We had a lovely service at church this morning. With the autumn sunshine shining through the windows, we worshipped God quietly.
Considering the story of the water from the rock in Exodus, we talked about wells and their great importance even in the fairly recent past. We discussed well dressing and the magical Ebbing and Flowing Well near Settle, which the vicar was shown by her Dad when she was a child. Several people could remember drawing their family water from wells when they were children as some of the houses in this area were still were not connected to the mains. Water was, and still is, a scarce resource which is why wells are often considered sacred places. There was a Holy Well at Church Kirk which recalled the time when Saint Oswald encamped there.
We talked about tapped water and how easy it is to take it for granted. We considered the Bishop’s Harvest Appeal and the story of the woman who has to walk 10 miles a day to collect water for her family. We’ll be collecting money for the Bishop’s Harvest Appeal over the next few weeks. Homework for the week – to say a prayer of thanks whenever we turn on a tap!
Many parishioners are having difficulties at this time, caused or made worse by Coronavirus. Many are struggling. Please remember friends and neighbours in prayer and let’s be helpful to one another wherever we can.