Day 3

This is not the blog it was intended to be. There are supposed to be pictures, but unfortunately the card in the camera somehow wiped itself clean, so there is nothing other than my words.

Today is Rogation Day, the day when traditionally people walked around their parish boundaries, reading scripture and praying for a good harvest. In most places this has fallen out of fashion, though I know a few places in the Church of England where it still happens.

This morning, quite co-incidentally, I was asked to bless a horse in Nasonworth and further along the road we had a chance to chat with a couple, with a dog, and get a photograph of the biggest bleeding heart I have ever seen in anyone's yard. The technical difficulties with the camera mean that these things will have to be left to your imagination.

Both yesterday evening and today I have been reflecting on creation. To care for the natural world is the basis of the fifth mark of mission. Before the Industrial Revolution people were much more aware of the interconnectedness between them, the world of plants and animals and the role that God played in all of this. Today we are at a much greater distance than ever from recognizing the roles that nature and God play in our lives.

As we pass through Rogationtide, perhaps it is time for us to spend time thinking about these things - considering our role as part of the whole of creation and the designated stewards of all that God has made.