JULY 2026
Summer holidays are here! For many, this signals freedom from scholastic discipline; a marked change of pace for dedicated teachers; for some it is a time of exhaustion and worry about covering the cost of child care, entertainment and child activities; and for others loneliness may become even more marked as the excitement of holiday-goers is witnessed. Social spaces change with the warmer temperatures of summer as Hotels, pubs and restaurants offer outdoor seating for customers. Parks offer spaces for gathering with family and friends to picnic, space for children to play, as well as quiet corners to read and contemplate life.
We can look around us in all seasons and see the work of God, but in summertime particularly our senses are filled with evidence of His abundant generosity.
But, whilst we are enjoying the chance to reconnect with loved ones and experience travel and adventure, let us remember the effects of increased temperatures: Firefighters are out in force tending multiple burning areas; sea levels are rising with flooding becoming more frequent and our coastline is gradually eroding with rising sea levels. Across the world, lives are being radically changed by these effects, including the horrors of displacement, starvation and death.
Whilst there is global awareness of the need for collaboration to tackle climate change with policies put in place, these won’t be fully effective unless individuals take personal responsibility too, to reduce waste, reuse and recycle in our everyday lives.
As Christians, individual responsibility for stewardship of Creation is rooted in scripture:
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
Genesis 2:15
This verse gives us the framework for environmental guardianship and safe keeping, which should help bridge global inequalities between rich and poor nations. However, as with many of scripture’s teachings, they are not always heard let alone acted on.
As we continue to sing joyful songs thanking God for all things beautiful, let us also take a moment to focus in prayer on the fallout of climate change here in the UK and across the world, impacting environmental decline and associated threats to humanity.
Revd Tish Bird
God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”. Genesis 1:28
Revd Tish Bird
See previous Reflections here