Words of Light and Hope from Rev’d Judith Sweetman

As the leaves begin to turn to reds and golds, some late autumn reflections:

From Ronald Blythe’s contribution to: England the Four Seasons, by Michael Busselle
Autumn is for…having the beach to yourself, for clearing up the summer residue, for re-reading favourite books or
starting to write a new one, for the sweet smell of vegetable dissolution, for watching homing birds, for making jam
and wine, for being nicely tired…to remember that mountains, commons, woods, rivers, …do not close down for the
season, but all through these golden, soaking, blowing days…are once more embarked upon the everlasting circle of
regeneration.

The blessing of autumn, by Kate McIlhagga
As autumn flames across park and field,
As smoke curls from ditch and garden,
As birds sing their farewell song,
As frost begins to touch the ground,
And our hearts are warmed,
By the scent, sound and touch of it;
Now is the time to throw away
The heavy stones of anger, regret and fear, which harden our hearts.
Now is the time to gather stones of praise
To build a cairn
Of thankfulness to our God
For all the blessings of our autumn life.

Prayer words for autumn – you may like to use one or more to reflect on your own life
Fruitfulness
Ripening
Harvesting
Achievement
Thanksgiving
Celebration
Storing
Maturity
Falling
Being held
Letting go
Clearing away
Dissolution
Disintegration
Failure
Fruitlessness
Trust
Beginning again.
Coming to an end
Regeneration
Nourishment
Completion