Diocese of Chichester

In this reflection, Revd Gary Cregeen, Rural Officer for East Sussex and Rector of Ashburnham with Penhurst, explores the connection between the agricultural calendar, the Christian season of 'Ordinary Time,' and why the mundane moments of rural life carry far more wonder and resilience than we might think.

The Christian church also marks seasons that help to anticipate and celebrate, to learn and to live. This pattern is sometimes called the ‘Church Year’ or the ‘Christian Calendar’. It has two main purposes: to retell and explore the story of God’s love revealed through Jesus Christ and known through the church, and to connect that story to daily life for those who follow Him. Currently we are in what is known as ‘Ordinary Time’, which began on Trinity Sunday (this year, 12 June) and continues until the fourth Sunday before Advent (this year, 1 November – All Souls).

Now ‘Ordinary Time’ doesn’t sound very exciting, does it? ‘Ordinary’ sounds rather dull, boring and mundane, hardly the stuff of excite and capture our attention! So, what is there to celebrate during weeks of ‘ordinaries’? Can we really celebrate the ‘mundane’? Well, I hope so! Afterall, most of life is very ordinary. Daily or weekly routines such as shopping, washing, cleaning, gardening, working, waking, eating, relaxing, sleeping, putting out the recycling, are all part of the ‘rhythm of life’. It is only when these routines are disrupted that we begin to fully appreciate them. For example, for our farmers, bringing in the harvest would normally absorb much time and energy at this time of year. However, excess rainfall earlier in the year and the recent drought has devastated crops and the harvest in some areas. Furthermore, farmers tell me they are having to feed their livestock on winter feed, as grass for grazing had ceased growing, and this is a real concern. Added to this, a bluetongue outbreak, a midge-borne disease, has resulted in the culling of thousands of livestock. Thus, these ‘extra-ordinary’ circumstances are stretching farmers and growers to the limit and there is a longing for the ‘ordinary’ and the ‘normal’ – that said, the effect of climate change may mean this is the ‘new normal’ and raises the need to adapt.

Friends, during this ‘ordinary time’ we have an opportunity to stop, think and reflect on those people, things, routines, that are so intrinsic to our day to day lives. In doing so we can begin to see more fully the wonder, beauty, truth and joy in the everyday routines and, within the ‘Church Year’ understand more fully the great truth that the festivals all point to: that in Jesus Christ the eternal life of God is made visible in ordinariness. Of course, Jesus Christ was ‘extraordinary’, but only because He first became utterly ordinary, born as one of us. This same Jesus called very ordinary people to be part of His new community, He used the most mundane things around Him to tell stories, illustrate the divine in our midst and open our eyes to the glory all around us and deep within us. He used fish and bread, wine and farming, working and weddings to illustrate the depth and breadth of His teaching and, most importantly, He did this not simply as visual aids pointing beyond themselves to something more important, but so that we might see wonder and glory IN the ordinary, the routine and the mundane all around us.

As we journey through autumn and continue in ‘ordinary time’ I hope I can become a little more attentive in these ‘ordinary’ months to the wonder, joy and presence that is all around, and invite you to do the same. Watch out for the moments – they are very ordinary yet full of glory!

God bless, Gary