![]() They shall fear thee, as long as the sun and moon endureth: from one generation to another. Melted and now flowed - Wendell Berry, 'June Wind', in Given: New Poems (2005).īerry's words bring to mind the Summer imagery of Psalm 72: And so we can gaze upon the landscape of Summer with a grateful joy and delight. The fasting and prayer of the Ember Days is a means of ensuring that we do not enter Summer without due preparation, without hearing the call to have heart and mind opened to the gifts bestowed in this season. The Whitsun Ember Days also prepare us to receive the blessings of summer, orienting us to receive these blessings in a spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving. Rightly, then, do we begin the season with prayer and fasting, mindful of our dependence on the gifts of summer, praying for the blessings of the season, not least the fair weather necessary for a fruitful season. Our dependence upon these finds particular expression in summer. with nature" urged by Prince Charles as an essential aspect of renewing our care for the environment, a recognition of our dependence upon the created order.Īt Whitsun Embertide, the long days of summer stretch before us, days of warmth, light, growth. Here, then, is a way of restoring that "harmony. As the seasons turn, our dependence upon land and weather, our relationship with day and night, finds expression in days given over to prayer and fasting, seeking blessing for the season that lies ahead. What the Prayer Book terms "The Ember Days at the Four Seasons" mark the beginning of each season with "Days of Fasting, or Abstinence". ![]() Today is the first of the Whitsun Ember Days, falling at the beginning of summer. ![]() Without it, nothing is sacred any more and we lose that fundamental understanding of the need for harmony - balance - with nature - HRH The Prince of Wales, The Telegraph Magazine, 9th June 2019. I don't know what it is, but I'd always felt that there was this interconnectedness in nature long ago. ![]()
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