Wow and Phew!!!!

Wow, wasn’t the eclipse amazing. Not being able to get the right glasses I watched part of the eclipse live on the computer and found it incredible as the moon covered the sun and it got darker so early in the evening. It was an awesome and awe inspiring experience. A visual reminder of the glory and grandeur of the universe created by God.

Phew, hasn’t the heat been exceptional, 5 heatwaves before the middle of August and the driest July on record. Hopefully, soon temperatures will return to seasonal norms and we will have had some rain.

There have been many comparisons with the summer of 1976, another exceptionally hot, dry year. As a young person then, living in a more urban setting, the impact of the lack of rain didn’t really impinge on me. This year, however, I am keenly aware of the difficulties farmers and growers have experienced because of the dry conditions. On a much smaller scale trying to keep my tomatoes plants growing and not lose the roses, camellia and hibiscuses in pots that I have had for many years has not been straightforward as I have tried to limit my water usage.

The long, hot, dry spell reminds us how precious water is: a basic necessity we are usually fortunate to have without difficulty or shortage. Because of that, we can sometimes use it extravagantly without realising. Watching my water usage has made me think about people in other parts of the world more familiar with living in drought conditions and how they manage. We probably can learn much from them.

But for me to there are the issues of climate change and climate justice. We believe God made the world and all that is in it, and so we are called to care for it and to do that better than we have done and are doing. For some time we have been seeking to becoming an eco-church, the process has stalled a little. I hope that this unusual summer may encourage us to pick up that work again and move it forward.

Alison