We had a glorious weekend of sunshine and true summer weather, and on Sunday we not only celebrated Father’s Day but also Midsummer’s Day, which is a glorious time to take in the fullness of this season. All seasons work towards this one, and summer in its true essence has arrived.

The solstice means the sun standing still, and that is exactly what it appears to do, as it stops its northerly journey and starts to travel southwards again. The Ancients realised this in some measure and held this time of the year, as well as the others, that is, the midwinter and both the Spring and Autumn equinox, as sacred. Those who are ‘sensitive’ can attest to the amazing outpouring of energy at this time.

The young birds have fledged. The young animals of spring are well on their way in their new experience of this world. The flowers are in bloom, and the trees are full of their green leaves. All those days of damp and endless rain, which we complained about endlessly and loudly, have helped prepare the way for the lush, rich beauty of these beautiful summer days.

Last night, even in the heat, we gathered in Chawton. Our own Virginia Gordon stepped in and served, sharing some lovely thoughts and interesting facts about Father’s Day! She then went on to bring some lovely messages for the family. Thank you so much Virginia!! Our own lovely Chris Elliot kept us in line, chairing the evening beautifully. We had lovely prayers and readings from the family, and it was Les’s birthday!! So you know cake and candles made an appearance as we sang Happy Birthday in fine voice!

Thank you to those who set up and break down the evening, especially Julie, Graeme, and Steve. Thank you, Julie, for running the music, and, of course, Carole, for her birthday cake, and those who helped with hospitality. We never forget our healers who stand by to help after the service

Prayer of the week up later.

It is hot in the UK. Drink beyond thirst. Think of the wildlife that might need some regular fresh water. Think about your older neighbours and also companion animals that all need to stay hydrated.

It’s gonna be a scorcher!!

Happy Summer!

The cuckoo, known for its famous two-note call, arrives in the UK from Africa around April. The female cuckoo lays her eggs in another bird’s nest, often first spooking the host bird away. She then leaves the unsuspecting foster parents to incubate the eggs, feed the chicks, and raise the fledglings! What a strategy that helps conserve the cuckoo’s energy and resources. This behaviour is known as brood parasitism.

Quite a trickster, and perhaps seemingly unfair, the cuckoo demonstrates just how it has evolved and the lengths it will go to help its young survive. They are also known for having multiple partners during a breeding season to increase the chances of reproduction and survival. Other birds also engage in brood parasitism, but the cuckoo is by far the most famous.

That cute little bird appearing each hour on our cuckoo clocks is far more devious than we might imagine, yet also highly intelligent and practical. While the word “cuckoo” can mean, in some contexts, foolishness, its symbolism is often associated with transformation, intuition, and adaptability.

Last night in Chawton, we hosted our beautiful Healing Service. It was an evening filled with wonderful energy, readings, prayers, and, of course, healing. Healing was administered during the service, and I trust everyone enjoyed a sound sleep afterwards.

Thank you to Rob for leading us and to our readers. Thank you also to the hospitality team, to Julie for the music, and to our diligent healers. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful Healing Team. So much thanks should go to all those who set up and broke down the evening also.

Prayer of the Week

Please pray for all those caught up in the violence of wars around the world. The suffering they endure is beyond our understanding. Please send your thoughts and prayers to them, for they are so very much in need.

Calendar up tomorrow.

Yes, it’s raining… umbrellas in June! Try to keep dry.

Have a beautiful week!

We all have our little rituals, and one of mine, as I come up to my front door, is to stop and choose the newest bloom of my climbing Zephirine roses to breathe in their heady scent. I can take no credit for these beautiful pink roses, as I inherited them when I bought the house.

Roses have such a history, dating back some 5,000 years, and they have evolved into so many varieties. Of course, they have also been cultivated almost to death, so that many modern roses no longer have a scent because the enzyme RhNUDX1 has effectively been bred out of them. That is more than sad, because a rose is not just about beauty, as its fragrance is a lure for pollinators, and in fact, the Damask rose, one of the old rose varieties, is the plant used to make Rose Damascena, or Rose Otto, the therapeutic rose oil which has the highest vibration of any plant on this earth.

Most roses bloom between May and June, but these climbing varieties, encouraged by a mild spring, have bloomed earlier than usual to cheer us up during this mixed weather we have been experiencing.

Their symbolism is, of course, love if red, while yellow often represents friendship, white purity, orange energy and enthusiasm, and the beautiful pink at my front door speaks of gratitude, grace, and joy. In any case, their beauty catches the eye and, hopefully, their heady scent reminds us to figuratively stop and smell the roses in our own lives. We always have a moment.

We had many beautiful moments last night and such a lovely evening with Ann Marie Hogan, who shared such inspired thoughts and brought our wonderful messages. Thank you so much, Ann Marie, and thank you to Sarah, who chaired our evening beautifully.

We are also grateful for the prayers and readings from the family, the hospitality and cake from Sue and Carole, the music led by Julie, and our lovely healers who helped after the service. Thank you too for the quick set-up and break-down of the gathering.

PRAYER OF THE WEEK

Please pray for the animals in this world. They need so much help, whatever circumstances they are in. May humans move ever further towards kindness and understanding with them.

Calendar up tomorrow.

Have a beautiful week. A heatwave is on its way!

Stop and smell the heady scents of springtime.

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On yet another Wednesday evening we gathered on Zoom to hear the beautiful prayers and readings and listen to the lovely music. It had been a grey day, but outside the sun was finally making an appearance. Thank you everyone. Healing followed as always.

Please continue to pray for those trapped, and now attacked and seized in the straits of Hormuz.

Ann Marie Hogan is with us Sunday in Chawton!

Join us!!

Where have all the buttercups gone? I was quite shocked to actually see buttercups in a nearby park this morning because, quite frankly, they have not been as visible as I remember from my youth.

Buttercups of the meadows, usually the Meadow Buttercup, along with the Corn Buttercup, have indeed been in sharp decline through the decades. Along with many other wildflowers, their habitat has diminished through housing development, intensive farming, and pesticides.

This buttery yellow wildflower, blooming from May through June, is surprisingly toxic to cows if eaten in large quantities. She is also known in folklore as “crazy weed,” amongst many other names, as breathing in her scent was believed to drive one insane. That lore even included advice for picking them, for one was supposed to utter this verse quietly:

“Gold below, gold above…

I take none, I seek no trove…”

A folklore charm to keep the nature spirits happy… lest you have your voice stolen and be led in circles till sunset!

Her spiritual symbolism is one of radiant joy, renewal, and innocence, along with the golden blessings of every moment.

I will always remember, as many will, from childhood, the picking of them with wild abandon and placing those beautiful luminescent yellow petals beneath the chins of playmates to see that golden reflection, confirming who indeed liked their butter.

We welcomed our good friend, Jeanette Foote, to our little church last night in Chawton. What a lovely evening. Jeanette shared such an inspired address concerning healing, so perfect for the end of Healing Awareness Week in the UK, and so perfect for our church, because we are all about healing.

Jeanette then went on to bring many lovely messages. Thank you so much for an evening filled with warmth and laughter. Our own Nerina took the helm and chaired the evening beautifully.

We thank the family for their readings and prayers. Thank you, Julie, for running our music. Thank you, Sue, for your hospitality. Thank you also to our healers and trainees who were on hand afterwards. The set-up and break-down were done very quickly, as many hands do indeed make light work.

Prayer of the Week

Please pray for the sailors trapped in the Straits of Hormuz. They are so vulnerable, and running out of supplies, and we send prayers for their safety with all the events happening in the region.

Calendar up tomorrow.

Have a beautiful week!

It is a little grey today in these parts, but we know above those clouds is the ever-brilliant blue sky and sunshine!

One of the beautiful things about this springtime season is the constant emergence of life all around us. Surely it is enough to soften even the hardest heart. We seem to be transported to a place of innocence as we see the flowers, trees, and bushes bloom. I am personally transported when I see my stunning lilacs flowering again so boldly, or when I become aware of the ​creatures and their little ones taking their maiden steps.

We think of the badger as a quiet, shy, and reclusive creature. Although nocturnal, this is the time of year when they can often be seen at either end of the day, as the cubs venture out from the sett. The young ones are silly and playful, a complete delight to watch if you are ever fortunate enough to do so. Delayed implantation has allowed the young to be born into a springtime of favourable conditions.

They will grow into hardy creatures, with stout bodies and sharp claws, as well as a not-so-delightful odour to ward off predators! And did I mention they can run up to twenty miles an hour? Not too shabby for a creature that looks just a little clumsy. We can trace badgers in England back at least half a million years, roaming the land alongside wolverines and bears, no less.

The writer Kenneth Grahame cast his character ‘Badger’ as a wise mentor and protector in his beloved children’s book The Wind in the Willows. Little surprise then that the badger’s symbolism is wisdom, along with tenacity and determination. Spiritually, he reminds us to dig down and understand as fully as we are able​, and we are all about that​!

Last evening, after another glorious spring sunny day, our friend Spencer Rose came to visit. What a lovely evening, as he shared his thoughts and brought our ​wonderful messages. We had such a lovely time. Thank you so much, Spencer, for coming to see us! The lovely Chri​s Elliot chaired the proceedings beautifully, as we heard the lovely prayers and readings from ​The ​Family. Thank you.

Thank you, Julie, for running our music last night. Thank you, Sue, for your hospitality, and of course, Carole was in the house producing a very lovely chocolate cake.

We thank our dear healers and those training for helping so many last night, and thanks as always goes to everyone who helps with set-up​, break-down​, and washing up.

Prayer of the Week

Please pray for the Natural World. Sometimes we are the reason for ​their struggles, as we take away land without enough concern for the plight of those who share it. So many are trying to educate us and make us aware of what the land, the waters and the air around us need in order to sustain all the other life that lives and breathes alongside us.

Calendar to follow later.

Have a beautiful week.

It is heavenly out there.

​Don’t miss it!

Picture credit Andy Rouse Photography.

Yesterday we gathered on Zoom in the early evening. Goodness, our mid-week service goes so quickly. It’s our small oasis in the week. It is always nice to see what people have chosen to read. Thank you, everyone! The healing followed.

Please continue to pray for unity in this world, so sorely needed.

Spencer Rose is with us on Sunday in Chawton!

Join us!

We welcome Valentine’s week, not necessarily the unceasing rain, but there is much afoot in the world of love. All life in our wet woodlands is gearing up, and amongst them, the rabbits of our countryside are well into their breeding season.

There is only one rabbit species in England, the European rabbit, introduced into England by the Romans in 43 AD, and most probably kept as pets or food. This population was thought to have died out as they were kept enclosed and unlikely to survive in the wild. The Normans then introduced them for meat and fur, but it was in the fourteenth century that rabbits managed to escape and go AWOL. Rabbits, being rabbits, quickly increased in numbers and formed colonies.

Rabbit numbers have declined in the UK, and rabbits are not a protected animal, although certain cruelty laws still apply. Their symbolism is luck, no surprises there, and also fertility. They are associated with the feminine and also the moon. and represent the transition from winter to spring, and renewal

Last night, many braved the rain again to come to our little church with a big heart in Chawton. We were delighted to welcome Lorraine Francois and Alan Salmon as our guests. What a lovely evening of inspired thoughts by Alan, and messages brought by them both. Thank you so much. It was a lovely night. Our own special Nerina chaired the evening. Thank you, Nerina!!

We thank Lisa for running our music. We thank the readers, the hospitality, Carole, and Sue. We thank our diligent healers and trainees, and also those who help with the set-up and break-down. Everyone makes it light work.

PRAYER OF THE WEEK

Please add to your prayers all those who are dealing with cancer.

Thank you.

Calendar up later

Have a lovely Valentine’s week!

Love is in the air!