Dear Friends and Parishioners,
After the hot weather of the last couple of months, temperatures have
dropped to a more normal level at the start of September. We have
even seen some rain! And it has brought relief to parched plants and
trees. I suspect that there will have been a few casualties but
nature, given to us by our Father God, has a wonderful way of
bringing plants back to life.
Appropriately, in September we began the Season of Creation, and this
continues until 4th October, St Francis Day. It is an
idea shared with the Orthodox church, bringing churches and
congregations together to pay attention to our shared responsibility
to the earth and everything that lives on it. The theme for 2026 is
living water, which links to the image of God’s life-giving water
flowing from the temple of God, restoring barren land, reviving
waters, and sustaining flourishing ecosystems, outlined in Ezekiel
47.
It is a reminder to us that we should not take nature completely for
granted. You do not need to look far to see evidence of the
ecological damage in our world. Whatever our belief, we need to
safeguard our natural world and work to protect and renew creation.
It is no coincidence that the natural world can be part of healing
prescribed by the medical profession – the opportunity to work with
growing plants can lift spirits and show something positive, as
leaves grow and flowers or fruit gradually appear. And we will be
able to celebrate our crops in our harvest festival this month.
It is also useful to pause to appreciate and give thanks for those people
who provide us with our food – many farmers and fishermen work long
hours in challenging conditions to harvest their produce.
This month we enter the last quarter of the year. It is too soon to think
about winter – first we have the prospect of the yellows and reds of
autumn and the delightful crunch of dry leaves underfoot. The high
temperatures caused some of this to happen early this year for some
trees, but hopefully cooler months will give them a chance to
recover.
Perhaps we also feel in need of some recovery. Busy summer months can be
exhausting for parents with young (and not-so-young) children. Back
to school in a new school year can have the challenge of new
clothes, new teachers and changing friendships, but hopefully this
will have settled down by October.
Amidst our busyness, it is good to take some time, even a few minutes, to
appreciate our natural world, whatever the season.
A walk around our garden, or
a green space such as a local wood, gives us a breather and a chance
to be closer to nature. There is a creator, our Father God, who can
be close to us if we wish. As the seasonal cycle continues, always
with something to see and to look forward to, with the excitement of
reviewing seed catalogues to come, let us pause to say thank you to
God for all that He has given us, from seeds to sow, to fruit and
vegetables to harvest. Saying thank you to Him feels like the right
thing to do. Amen.
With every blessing,