Last Saturday was midsummer’s day in the Northern Hemisphere and is sometimes known as the Summer Solstice. The sun is the source of all human life. As it rises every morning, we celebrate the beginning of a new day and as it gently disappears at dusk, we begin to settle down for sleep and rest. The cycle of human life centres around the sun, it creates all of time and all of life. That is why the generations before us were very tuned into the significance of this date.

Spiritually it also has huge significance. We are sometimes afraid and fear the dark. This is not something new. It stretches back thousands of years. The stories of people throughout scripture were immersed in both darkness and light, in the ups and downs of life, in the challenges and opportunities that they faced. It is true that God is often referred to as light but it’s also true that God embraces darkness as well.

What does this mean? Life is a mixture of light and darkness for all of us. We flourish and thrive when we are in the light and we often struggle in the dark. But spiritually God is with us in light but also in darkness too. So no matter how dark, sad, dreary or depressing our lives may be at times, our heartfelt belief is that somehow God is present in there as well, giving us hope, courage and strength to keep going.



As we mark the Summer Solstice, we celebrate and embrace all the beautiful light in our lives. You can’t hide light and this means you can’t hide all the good in our lives too. This weekend the invitation is to celebrate your light and celebrate all the goodness in your life.