TRANSITIONS ~ A reflection by our Team Curate, Rev Hannah Lane
As I sit writing in my office it is mid-June and the weather is the hottest we’ve had all year. In fact, it is hotter than we’d usually expect it to be in June! We’ve transitioned from what felt like quite a long Winter and Spring into Summer in the blink of an eye, but I wonder how long it will last?
This time of year brings all sorts of transitions; academically we’re coming to the end of the year and our children and young people are preparing to move into their next phase of education. They are taking exams, preparing for college and university. Or they are coming to the end of their primary school career and looking ahead to ‘big school’ in September. Other transitions include the move from the Winter Wardrobe into a Summer Wardrobe, the heat forces us to dress differently and our habits change. Long days with early mornings and late nights prompt a change in attitude, no longer does it feel ‘too late in the day’ to start a project at 4pm and we’re not as keen to settle down and get comfy for an evening in front of the TV when it is still light outside…
In our churches we have experienced transition too. We’ve moved from the excitement of the Easter Season, with all its celebrations, through Ascension and on to Pentecost and the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Disciples in Jerusalem and finally Trinity, where we celebrated God in trinity: Father, Son and Spirit. It is quite a ride through all these events one after another. Now we settle back into Ordinary time, named for the ordinal numbers that we use to mark the weeks.
We may think that the Church and faith is just about the big celebrations we know and love, those that come round each year and those life events which will only happen occasionally. But our faith is like life, ordinary. We’re asked to give our ‘ordinary’ to God each day. Romans 12 says: So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him
The move into Ordinary time, the transitions we experience externally and the different pace of life that goes along with summer all give us an opportunity to reflect. To gather our thoughts and take stock. If we’ve got children around us then the holidays offer the perfect chance to review, adapt and think about our routines. Our life is predominantly lived in ordinary-ness, and in ordinary time. As we live through this transition period from season to season I wonder if you might take time out to think about what your ‘ordinary’ looks like? Does it include those moments for contemplation, reflection and an opportunity to step into your spirituality? Where are those opportunities? Maybe joining a new congregation to see what it is like could be just the transition you need!