蜜芽传媒

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley

Good morning.

At the moment, our early morning alarm-call is not of an electronic or smart-phone variety but rather a pheasant who lands in the front garden and starts making a very loud assertion of his territorial rights whilst exploring the possibility of being fed. Somewhat weary-eyed as the kettle is put on in the kitchen one of us opens the front door and distributes some food, scattering it liberally over the lawn. The pheasant usually takes off in the opposite direction before doing an about turn to locate the food. It鈥檚 fascinating, and I must confess a bit frustrating to watch. I find myself issuing enthusiastic instructions to the pheasant to go the other way. Of course, it responds when it wants to.

Given how much time we are spending at home at the moment, I鈥檝e become accustomed to the ways of local wildlife in a way I never was previously. From my study window I see and hear birds, and of course the pheasant who maintains a watchful eye over proceedings whilst continuing to defends its patch. In the distance I can hear a wood-pecker drilling away at a tree, and in the later hours of the day, the hooting of an owl. The silence from the lack of traffic along the road by our home is strange, but a certain amount of normality is maintained by the sound of aircraft from a nearby RAF base overhead. It鈥檚 a gift noticing things I hadn鈥檛 paid attention to before, and learning that I don鈥檛 set the agenda for creaturely activity during the day.

God our creator, we thank you for all creatures great and small. Today I pray for humility and for opportunities to learn from the environment that surrounds me.

Amen.