From the Rectory

We know all about the rhythms of the seasons as we move from winter into spring, but following the rhythms of the liturgy, the church has moved on from the birth stories of Jesus in Christmas and Epiphany towards the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus in Lent and Easter.Sitting in the turning point between Epiphany and Lent is Candlemas (one of my favourite services of the year). The presentation of Christ in the Temple, to give Candlemas its full title occurs in the northern hemisphere on 2nd February. It is a turning point in the year, falling as it does halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Timed to supersede the pagan festival of Imbolc, it is when the first signs of spring are just becoming evident, when days are getting perceptibly longer, and the darkest nights of winter are falling away.Candlemas bells (or snowdrops) pop up all over our churchyards and garden borders. They are such beautiful, delicate flowers and lift the spirits as the first sign of spring. I recently heard the legend of the snowdrop: According to legend, when Adam and Eve were ejected from the Garden of Eden, as they trudged out into the snow, holding hands and shivering with cold and despair, an angel took pity on them. Breathing gently on the falling snowflakes, the angel transformed them into snowdrops, whispering to Eve that these fragile flowers, the first to bloom in the cold depths of winter, would be a reminder of brighter days to come, and a reassurance that it would not be winter for ever. How reassuring is that!As we read the papers and watch the news, I hear so often such statements as ‘it’s frightening, isn’t it?’, ‘I don’t know what is happening to our world’. The simple beauty of the snowdrop, flowering in what we regard as the depth of winter cold and darkness, gives us a glimpse of hope and a celebration of light before the dark purple of Lent takes up the rhythm of the seasons.So, let us give thanks to God for all the beauty of His creation and do our part to nurture and sustain it.Look out for what is happening in our churches over the Lent and Easter period, and come and join us.