Mid-Week Joy 23rd June 2021
Summer is here!
Some might dispute that - If you’ve looked at the weather forecast this week it has mostly been described as ‘changeable’. Perhaps I’m cynical but for me that’s a euphemism for rainy and certainly cloudy. That said after a very miserable and wet month of May, we have had a predominantly dry June and even though the sun hasn’t been scorching it has been mild and we’ve even had some warm days to get out and enjoy our local scenery.
From a astronomical point of view this week is of special for a couple of reasons;
Firstly, on Monday it
was the summer solstice. For us in the north, on this day we experience the maximum number
of hours sunlight with 16 hours, 38 minute and 21 seconds in total. For those
interested in the astronomy behind it, this is caused because the tilt of the North
Pole towards the sun is at its maximum position.
Often associated with druids and
paganism, the summer solstice is sometimes referred to as ‘midsummer's day’. However, from a meteorological perspective it is fact the first day of summer,
so hopefully we have plenty of days of sunshine to look forward to in coming
weeks.
This time is also seen by many as
the triumph of light over the dark and as Christians we can perhaps associate this with Jesus
coming as the light of the world. John’s Gospel makes several references to this as do the Gospels:
John 8: 12” I am the light of the
world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of
life.
John 12:46 “I have come into the
world as a light, so that no one who believe in me should stay in darkness”.
John 1:14 “In him was life, and
that was the light of all mankind.”
What better time is there to give thanks to God that he gave us Jesus to shine as a light in our lives. Whether by coincidence or not,
the summer solstice also marks the feast day of John the Baptist and many
churches will celebrate this on Sunday
Also, this week on Thursday, if
it’s not too cloudy you may be able to see the Strawberry moon. It is a full
moon that will be a hazy amber colour and is so close to the earth that it is
sometimes classed as a super moon because it appears much larger than usual. It
is referred to as a strawberry moon for no better reason than it associated
with the time of year that strawberries come into to season.
COVID update:
The summer solstice may be remembered by some as the ‘Freedom date’ when the government were hoping to relax more of the restrictions on the 'road-map out of lockdown'. Unfortunately, as we know that has been postponed but the good news is that we can still continue to worship at St. Thomas’ in a safe and socially distanced way.
Almighty God, who created the earth and the heavens,
Who put the sun, the moon and stars in the sky.
We give you thanks for the wonders in our world.
May we rejoice with the angels in heaven,
and praise your glorious name.
Help us to follow the path of light
and be a shining example
by sharing your love with others.
In Jesus name we ask.
Amen
Twitter story
Whilst I was in my study this week,
our son came in and said he’d found an injured bird in the road that was struggling
to fly. It was a baby blue tit and did indeed look very sorry for itself.
We thought at first that it had a broken wing, but after closer inspection I saw that its legs were badly entwined with waste plastic and string which in turn had got twisted together with grass and moss. After very carefully managing to snip the rubbish free with some tiny scissors it managed to perk up and we quickly returned it back to near where it was found as it sang and chirruped away to attract it’s parent who quickly appeared.
Whilst this story thankfully had
a happy ending, it should be noted that it is not good practice to move young fledglings
if you find them. When they initially leave the nest, they are not competent
fliers for a short while and can often be seen in the undergrowth where they
continue to be fed by the parents until they have built up the strength in their
wings. If you move them for any length of time the parents will stop looking for them.
Last week I shared a photo of a busy bee contrasting it’s bright colours against the background of red poppy. So this week I thought it would be nice to see a bee against the vibrant blue background of a cornflowers in the churchyard.
Enjoy the spectacular art and contrast of nature that God gives us to see free of charge.
Note:
The pictures, and content in this post are free from copyright, so please feel
free to share with whoever you wish.
