Dear All,
We can’t go on pretending that we are still in summer for ever so today we are focussed on Autumn & we hope something of what we are attaching will help you look anew at this season & its beauty, as well as its promise of eventual spring again -the death & resurrection theme.
The blessing is ‘Deep Peace’ from ‘Sacred Pathways’ – let’s pray for each other & our families as we listen to this.
With love
An Autumn Psalm by Edward Hays
I am surrounded by a peaceful ebbing,
as creation bows to the mystery of life;
all that grows and lives must give up life,
yet it does not really die.
As plants surrender their life,
bending, brown and wrinkled,
and yellow leaves of trees
float to my lawn like parachute troops,
they do so in a sea of serenity.
I hear no fearful cries from creation,
no screams of terror,
as death daily devours
once-green and growing life.
Peaceful and calm is autumn’s swan song,
for she understands
that hidden in winter’s death-grip
is spring’s openhanded,
full-brimmed breath of life.
It is not a death rattle that sounds
over fields and backyard fences;
rather I hear a lullaby
softly swaying upon the autumn wind.
Sleep in peace, all that lives;
slumber secure, all that is dying,
for in every fall there is the rise
whose sister’s name is spring.
Autumn Psalm of Contentment by Edward Hays
O sacred season of Autumn, be my teacher,
For I wish to learn the virtue to contentment.
As I gaze upon your full-coloured beauty,
I sense all about you
An at-homeness with your amber riches.
You are the season of retirement,
Of full barns and harvested fields.
The cycle of growth has ceased,
And the busy work of giving life
Is now completed.
I sense in you no regrets:
You’ve lived a full life.
I live in a society that is ever-restless,
Always eager for more mountains to climb,
Seeking happiness through more and more possessions.
As a child of my culture,
I am seldom truly at peace with what I have.
Teach me to take stock of what I have given and received;
May I know that it’s enough
That my striving can cease
In the abundance of God’s grace.
May I know the contentment
That allows the totality of my energies
To come to full flower.
May I know that life you I am rich beyond measure.
As you, O Autumn, take pleasure in your great bounty,
Let me also take delight
In the abundance of the simple things of life
Which are the true source of joy.
With the golden glow of peaceful contentment
May I truly appreciate this autumn day.
May I walk the pilgrim path, aware that many other wonders may be hidden from my view, both near & far.
Grant me the gift of worship this autumn Saturday, the grace to live in perpetual wonder.
May I treat all that is given to me this day as gift.
Blessed are you, O Harvest of my Heart,
Sacred source of all life,
Delight of my days.
Amen.