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(Please also see our introductory article on this topic:
Introduction to the Journey through the secular year series
and longer articles on specific events in the secular year:
Our journey through a multi-faith autumn; Countdown to Christmas; Embracing past, present and future at New Year; Finding fun and faith at Easter; Sport and faith: Finding the common ground; Let's go to a festival!; Back to school - supporting children and young people at a time of transition)
Reflections
New Year
Our human condition forces us to confront beginnings and endings, births and deaths. These are full of hope and fear for us. Christmas is only just being wrapped up when New Year comes hot on its heels. And at Christmas, families may have been more aware than ever of somebody who was no longer with them around this year’s table, parted now by death. Is this a better time for remembrance or commemoration of the departed than All Saints’ Day, falling on 1 November? The latter makes good sense for those immersed in the religious calendar, but perhaps many people around us can make better sense of loss as they say goodbye to an old year and face the new with heightened resolve and fresh commitment. This may well be a timely moment, a real opportunity, to reflect and pray with thanks and sorrow after all that has been, and then to ask how God would have us be in the future.
Valentine's Day (14th February)
A day when romantic love comes to the forefront, often doing so in frothy and misty-eyed ways. Maybe this is a lovely time for couples married in your church over the past year to come back and remember again their declarations of lifelong love made there. And love tells us something about God, although romance isn’t the whole story. Love can hold us in another’s arms, but love also took Jesus to the cross. Is this also a moment when the Christian faith story helps us make sense of the cost as well as the warm glow of love, and reassures us that God’s love knows pain, too?
National saints’ days
March and April bring with them the three days when the patron saints of Wales (1 March), Ireland (17 March) and England (23 April) are remembered. David and Patrick were both fifth-century Celtic monk-bishops. George was a third-century Syrian soldier – and a ‘dragon slayer’. Somehow, they all remain attached to our national identities even today.
Marking these days in church is often a very culturally uncritical experience, involving flag-waving and much pride. But these three saints are very counter-cultural icons. The monastic traditions of David and Patrick championed humble living, and George is thought to have been a Roman soldier in the Emperor’s guard, martyred because, as a Christian, he would not accept the Emperor as God.
On these days the church might reflect on those aspects of national life that should provoke penitence and demand transformation. Amos chapters 1 and 2, or the words of John the Baptist (Matthew 3.9-12) are among many scriptures that would help to do this.
Family life and gender stereotypes are changing quickly in our generation. This can leave those who occupy motherly roles very uncertain.
Mothering Sunday is a moveable feast connected to Easter by a three-week-long thread, and it nearly always falls in March. It is the fourth Sunday of Lent, and has a traditional flavour of joyfulness to it – one day in a season of austerity when you can eat cake!
This was once a holiday when families were reunited with members who worked away, returning also to their mother church. Many of the parents who have brought children for baptism to your church over the past year will be mothers! Why not invite them back for ‘Mothers’ Day’ and give them some cake afterwards? That might be rather obvious but, at the same time, it is a great opportunity for renewing their commitment to bring the children up as part of the Christian family, and for deepening relationships. It can also be an opportunity for the church to consider the complexity of contemporary motherhood, family life and caring responsibilities, and for its members to pray for each other.
Bank holidays
Bank holidays present a mix of challenges: some people are away, others may be visiting; some have to work so that others may shop; some have to work to keep us safe, while others choose to work because the pay rate is higher! Why not make connections between being on holiday, and the fun and joy of the Christian faith? You could organise a celebration outside, somewhere where visitors will be. If you do not expect visitors, how about exploring a ‘day of rest’ that is not a Sunday? Or a day celebrating those who have to work? In the Bible’s very first story we hear about God’s creative work and that on the seventh day God stopped – work and rest are both blessed! Or why not give the church a holiday – a day off for everyone on any rota; instead ask people to volunteer to do something they don’t normally do.
Father's Day has become, for many, as important as the celebration for mothers that it complements. It brings similar challenges:
- the absence of fathers, or a father figure;
- how to include those who have not had a good experience of fatherhood.
However, it isn’t associated with a particular Christian occasion, and so provides an opportunity to think afresh about worship that takes seriously the secular context – a clean sheet!
Fatherhood can be a very tough call in the modern world. Many fathers struggle with what is expected of them; research says that fathers value being involved with their children, but often find limited opportunity.
Why not get a group of people together, including fathers (or family members) of all ages, to help your church explore and understand what fatherhood means for people today; and then – and only then – work out how to recognise, celebrate and affirm that in the context of worship?
The end of the school year
The end of the school year presents challenges to all ages: exams, school trips, proms and, of course, school holidays. Each of these can be marked by inclusion in the prayer life of the church community, but you could do much more!
How about encouraging the youth group to invite their (especially, non-church) friends to ‘chill out’ sessions during the exam period? Why not take a fresh look at holiday club ideas; do you have the resources to organise a music or dance club (including an opportunity to perform to an audience)? Organising a public exhibition of photography, art or sculpture might be less physically demanding, but will draw in many people. A church café can be a good place for an exhibition – and if you don’t have a café, why not begin now, even if it is only for the summer?
Consider increasing the frequency with which the church is used by children over the summer (rather than reducing it, as is so often the case) – how about Messy Church every week? You could encourage teachers who worship with you to lead intercessions at the beginning and end of the holidays, giving them an opportunity to pray for the children they have been teaching who are moving on, and those they will take responsibility for in the new school year.
Making a pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is commonly defined as a spiritual journey to a sacred place. It is a popular way to explore not only the physical, but also our inner landscapes, deepening our relationship with God and our understanding of ourselves. However, not everyone can undertake a long physical journey. Fortunately, ‘pilgrimage spirituality’ resides not in distance travelled, but in the intention with which the journey is undertaken.
Why not arrange a pilgrimage or prayer journey around your local area; one that can be undertaken by individuals or pairs or small groups – perhaps visitors too? Could you make a journey using only what your church and churchyard have to offer; and make it equally useable by those who choose or are obliged to stay at home? The Summer Prayer Journey for All Ages has been designed with this in mind.
Harvest and creation time
In terms of the lectionary, September and October continue as Ordinary Time. In practice, though, most churches will, at some point during these two months, celebrate harvest festival in some form or another. The period from 1 September to 4 October (the festival of St Francis of Assisi) is kept by many churches as ‘Time for creation’, with celebrations and prayers for the world, the climate, the environment, and generally for an appropriate spirituality and peace with respect to planet earth. Resources to help churches explore the issues and prepare worship and study sessions are available from the World Council of Churches (WCC) and Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) among others. For churches that continue to use the lectionary during September, these resources can still be a useful preparation for harvest celebration.
See also longer articles on specific events in the secular year:
Our journey through a multi-faith autumn
Countdown to Christmas
Embracing past, present and future at New Year
Finding fun and faith at Easter
Sport and faith: Finding the common ground
Let's go to a festival!
Back to school - supporting children and young people at a time of transition