Summer Solstice
Believe it or not we have now passed the longest day. On Monday morning the sun rose at 4:38am but from here on in, the days are getting a tiny bit shorter and the nights a tiny bit longer. Don’t let that depress you because, we still have the summer ahead of us, and by all accounts the next couple of weeks will be quite hot.
The summer
solstice is made famous by the Druids, many of whom meet at Stonehenge on 21st
June each year to worship the sun. This year numbers were lower due to Covid,
and actually people gathered there against government advice, but it all seems
to have passed off safely and peacefully[1].
I didn’t
know much about Druidry, so looked online to discover a bit about their
beliefs. It’s quite interesting. The British Druidry Order has its own website[2]
and Druidry was officially recognised as a religion under charity law in 2010,
allowing them to receive tax free donations like the Church of England[3].
Writer Emma
Restall-Orr explains in “What is Druidry?”[4]
that it’s a polytheistic faith and philosophy of living that gives space and
honour to any deity but in principle worships the spirits and deities of a
person’s local environment.
Apparently
with its emphasis on spirituality and the environment it’s spreading among
young people who have become disaffected by organised religion.
Well I don’t
know if anyone listening today is attracted to the Druid beliefs and practices,
it would be lovely to meet you, but can I tell you as a Church of England
minister why I find it wonderful to be a Christian. Christians believe that
Jesus Christ himself is the creator of everything. In the Bible, referring to
Jesus, it says, “Through him all things were made without him nothing was made
that has been made” (John 1:3), and “For in Jesus, all things were created,
things in heaven and on earth… all things have been created through him and for
him” (Colossians 1:18).
So we
believe everything is made by Jesus and for Jesus. That’s why I don’t worship
rivers or the moon or (at this Summer solstice), the Sun, as much as we all appreciate
it. It was made by Jesus and for Jesus. It’s a privilege through Jesus Christ
to know the one who made us and who loves us, and with whom we can have a
personal relationship. Get in touch if you want to chat more. Meanwhile, enjoy
the sunshine, the weather is set to be blue skies over Huntingdon all day
today- what a great gift from above for us all. Thanks for listening.
Followed
by “Here comes the Sun” by the Beatles.