When I was ordained in 2000, the rhythm of church life felt different. Summers were generally slower with less activity and often fewer people as folks went away on vacation, took advantage of sunny days to go to the beach (this is southern California after all) or other daytime activities, and generally relaxed more. However, in the 26 years since then, I have seen an overall uptick of activity in church life. Everything from Vacation Bible School (VBS), camping trips, church barbeques, and special education events are planned regularly and church attendance generally stays the same.
That is certainly true at St. Paul’s. Last week the Cathedral was abuzz with Pride activities: the Light Up the Cathedral for Pride service on Wednesday, participation in the Pride Parade on Saturday and then Pride Sunday. Coming up next week is VBS, and after that the Evening of Music and Hope, benefitting Comunidad de Luz on August 8, a Summer Social and so on.
All of these are good things! And at the same time . . . the need for Sabbath remains, While generally thought of as a day—for Christians it is generally Sunday, true Sabbath can be seen as a cessation from labor and internal rest to focus on God and spiritual rejuvenation.
It is interesting that the liturgical season we are current in is called “Ordinary Time,” the time between Pentecost and Advent, represented by the green vestments worn by clergy and adorning the altar. While Ordinary Time has an “official” definition (which if you are really interested, you can look up), my favorite, or non official, explanation of what Ordinary Time is something I read on the Episcopal Diocese of Texas’ website and reads as follows:
Ordinary Time is understood as time to spend living out our Christian
faith and the meaning of Christ’s resurrection in our ordinary life. You
may hear it as the “green season,” because green is the usual color
for this period of the church year. Of course, in nature, green is also the
color of living things that grow.
Even though summer approximately half over, it is not too late to claim this “ordinary time” and seek Sabbath time with God. It may be day, a week, an hour, or even a deep breath. Perhaps one prayer to start with comes from our own Book of Common Prayer called the “Prayer for the Good Use of Leisure,” that reads:
O God, in the course of this busy life, give us times of
refreshment and peace; and grant we may so use our leisure to
rebuild our bodies and renew our minds, that our spirits may be
opened to the goodness of your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Very Reverend Allisyn Thomas
