Blessing Bread at Lammas

Rural England has a number of festivals which in earlier times were celebrated much more fully in the Country and in the Church than is the case today. Lammas which falls on the 1st August was one of these and it is good that in this time of renewed caring for Creation, Agricultural festivals and observances are regaining an emphasis and in many parts of our world.

Lammas is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word, hlafmæsse, which means loaf-mass and from the 9th century a church festival was celebrated in which a newly baked loaf was presented for use at the Eucharist. This celebrated the corn harvest.
Rural Festivals take us back to our roots and help us to remember the close affinity we have with nature and the earth, on which we depend for our sustenance. In these days of supermarkets and fast food shops it is easy to forget this dependence though nature has a way of reminding us.
This week we have seen the terrible devastation caused by wildfires in Spain, France, Suffolk, and Scotland and the earthquake in Japan. Other places have suffered from what I see as a ‘shuddering’ of the earth as it suffers as humanity is complacent and even in denial about the planet we call ‘home’ and which we certainly take for granted.

Whilst those who are affected most cannot be blamed and deserve our compassion, we do need to remember the delicate balance of our planet which God has ordered so magnificently. We play with this balance at our peril and throughout the world at any given time we are often reminded what can happen when we fail to respect this.
Not all catastrophes are made by humans.
The planet is a volatile ball floating in a vast universe. Humanity occupies such a small part of this and if we stand in a clear spot on a dark night and look at the stars we realise our smallness in the midst of such vastness. Yet we also seem to have a belief in our own invincibility as a race as we make so-called progress which harnesses nature (or at least tries to). That of course is when we are distracted from killing each other!
Our forebears had no such view and they lived in healthy respect of nature’s force. They also remembered that the author of creation, God, is to be thanked and praised. That is why the Agricultural Year was punctuated with festivals such as Lammas. It would do us no harm to follow their example.

In a modern Lammas act of worship, there is a bidding which is made as a new loaf is presented to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the people of God in ancient times presented to the Lord an offering of first-fruits as a sign of their dependence upon God for their daily bread…

and this is followed by a Prayer which roots our lives back into both God and His Creation.

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation;
you bring forth bread from the fields
and give us the fruits of the earth in their seasons.
Accept this loaf, which we bring before you,
made from the harvest of your goodness.
Let it be for us a sign of your fatherly care.
Blessed are you, Lord our God, worthy of our thanksgiving and praise.

Saying this prayer as you are about to eat bread , or when we receive the bread of the Eucharist at Holy Communion, would remind you of God’s goodness to you and help you to respect His Creation.

This is reflected in the Jewish Faith where a Shabbat prayer before the Friday meal might be “Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who brings forth bread from the earth.” Similarly, in Islam, blessing a meal involves a short prayer, remembering God and giving thanks before and after eating.
There are prayers and mantras chanted in the Hindu religion giving thanks to God before partaking of a meal, the most popular being one that is known as the ‘Bhojan Mantra’ (Sanskrit). Reciting this is a way for the Hindu devotee to offer the food to God and express gratitude before eating. Other religions acknowledge the importance of giving thanks to God for food, harvest and the blessings of creation.

Throughout the world there is indescribable poverty and hunger. We cannot bless creation and allow humanity to starve and suffer malnutrition.For exampIe in Sudan so many are dying and suffering from lack of food.
May Lammas observance help us all to thank God for His creation and in so doing, determine to make our Mother Earth a better place, held together by the Love of God for all.

[Mr. G, Lammas Day. August 1st 2026]

The Flourishing of Creation

Photo of hydrangea in the Lake District, by Gill Henwood.

A summer pondering from Gill Henwood

Hydrangea : Planted long ago by slate steps leading into a spinney on the edge of a track, the huge shrub now blocks access
but is too beautiful to tame.

Above is a ‘handkerchief’ tree, davidia involucra, also known as the ‘dove’ tree, both from the creamy hanging bracts in the spring, around the small flowers. The tall tree shades the hydrangea which isn’t drooping in the heatwave.
There are underground streams in the spinney, flowing into Black Beck in the vale and on to Esthwaite Water,
our local lake.

The hydrangea suckers, providing new plants to give away. The handkerchief tree sets masses of nutmeg sized seeds, chewed by mice and scattered all over the garden.
Shoots emerge and saplings can be moved and given away too.

Over a century, these plants and trees have made their home in the windswept, rainy Lake District. The spinney shelters them from the western winds and shelters the old farmstead (dating back to at least 1536). People knew where to site their homes, against the slate rock wall, near a spring or stream, and to plant trees for shelter and shade.

We need tall shading trees and shelter today, to learn from our forebears how Creation flourishes despite heat and winds. May we, as stewards in our small ways, pay our part in protecting Creation, not least all creatures great and small.

[Gill Henwood. July 2026]

God of love, show us our place in this world
as channels of your love
for all the creatures of this earth,
for not one of them is forgotten in your sight.
Enlighten those who possess power and money
that they may avoid the sin of indifference,
that they may love the common good, advance the weak,
and care for this world in which we live.
The poor and the earth are crying out.
O Lord, seize us with your power and light,
help us to protect all life,
to prepare for a better future,
for the coming of your Kingdom
of justice, peace, love and beauty.
Praise be to you!
Amen.

Summer afternoon

Summer afternoon

Dozing in and out of an open book,
hot-headed in the baking brightness,
sounds coalesce:

Ears buffeted by eddying breezes,
conversations drifting across fencetops,
a lazy wind-chime,
gravel crunch and a distant saw.

The wheeze and hum,
click and whir of hidden insects.
Flies, like far-off squadrons of returning airmen
and the lilting strobe of gaudy wings
on crazy flightpaths.

[Piers Northam]

Summer Evensong at High Easter

Photo, The East Window in St Mary the Virgin, High Easter, Essex

Summer Evensong in St Mary the Vitgin, High Easter
gazing at the East Window.

We gather to open ourselves to God
in this House of Prayer,
where, alight with early evening sun,
Incarnation beckons through refracted glass.

Here, blessed Mary and humble Joseph
are transfixed in golden beams
streaming towards them from the Christ-child,
deeply alive in cradle strewn with straw.

Ox peeps adoringly over shoulder of Ass
as the shepherd and his boy look on,
crozier, an icon of pastoral love to come,
carried proudly.
Star above all, shining in majestic glory,
a portal through which heaven comes to earth.

I see the telling of this in the left window
as Angel Gabriel, deep in converse with God’s chosen One,
seeks to draw from her a ‘Yes’
that comes from the heart,
And challenges us too.

The triptych of God’s love
is completed in the third window ,
that of Presentation
where The child of God touches the waiting Simeon,
as the old man tenderly takes, holds, and blesses Him
in gentle and awesome thanksgiving,
which releases his own soul into God’s arms,
slipping into a peace his heart longs for.

Three God moments dance in coloured glass
opening our hearts, our souls, our vision,
Calling us to glorify, presenting ourselves
to receive the light of our Salvation
and the grace of God’s Incarnate love.

For this we came.

[Mr G. 23rd July 2026]

I visited High Easter Church on July 19th to take part in Choral Evensong.
I was fascinated by the East Window and above is my reflection.
Choral Evensong was sung beautifully using the Book of Common Prayer
and accompanied by a fine organist. The congregation welcome was kind
and warm, and the after service coffee was splendid!
Should you ever find yourself in that part of Essex, the postcode is CM1 4QW.
It’s a fine church with Saxon roots, roman brick and bits from almost every age.
Unusually it has a window dedicated to St. Valentine!