July feels like the very heart of the British summer. It brings some of our most treasured traditions: the excitement of Wimbledon, the roar of the Formula 1 cars at Silverstone, and the beautiful music of the BBC Proms. Schools break up for the summer, exams are behind us, and many of us look forward to a slower pace of life. We hope for warm sunshine and long evenings. Gardens come alive, barbecues are lit, pub gardens fill with conversation and washing flutters on the line instead of drying indoors. Walking boots may be exchanged for trainers, and perhaps, just perhaps, the raincoat can stay at home for a few days. There is something wonderfully simple about summer that invites us to appreciate life's everyday blessings. In a world that often feels busy and demanding, July offers an opportunity to notice what is around us and to reconnect with God through the beauty of creation. The Psalmist writes: "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24) These words remind us that every day is a gift from God. Whether we are enjoying a family holiday, tending the garden, watching sport, sharing food with friends, or simply sitting in the sunshine, God is present in those moments. The sights, sounds, and joys of summer can draw our hearts towards gratitude and wonder. As we make the most of all that this British summer has to offer, may we keep our eyes open to God's blessings and our hearts attentive to His presence. God Bless, Rev Emma
This June, I find myself thinking a lot about gardens—and weddings. With six ceremonies ahead this year, and 35 years of marriage behind me, it feels as though both are part of the same quiet work: tending, noticing, returning, and letting things grow in their own time. The passage from the Gospel of John that often carries the heading “Love in Action” has stayed with me. It reminds me that love is never static. It moves, it responds, it is pruned and replanted through the ordinary days of life. In the same way, gardening is never just planting once and walking away—it is attention, patience, and the willingness to keep showing up. Marriage, too, feels like that kind of work. Not dramatic or distant, but rooted in small daily acts of care that slowly shape a shared life. And in every wedding I witness, there is that same quiet promise: that love will be lived out, not just spoken. There is something comforting in the thought that we are not asked to perfect love, only to practise it. As John reminds us, “Love one another” is not an abstract idea but a lived reality—worked out in ordinary time, in ordinary hands. And perhaps that is the gentle joy of it all: love, like a garden, is never finished. It is simply tended. “Love is not static; it grows where it is tended.” Happy June Reverend Emma x
