Dear friends,
It’s July next week (how did that happen?), and it’s already been hot. I discovered this week that “dog days”, those long hot days when we just want to do nothing, are actually a thing. Dog Days are 3 July to 11 August, when Sirius, the Dog Star, is the brightest star in the sky.
I found this out from “The Celtic Wheel of the Year” by Tess Ward, a book that April introduced me to, and which gives new prayers based on Celtic spirituality for each month of the year. Its focus is to notice the presence of God in all things and to see our lives as spiritual journeys, “as we walk our way into the heart of God, enfolded in all Love every day of our lives”. What a lovely image.
The July section of the book also talks about holidays, a word derived from “Holy Days” as many will know. Many of us will be thinking of holidays right now. And whether we are contemplating a bucket and spade week at the beach, flying off to somewhere exotic or staying at home, we all need time to relax and to put aside our busy-ness. You might like to call it a Sabbath. May I heartily recommend the wonderful Breathe Space run by Daphne on Saturday mornings as the perfect time step out of our busy lives and listen to God. The next one is in September, so in the meantime, why not slow down in the heat, notice God in our lives and be restored.
Some words from Tess Ward:
Blessed be you Heart of the Silent Nothingness,
Who does not call us into ceaseless activity,
But bids us come rest awhile.
Praise to you for making rest part of the rhythm,
For knowing the sacredness of stand-still,
And knowing my need to do nothing.
For the heart of all activity in the world lies the still point.
…
May the fullness of God be in my stopping awhile.
Yours unhurriedly,
Wendy
Wendy Neale, Churchwarden