Harvest and St Michael's Day.....or Michaelmas.
Dear Friends
This year St Michael's is combining its Harvest with St Michael's Day, and so on 25th September we are having a celebration Eucharist after which we invite everyone to a Bring and Share Lunch just as we did for the Platinum Jubilee.
As this is a special occasion we will also welcome The Revd Canon Thomas Woodhouse Chaplain, The Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy within the Duchy of Lancaster, Chaplain of the Royal Victorian Order, Deputy Priest-in-Ordinary to HM The Queen. So, this is to be a special Sunday for the community here, for the parish church and for our connection with Her Majesty the Queen! Please book the 11am Eucharist that day and come bringing some food to share as you have done before.
In a way this is building upon the wonderful community support that St Michaels received on the Jubilee weekend, when we held our first lunch in church. Eighty people came and spent a very happy time together and asked that we should do more to build up the community spirit of our area..so HERE GOES!!!
It might be of interest to explore the word MICHAELMAS.
Michaelmas, or the Feast of Michael and All Angels, is celebrated on the 29th of September. The day is associated with the beginning of autumn and the shortening of days; in England, it is one of the “quarter days” of which there are four in a year There is Lady Day (25th March), Midsummer (24th June), Michaelmas (29th September) and last of all Christmas (25th December)). They were the four dates on which servants were hired, rents due or leases begun. It used to be said that harvest had to be completed by Michaelmas, almost like the marking of the end of the productive season and the beginning of the new cycle of farming. It was the time at which land was exchanged and debts were paid. This is how it came to be for Michaelmas to be the time for electing magistrates and also the beginning of legal and university terms .I also remember seeing a special desk used for the receiving of payments by a land bailiff. It had drawers that stretched from one side to the other to make the transfer of cash easy.
St Michael is one of the principal angelic warriors, protector against the dark of the night and the Archangel who fought against Satan and his evil angels. As Michaelmas is the time that the darker nights and colder days begin – the edge of winter – the celebration of Michaelmas is associated with encouraging protection during these dark months. It was believed that negative forces were stronger in darkness and so families would require stronger defences during the later months of the year.
Traditionally, in the British Isles, a well fattened goose, fed on the stubble from the fields after the harvest, is eaten to protect against financial need in the family for the next year; and as the saying goes:
“Eat a goose on Michaelmas Day,
Want not for money all the year”.
You may remember that three years ago we had some goose at our Michaelmas celebrations!!
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The Prayer for Michaelmas Day
Everlasting God,
you have ordained and constituted the ministries of angels and mortals in a wonderful order:
grant that as your holy angels always serve you in heaven,
so, at your command,
they may help and defend us on earth;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever...Amen
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Do you remember being put to bed on a summer's evening?
Bed in Summer
In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.
I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.
And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?
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Readings for August and September
14th August.............Hebrews 11 v29- 12 v 2 Reader – Veronica Millward. Intercessions Nick Millward
28th August.............Hebrews 13 vv1-8 and 15 and 16 - Reader and Intercessions to be advised.
11th September.......1 Tim 1 vv12-17 Reader – John Alpe Intercessions Wendy Leeming
25th September HARVEST..........Reader Phil 4 vv4-9 Reader
Daniel Hughes
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We congratulate Elizabeth Leeming on achieving a First Class Honours for her BSc degree
Harvest Thoughts.
"Many attempt to harvest what was never planted."- Mason Cooley.
"Earth is… so kind… just tickle her... and she laughs with a harvest."- Douglas William Jerrold.
"You should first follow the plough if you want to dance the harvest jig."Ken Follett.
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A Holiday Prayer
Lord, it was You Who reminded Your own disciples that they needed to times of refreshment and from the stresses and strains of the day, and we thank You for this opportunity to enjoy different and new experiences. May our time away be one of warmth and love and filled with fun and fellowship. May our hearts overflow with Your joy and peace and may we fill our lungs with laughter.
Watch over our journey as we travel and protect us from all difficulties and dangers. May we rest in You and return refreshed in body soul and spirit to Your praise and glory. In Jesus' name we pray,
Amen.
Holy Matrimony
28th May - Thomas Robert Bradshaw/Hannah Elizabeth Dornan
11th June - Michael John Dewhurst/Kate Robinson
17th June - Martin Thomas Campy/Emma Louise Slater
18th June - Michael James Welham/Katie Egan
25th June - Alexander Garry Wilson/Katey Jasmine Jaques Gabrysch
2nd July - Ross Ashley Dovey/Victoria Louise Smith
9th July - Andrew Robert Alexander McPhie/Daniella Bennett
Funeral
5th July Ruth Leece
Our sympathy goes to the family
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