Spirit in Our Midst

Flying over the majestic Rockies once more, en route to Vancouver from the other side of the continent, I had a sense of elation. It was not only about returning to beautiful British Columbia once again, nor the anticipation of seeing old and new friends. I was simply delighted by the prospect of joining other thinkers and seekers as we prepared for a mutual encounter at the Cork Lectures this past August. There is something uniquely wonderful about gathering to ponder our faith, to look for the words to describe our experiences and intuitions, and to wrestle with Scripture to find the revelation that God has in store for us. I am so grateful to have been invited to come to VST and St. Andrew’s Hall to share in this strange, splendid work of theology, which is a vital, communal project among God’s people. 

My theme was “The Holy Spirit and the Christian Life.” The Holy Spirit is a theological topic that interests a great many of us not least because She (the Spirit) is a little harder for us to describe and theologize about, despite frequent feelings and experiences of the Spirit in our midst. Within my own tradition, The United Church of Canada, the Holy Spirit is “popular”—well received, well regarded, and the frequent subject of prayers and songs. Yet substantial theological investigation of the Spirit has been infrequent in the 100 years since our formation. So, I set out to study not only what the United Church has said about the pneumatology (the study of the Holy Spirit), but what other United and Uniting Churches around the world have said. There are about 40 such churches, from Australia to Zambia, from the United Kingdom to the Solomon Islands, from Japan to Germany, Canada, the United States, India, and many more nations.

Through gifts like wisdom, reconciliation, leadership, and many more, the Holy Spirit enables the Church to be part of this transformation.

As it turns out, in many United and Uniting Churches, there is simply not a great deal said about the Holy Spirit. Some borrow language from the ancient creeds; others turn to sources like the Westminster Confession for reference. Several have said nearly nothing, and a small handful have said something more sustained. Sorting carefully through these sources shows that Reformers like Calvin (and later, Wesley) remain influential. The Bible is still the primary source, norm, and point of reference—which comes as no surprise.

What can we say about the person and work of the Holy Spirit? Who is she and what does she do? These were the themes of the Cork lectures and are at the heart of my upcoming book, tentatively entitled, The Power of the Holy Spirit: Insights from the World’s United and Uniting Churches.

One of the features of the Holy Spirit that can take people by surprise is the deep unity of the Spirit with the Trinity—God who is three-in-one. The Spirit is not God’s instrument or helper. The Holy Spirit is God, fully one with the Trinity. Consequently, there is a close relationship between Christology and pneumatology. What we say about Jesus Christ implicates our understanding of the Spirit, and vice versa. But I also register a caution about traditional views of the Trinity as hierarchical in nature. Is it right, as much of historical theology has implied (or claimed openly) that the Father and the Son are “above” the Spirit in importance? I believe this is an error.

One of the arguments against a fixed hierarchy within the triune God is the problematic habit of drawing a parallel between the nature of humans and the nature of God. In other words, it is common to reflect on how God is like us, or how we are (or should be) like God. This is called the analogia entis—the “analogy of being.” A possible outcome of that comparison is to imagine, even if subconsciously and unintentionally, God the Father at the top of some kind of ladder or pyramid. Worse still, since Father and Son are exclusively male terms, does this imply that maleness is “above” femaleness? A second concern is the implication or assertion of any hierarchy at all. Why should one Person be “above” any other? Does this mean that it is right and good that some kinds of humans should naturally be above other kinds—e.g. one race over another? Again, this is an error. Hierarchical models for the Trinity are less pronounced or even ignored in United and Uniting perspectives.

Despite the powerful, persistent, and historical habit of identifying a hierarchy within the triune God, there is another and better option: equality. If we look closely, that model is present in older Christian traditions, here and there, as well as in modern and postmodern theologies. All the Divine Persons are equal: none stands over or governs the others. The idea of the Trinity as a “single, plural reality” might be helpful. I suggested this phrase to the Cork lecture participants. The Holy Spirit is fully one with the Trinity, but in that singleness, there is also plurality.   

And how about what the Holy Spirit does? There is so much to say here! The Holy Spirit’s special interest is in transformation: working within and through us to accomplish God’s purposes of a just, loving, holy world. Through gifts like wisdom, reconciliation, leadership, and many more, the Holy Spirit enables the Church to be part of this transformation. Inspiration, guidance, and sanctification are specific actions the Spirit takes (among others) to draw us into alignment with God’s plans and desires. Within the Church and beyond it, the Spirit is at work. 

Among the greatest of the Spirit’s gifts is consolation. In the midst of many troubles in our world, let us continue to pray for the Spirit to guide and sustain us, leading us toward reconciliation and unity, so that God’s will may indeed be done. Thank you once again for the opportunity to come to VST in summer 2025.

Rob Fennell is Associate Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax and an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada. A former Academic Dean and Acting President at AST, he holds a ThD from the University of Toronto. His teaching and research centre on hermeneutics, the Holy Spirit, pilgrimage, and congregational vitality. He founded Camino Nova Scotia and is the author of Camino Close to Home (2023), 31 Short Spiritual Practices (2021), and The Rule of Faith and Biblical Interpretation (2018).