On June 2, 2009, the Raven Foundation partnered with St. Nicholas Church in Evanston, Illinois to present James Alison, priest and theologian, on the topic, “A New Sort of Unity: Life in the Spirit and Imagining the Good.” James uncovered the message of the Gospel writers concerning the Holy Spirit in the Pentecost account in Acts 2:1-6 and the appearance story in John 20:19-23. The Holy Spirit is not described in those passages as something that is imposed upon us from on high to enable us to be behave better. Rather it is present as the creative power of God breathed into us so as to unbind us from the normal ways we form unity. The normal way of forming community through rivalry, expulsion and over-and-against identity is being undone through the Spirit of freedom which allows us to imagine the good that God has in store for us. A new unity is becoming possible around the presence of the risen Christ, the forgiving victim. To read more of James Alison’s work, visit http://www.jamesalison.co.uk/