From Revd Tom Benson

Dear friends,

Well what a Summer………hotter than 1976, a (slightly) less successful World Cup than 1966, hosepipe bans, and for some people the reality of wildfires. It has been a challenge for all of us and especially our farming communities who are having to cope with so many climactic changes.

September traditionally feels to me more like the start of the new year than January. It is of course a time of new beginnings with the start of the school year, and a time when activities and events resume after the summer break.

There is something rather satisfying about September. The days are still often warm, but there is a noticeable change in the air. The mornings have a little more chill in them, the evenings are drawing in, and the hedgerows are beginning to show their autumn colours. 

September is also now recognised in the Church of England as a Season of Creation, a time to reflect on God as the giver and sustainer of all life. That seems particularly appropriate in a rural parish. We are surrounded every day by reminders of the extraordinary generosity of God: the changing fields, the birdsong, and the abundance of the hedgerows.

The autumnal equinox falls on 22nd of September this year, when day and night are roughly equal. It is a good reminder that the seasons keep turning, and that when things are difficult they will not last forever. There’s a well-known Jewish tale about King Solomon asking for a device or ring that will make the sad man happy or the happy man sad and the inscription is simply this – ‘This too shall pass’.

It is no accident that the Church gives us the season of Harvest at this time. Harvest is not simply an excuse for decorating the church with vegetables, flowers and sheaves of corn. It is an opportunity to stop and say thank you.

Thank you for the rain and sunshine, for the soil and the seed, for farmers and farm workers, for those who grow and produce our food, and for the many ordinary things which we can so easily take for granted.

So, as September begins, perhaps we might pause for a moment. Before we rush on to the next thing, let us give thanks for the summer that has been, and for the God who remains faithful through every changing season.

God bless, Tom