Summer Harvest

Orthodox Alaska

Pastor’s Epistle—August, A.D. 2018 B

“August” means “venerable.” The month was named for an Emperor who thought rather highly of himself, yet it seems an apropos title for this particular time of year. August is a robust month, awash with light and heat, perhaps a little full of itself. The fields swell with crops, the skies buzz with bugs, and the mercury in our thermometers continues to hover high.

On the one hand, August is unmistakably summer. Indeed, these dog days are often the hottest of the year. But as of August 1—Lammas Day, the “Loaf-Mass”—the harvest has officially begun. The firstfruits of wheat especially flow into our granaries. And the harvest is always the harbinger of fall. Thus we stand at a crossroads of seasons: the sprouting seed of autumn in the midst of summer’s strength.

I confess a bit of amazement, myself. It seems all year that part of me is yearning for the summer, not so much for the weather, as I much prefer autumn and winter, but for the calmness that summer often brings. Programs take a break. People slow down. Evenings wax long. Alas, I feel like the summer has only gotten started when Back to School sales suddenly appear. This is one of aging’s greatest truths: times flows ever faster as we continue to mature.

Of course, August has a lot to recommend it in and of itself. There are some lovely holidays this month, including: Lammas, at which we’ll bless fresh bread; the Transfiguration of Our Lord on August 6; Marymass, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15; and the Decollation of John the Baptist on the 29; with a smattering of other fun saints (such as Rognvald!) thrown in throughout the Sundays. We’ll continue our summer worship schedule, including the folk service, while planning for a new liturgical setting come September.

On a personal note, my wife and I will be taking a trip to Alaska this month, as we haven’t gotten away together in several years. The Rev John Krueger (and our first hymn sing in recent memory) will bring God’s Word to St Peter’s in our absence. I’m rather hoping that we’ll get to visit some of those lovely Russian Orthodox churches up north. The Lutheran church has an Alaskan ministry that sees pastors hopping from village to village via pontoon airplane. Now there’s a commute one wouldn’t soon forget.

Let us bless God for the summer. Let us bless Him for the harvest. Most of all, let us bless Him for this seasonal sabbath rest, and for the festal half of the year soon to come.

In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.