The season of creation
On 1st September, the Church of England celebrated Saint Giles, a hermit who lived in the seventh century in Provence. My wife and I have recently returned from a holiday in France but we did not manage to get as far as Provence – a good reason to go again and try to visit the birthplace of St Giles and the area in which he ministered. I remember with affection St Giles from my first days at a small Church of England Primary School. The village church was dedicated to St Giles and on Ascension Day the whole school – some 20 in number – would attend a short service at St Giles’s Church and after the service we would have the rest of the day as a holiday. Perhaps it may be the day off from school which remains more in my memory!
In the Northern hemisphere, Autumn begins on 1st September, whereas for our friends in the Southern half of the globe it is the beginning of Spring. The late Pope Francis declared 1st September as a World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and in the Anglican Church we mark the Season of Creation from now until 4th October, the feast day of St Francis of Assisi. I am sure that we all appreciate the need for the human race to take care of the created order if there is to be a world for future generations. This is a task that should engage all of us: we cannot simply shrug shoulders and say that this is a task for others.
I came across a simple two-line observation a while ago. It reads: “Sitting still and wishing never made a person great: the Good Lord sends the fishing but we have to dig the bait.” In other words, we all have our part to play in bringing others to faith both by our words and our actions. The same is true in the world of ringing for we need to reach out to help and encourage others to learn and progress.
Trevor Kirkman