Dear Friends,
This Sunday, the sixth Sunday of Easter, we will celebrate Rogation Day, the church’s original Earth Day!
On this day we ask for God’s blessing upon our land, planting, and harvests. In England, many parishes still “beat the bounds,” walking the boundaries of the parish, which encompass an entire village and surrounding areas or an entire neighborhood in a city, to remind themselves and pass down the knowledge of their land while asking God’s blessing on it and them. In our own Book of Common prayer, we have three prayers for the Rogation Days: for “fruitful seasons,” for “commerce and industry,” and for “stewardship of creation” (pp.258-59).
What I love about Rogation Days is the acknowledgment that all we have comes not only from our own hard work or intelligence or inheritance but first from the very hands of God. One way to practice this awareness and humility is to observe the Rogation Days, remembering to give thanks to God for this good earth that sustains our very lives and to ask forgiveness for the ways we take that gift for granted, even neglect or harm that gift. We can also ask for God’s help in caring for God’s creation, asking God to make us thoughtful and careful as we make consumer choices, plan our weekly menu, and make professional decisions.
Join us THIS Sunday at 10:30 in front of the church and join the Rogation procession, when we will walk our property, stopping to pray over and bless and give thanks for so much in our lives—our parish, pollinator gardens, our food pantry, and more! Be sure to bring your own gardening gloves, trowels, and other implements, which we will also bless on Sunday!
Then, plan to come to church on Thursday, May 14 at 7 pm for a service to celebrate the Feast of the Ascension. See the article below for more information about this feast (Hint: we’ve got to let Jesus ascend after the resurrection!).
See you on Sunday!
Faithfully, Suzanne+