August is our month for remembering loved ones who are no longer with us. Most churches do so in November, with All Saints’ and All Souls’ services on the 1st. and 2nd November respectively; but we do so as we celebrate the patronal festivals of our saints – St. Mary’s and St. Edith’s, through our Rush-bearing Services.
The tradition of Rush-bearing goes back hundreds of years, but is obsolete in many parts of the country, but not in some rural parishes in the north-west of England. The practice of laying rushes as a carpet in churches, which would otherwise have bare-earth floors, reminds us of the annual cycle of nature, of new growth, but also the need to replace the worn-out rushes from the previous year. Rush-bearing also reminds us of the frailty of our own lives – birth, growth to maturity, ripening and decline, leading to death. In our rush-bearing services we remember the completed life cycles of loved ones, family, and friends, as we read out lists of, not only those who have died recently in the past year, but also those who may have died many years ago, but who are still sadly missed. Please feel free to join us on Sunday 4th. August at 6.30 p.m. in St. Edith’s or Sunday 25th. August at 6.30 p.m. in St. Mary’s as we celebrate the lives of those who memories we would like to celebrate.
Surprisingly, there is not a lot in the Bible on death and resurrection; but what there is does, indeed, have an agricultural theme (see below).
God bless,
Tim and Norma