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July & August 26

Dear Friends,

 As summer arrives and the long, light evenings stretch out before us, my thoughts turn to rest. It’s a something we often don’t make room for in today’s busy world. Our diaries fill quickly, and the idea of simply stopping can feel alien. Yet rest is right at the heart of the Christian story.

In the very first pages of the Bible, we read that God rested on the seventh day – not because he was tired, but to give us a rhythm of work and rest for us to share in. Later, when Jesus’ disciples returned from their travels tired and busy, he said to them, ‘come away to a quiet place and rest a while.’ He understood that even those doing good and important work need time to be restored.

Summer offers many of us that slower pace. Perhaps it’s a holiday somewhere new, or simply a slower morning spent in the garden. Perhaps it’s time with family and friends, a good book, or a gentle walk through the countryside around our village. Rest looks different for each of us, but it does the same precious thing: it rejuvenates us, body and soul, and reminds us that our worth never depended on how much we achieve.

At St Giles, our doors remain open throughout the summer, and you would be very welcome to join us – whether for worship, for a moment of quiet, or simply for some good company. The church is a peaceful place to pause on a warm afternoon, on a hot is literally the coolest place in the village!

So as the season slowly unfolds, I wonder how God might be inviting you to rest, to be restored, and to return refreshed for whatever lies ahead?

With my prayers and best wishes,

Rev’d Christie