Tag: Creation

A Surprise of Creation

Scarlet elf cup (Sarcoscypha austriaca)

These photos come from my friend, Gill Henwood.

Gill was tidying up her garden ready for Spring recently. –
“We found this in our damp dell whilst cutting back ferns to give emerging snowdrops more light.
This is a Scarlet Elf Cup (Fungus), A beautiful deep scarlet, hidden within the soft blush cup.
Vibrant colour, in a woodland floor of decaying twigs and leaves, and mosses.
Creation surprises us with unexpected delights. Rich red on a gloomy, cloudy, drizzling day.”

For more information, visit the Woodland Trust website, which describes the Elf Cup as ‘Mystical and cheery.’ Mystical and cheery, the scarlet elf cup grows on decaying sticks and branches in damp spots and beneath leaf litter on the woodland floor. Their bright pops of colour brighten up even the darkest winter day.

Elsewhere we read that, ‘The Scarlet Elf Cup’ gets its name from folklore that says woodland elves use the vibrant, cup-shaped fungi as tiny goblets to drink morning dew or that fairies bathe in the rainwater collected in them. Its bright red colour against the winter woodland floor, combined with its delicate, cup-like shape, inspired these imaginative tales of mythical beings.

Elf-cups (a poem by Mr G)

Hidden beneath decaying leaves
forest debris moves.
Soil crumbles beneath finger and thumb
of creation’s constant action.
Earth changing shape as pale wintry light
penetrates the woodland womb
bringing to birth cup-like, colourful fungi
signs that winter prepares to herald Spring.
God’s creation always surprises us,
if we but look with open hearts
ever expectant to be captivated.

Yet look again – these chalices of winter dew
may carry Nature’s sacrament of new life
to waiting elves!

Mr G. 24^th January 2026

Festival of Creation

*Haybales in Norfolk. Photo by Julia Sheffield*

EQUINOX, AUTUMN & HARVEST
a Festival of Creation

Today, September 22^nd, the Earth’s axis and its orbit line up so that both halves of the planet get an equal amount of sunshine. From today, in the Northern Hemisphere, the nights will be longer than the days. This is the opposite case in the Southern Hemisphere
The seasons change. We in the Northern Hemisphere enter officially into the season of Autumn whilst in the South, Spring begins. Both seasons are festivals of Creation.God paints his Earth with colour and beauty ~ Gold and Red in the North and Radiant Green in the South.

The season of Autumn is often associated with the gathering in of the Harvest, when the fruits of the earth are garnished and the fields are mown. The poet Keats called this the season of mellow fruitfulness. He was writing at a different time when the festivals of the Countryside marked the stages of the year, each with its own characteristics of Nature. Today, it is less marked and food production is taken for granted. It is less about the movement of Creation and more about the packing of supermarket shelves! Quite often, in these days of globalization it is hard to take on board the seasons. Blueberries look about the same and are available for much of the year but their point of origin can be from almost anywhere in the world ~ well. Maybe not the Arctic or its southern equivalent!

Equinox, Autumn, Harvest are ‘Earth Festivals’ through which we can be led to celebrate the gift of Creation and the bountiful goodness of God. At a time when all across the globe humanity is hell-bent on self-destruction and with it ,the destruction of the earth, it is good to remind ourselves that God’s provision for our life on earth is all Gift.

Maybe that’s why I like the poem by John Keble, from his anthology of payer poems, The Christian Year, now sung as a hymn, which centres our praying on God, His Creation, His gifts of nature, and His year-long provision for our needs.
Lord, in Thy Name Thy servants plead, is not sung very often these days but it remains my absolutely favourite hymn for this season.

Lord, in Thy Name Thy servants plead,
And Thou hast sworn to hear;
Thine is the harvest, Thine the seed,
The fresh and fading year.

Our hope, when autumn winds blew wild,
We trusted, Lord, with Thee:
And still, now spring has on us smiled
We wait on Thy decree.

The former and the latter rain,
The summer sun and air,
The green ear and the golden grain,
All Thine, are ours by prayer.

Thine too by right and ours by grace,
The wondrous growth unseen,
The hopes that soothe, the fears that brace,
The love that shines serene.

So grant the precious things brought forth
By sun and moon below,
That Thee in Thy new heav’n and earth
We never may forgo.

John Keble 1792-1866

[Mr G. 22nd September 2025]

Quiet Garden

Quiet Garden

In the Quiet Garden
birds sing antiphonally
in the monastery of the air.

Ducks murmur gossip
across the pond
informing prayer[!],
as a bee hovers lazily
over new mown grass.

Carefully manicured borders
teem with joyful colour
as plants flower,
gratefully supping May-time air
fuelling their thirst for new life.

Nearby, a church bell,
a single, insistent chime, repeating,
marking the moment;
calling to prayer.
Insects of varying kind respond,
their plainchant lifting our souls.

Nature speaks to nature
nurturing all Creation within,
where God waits to draw us
into the Divine heart.

*Roses in the Garden at Dunmow. Photo by Mr G.*

Mr G.
24^th May 2025.
[inspired by Rosemary’ Drew’s Garden at Dunmow, Essex,
offered as part of the Quiet Garden movement,
as a place of spiritual refreshment and re-creation]

A little honey too!

Bee and flower kiss and make nectar. Photo : Lynn Hurry

World Bee Day

According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way that a Bumble Bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. It’s something to do with its body mass in relation to its wing span. It’s all been tested out, using the science of aerodynamics and a wind tunnel.
The Bumble Bee is, however, blissfully ignorant of this scientific fact and, possessing considerable determination, and refusing to accept a low expectation of its capabilities, it not only does fly, but it makes a little honey too.

[Perhaps we can bear that in mind when we are faced with difficulties about things we can or can’t do. Even more important when others tell us what we can’t do. Think of the bee and don’t let others put you down.]

Despite possessing determination, the bee population needs our help at present.

This week, the United Nations led us in the observance of a World Bee Day. It is generally held on May 20^th. The date was chosen to honour Anton Jans̆a, a pioneer of modern beekeeping who was born on May 20^th, 1734.The main purpose of the Day is to raise awareness about the essential role that bees and other pollinators play in “in maintaining healthy ecosystems and ensuring food security.” (UN).
By encouraging the observance of this day, it is hoped that actions might be promoted to protect and enhance bees and other pollinators and their habitats which are threatened increasingly by human activities such as habitat loss, increasing and indiscriminate use of pesticides and the effects of climate change.
Pollinators, which include bees and also endangered butterflies, are responsible for a staggering reproduction of over 75% of the world’s food crops BUT 40% of them are currently at risk of extinction.

The United Kingdom Government has issued suggestions how gardeners and other’s involved in the growth of plants, might help to nurture nature and help our pollinators to thrive:

Grow more nectar rich flowers, shrubs, and trees. Using window or balcony boxes are good options if you don’t have a garden;
Let patches of garden and land grow wild;
Cut grass less often;
Do not disturb insect nests and hibernation spots; and
Think carefully about whether to use pesticides.
In addition you could build a bee hotel and make a bee watering station. Bees and butterflies, wasps and other pollinators need water and bowls placed around your garden or window box can be a real lifeline.

Don’t forget to commit this action to prayer:
In Ecclesiasticus Chapter 11, verse 3, we can read:
The bee is small among flying creatures,
but what it produces is the best of sweet things.

Here’s a prayer inspired by this:

O God, Creator of the earth,
We pray for tiny, buzzing bees
who work so hard and true to pollinate
and bring life anew.
May we protect them from harm and wrong
and cherish the gifts they bring along.
All creation speaks of Your divine glory.
May we honour and protect it, in Your divine name.
Amen.