothes, always a treat for a young person, especially in the post-war austerity years. Spring bank holiday was traditionally held around Whitsun time and was 2 weeks long (don’t tell today’s school children) in Sheffield to allow for all the Whit celebrations.

So when Whitsuntide came around this year, just a couple of weeks ago, one church decided to throw a party like the old days, for the local neighbourhood whether they had a faith or not. Of course, with COVID restrictions it looked different in 2021.

Whitsun is another name for Pentecost, the day in the Bible that Christ’s disciples felt the descent of the Holy Spirit on them.

STC, a thriving multi-age, multi-ethnic church in Crookes wanted to represent the theme of light, fire and power of God’s Holy Spirit. They created a big give away in the village square, offering 500 free eco-friendly helium balloons (tied with biodegradable twine) to passers-by. They gave away packets of extra-large sunflower seeds with a message to encourage folk to plant them locally and watch the bright, happy plants grow up.

There is always the opportunity of an awareness of God’s presence, light and life growing in our lives. Rather like a sunflower, we can turn our face to the son, Jesus.

The parades may have stopped, but now more than ever our city needs to hear that there is hope, that community spirit counts, that there is deep meaning to life. I hope those sunflowers shine this summer.

Photo by Tim Cooper on Unsplash