The summer holidays are upon us – it’s part of the rhythm of life. Of course not everything stops in the summer, the usual juggling of work and family and finance does continue but somehow the pace eases and the long days, fresh air and being outside all help.

Way back when, children finished school not to sleep-in but to help by working hard to harvest and gather in the food, so this would have been a time of hard work (parents may well think that now, with children at home!) – whole families would travel to pick strawberries or hops in the southeast, or help with local harvests wherever they lived…

There is a time for everything – a season for every activity under heaven!

It’s all part of the ebb and flow of life. Routine and space. Breaks, moments when daily patterns shift. For all of us, our childhood and teen years were marked by summers – the end of one school year saying goodbye, finishing exams, etc. The summer which would always lie ahead with promise of sunshine, ice cream, water and friends – it often rained too (but never in my memories)!! Then as summer drew to a close there was the getting ready time – school shoes, buying stationery, a fresh start, milestones like moving to secondary school and making new friends – nervous but exciting too. A rhythm in our lives.

The word Holiday comes from ‘Holy Day’, which I think makes sense! Holidays – days which punctuate the year helping us to stop, reflect, take stock, celebrate what is good and be thankful. Days that help us let go of what was and begin to look forward to what lies ahead. Time when we may hear a little of God’s story which helps us to reflect on our own and what that might mean to us; to know and appreciate the goodness of God in our lives.

One of my favourite books of the Bible is Ecclesiastes – it’s a book about how life is and it’s a book of wisdom – I love the very famous reading that was once made into a popular song – ‘To Everything There is a Season (Turn, turn, turn)’ by the Byrds. You’ll know it – a time to be born, a time to die… A time to mourn, a time to dance.

The times and seasons of our lives, the beginnings and the endings and all that is in between somehow mysteriously contained in God. He has set eternity in the hearts of people – the joys and sorrows, the hopes and fears. I feel that the summer is the kind of time when we can stop and rest a little and give thanks – for many people it’s hard to know where that thanks should go. A Christian writer, Ann Voskamp, once said; ‘Faith is knowing who to thank!’

So enjoy the summer and the harvest, delight in the good things and the good days, and when you’re not sure how to express the season you find yourself in, giving thanks to the creator of the world – the one who loves you and makes everything beautiful in its time – is a great way to start!

In September at St Peters Church, we are marking the start of the new school year with Back to School Sunday: 8th September. We will be praying for all the children starting school for the first time and everyone going back to school – with fun activities for children – please come and join us at 10.00am.

Messy Church
22nd September at 4.00pm
Craft, story, food and fun for all the family.

Harvest service
29th September at 10.00am
When we bring gifts of food to share in the Community Pantry. Bring something you would want to eat – it’s a time to be thankful for what God has given us.

Ecclesiastes 3

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace…
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.