From the Vicarage July/August 2010

It’s holiday time and I’m sure many of you will be getting away at some time over the next few weeks for some well-earned rest and refreshment. In September, Richard and I will be heading for Scotland in the hope of seeing dolphins in the Moray Firth and maybe a crested tit or a crossbill as well (we all have our own dreams!). Some of you may find it more difficult to get away but whatever our circumstances it is important to find time to rest, to relax and to enjoy God’s gifts to us.

This is what the idea of Sabbath is all about. The biblical story of creation tells us that when God had finished creating the heavens and the earth he stopped and rested. God blessed the day on which He rested as a special day. This was not a collapse in exhaustion, after all God has infinite power. It was a recognition of the importance of celebrating and enjoying God’s world. God invites us to share in his Sabbath rest.

In our modern world many of us live busy and complicated lives. Some of us have to work on Sundays and Bank Holidays. Family members may work different shift patterns and many of us cram a great deal into our busy lives. New ways of working, and changing family circumstances, mean that many of our traditional patterns of work and rest are disappearing.

This means that we may need to look for new ways of enjoying the Sabbath rest that God intends for all of us. Sabbath is about putting our work down – finished or unfinished – and taking time to enjoy God’s gifts to us. Time to enjoy creation; time to enjoy the company of family and friends; and time to enjoy the friendship that God himself offers to us.

At the summer fair in June I had a lovely time sitting in the sunshine chatting with people and it made me realise how rarely I take time to stop and sit with friends, and how important this is. In June we also had a couple of opportunities to stop and take time out to be with God. Both the Circle of Prayer retreat day at St. Beuno’s and the parish retreat at Rhos-on-Sea gave us time and space to enjoy and reflect on the gifts that God gives to us in creation, in friendship and in the love that He shares with us.

In today’s changing world each of us needs to find new Sabbath patterns that are right for ourselves and our families. Our traditional Sunday worship remains, of course, an important part of this but there are many other times and places in which we can enjoy God and his creation.

I hope that this summer, whatever your circumstances, you will find time and space to enjoy God’s gifts to you.

Sarah