Today is St Swithin’s day. St Swithin was a very minor saint, whom we almost certainly would have forgotten long ago had it not been for a short poem about English summer weather: St. Swithin's day, if thou dost rain, For forty days it will remain; St. Swithin's day, if thou be fair, For forty days 'twill rain na mair*. *Na mair = no more Swithin was in fact the Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester and subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. He was consecrated bishop on 30 October 852 and remained in post until his death on 2 July 863. As bishop he was known for his piety and his desire to build new churches and restore old ones. At his request, King Æthelwulf gave a tenth of his royal lands to the Church. Swithin travelled on foot around his diocese, and when he gave a banquet he invited the poor rather than the rich. So why the link to the weather? Apparently on his deathbed Swithin begged that he should be buried outside the north wall of his Cathedral where passers-by should pass over his grave and raindrops from the eaves drop upon it. But on 15 July 971 his body was transferred inside the Cathedral, from its almost forgotten grave by the north wall, and a great storm ensued. According to folklore, his spirit was so outraged that it rained for 40 days. And why is he of interest to us here in Spain? Because of the rain. Swithin is regarded as one of the saints to whom one should pray in the event of drought! Picture above: St Swithin of Winchester, part of the Benedictional of St. Æthelwold, illuminated manuscript in the British Library Attribution: monk, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
This year there are 19 Sundays after Trinity taking us up to the end of October, so covering almost half the church's year. Everything really exciting in the life of Jesus - Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost - has already happened, in the year’s first half. But it is in this second half of the church's year that we start to understand what it means to be a Spirit-filled church. And to help us on the way we are going to remember some of the great characters who by their witness to the gospel in their own way in their own time had a big impact on the development of the church, in most cases the CHurch of England in particular. Saturday 28th June, 11:30am Holy Eucharist for SS Peter & Paul. Saturday 12th July, 11:30am Holy Eucharist for John Keble. Details Saturday 26th July, 11:30am Holy Eucharist for William Wilberforce. Details to follow Saturday 9th August, 11:30am Holy Eucharist for Mary Sumner. Details to follow Saturday 23th August, 11:30am Holy Eucharist for John Bunyan. Details to follow Saturday 13th September, 11:30am Holy Eucharist for Hildegard, Abbess of Bingen. Details to follow Saturday 27th September, 11:30am Holy Eucharist for Lancelot Andrewes. Details to follow Saturday 11th October, 11:30am Holy Eucharist for William Tyndall. Details to follow Saturday 25th October, 11:30am Holy Eucharist for James Hannington. Details to followClick here for a hymn to the saints.The picture above is the Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs by Fra Angelico, from the altar piece of San Domenico Church in Fiesole
Fr Louis has recommended we read the book, ‘Humbler Faith, Bigger God’ by Rev Dr Samuel Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the- Fields. Is Christianity just a fairy tale for the infantile? Or worse, a cruel fantasy - the perpetrator of terrible harm and the cause of endless conflict? Or at most, one path among many? Such questions reflect the scepticism of outsiders and the doubts of insiders - some perennial, some underscored by recent events and movements. The answer to these objections isn’t a louder faith to shout them down - it’s a humbler faith that points to a bigger God. Samuel Wells shows the way through his generous, respectful, and earnest engagement with ten difficult questions about Christianity. In each case he portrays the traditional position and the scepticism of the modern age as two rival stories. Transcending both, he then offers a revitalised Christian story that better renders the radical, courageous, and vulnerable nature of authentic faith. Sam is unwaveringly honest about the failures of the institutional church and acknowledges many people’s negative prior experiences of Christianity - making this a book for both Christians and non-Christians who have found the stories of their lives disrupted and now seek a fulfilling and truthful story to live by.Sam Wells has been Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London since 2012. He has served as a parish priest for 25 years – 10 of those in urban priority areas. He also spent 7 years in North Carolina, where he was Dean of Duke University Chapel. Sam’s book is available from Amazon here.
Music at St George's is delighted to present Francisco Palomo’s Jitterbug Jazz Band.They will be performing on Saturday 9 August at St George’s Church in the historic gardens of the English Cemetery in Málaga.This concert is part of our season of Summer Picnic Concerts. This means there will be a 45 minute intermission during which you can enjoy a picnic, walk round the cemetery, meet the performers or visit the bar where food is also available.The concert starts at 8pm. Gates and the bar are open from 7.15 pm. Tickets are €25 and can be booked here.Click here for our full programme of summer picnic concerts!
