Hallo again to all.

And hallo to October. 'I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers,' writes L. M. Montgomery. 'It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn’t it?' It is a month of change. A time of brisk breezes and gentle sunlight. In the southern hemisphere, the winter thaws and and trees blossom. In the northern hemisphere, the summer heat cools and mornings dawn with crisp air and vibrant colors fill the trees.

September ends with the feast of St Michael and All Angels. We admit we'd never had much reason to pay close attention to festal traditions of Michael, until attending a Michaelmas dinner with our god-family* this year. A traditional dinner of roast goose, carrots and root vegetables, and blackberry pie was supplemented with local harvest vegetables and tarts. Daisies adorned the table. It was a local feast with giggling children and wishes that it would be slightly cooler enough as to light a fire in the fireplace. Alas, it was not.

Times are uncertain. The world is a scary place, with 24/7 news media serving to remind us of the horror facing so many of us. Of late, screens have been filled with the horrors our own planet is wreaking upon her inhabitants, fortifying our notion of helplessness, at times turning into hopelessness. Acknowledging that fear is real and warranted - we pray to the saints and angels like St Michael that they may 'help and defend us here on earth'.

In times of disaster—which we now know to be constant—those of us in a position to give, do, insignificant though it may seem. Those suffering hope and pray that things get better: that governments and world agencies assist in the relieving of physical and material suffering and move toward rebuilding in intelligent and sustainable ways.

In the mean time†, we find ourselves sitting quietly, comfortably wearing a jumper with no overcoat, listening to the wind, and finding hope.

See you next week, when it will still be October.

All of us at Anglicans Online

1 October 2017
http://anglicansonline.org

*The parents of this family of six invited the god-parents of their children to dinner, which created a lively dinner of ten adults, three children, and one baby.
†After donating