Sundays after Trinity, churchyards, and Summer days
Quiet, empty churches relax after strenuous attempts to define the Trinity. Ronald Blythe's words - from a wonderful collection of his writings, Next to Nature: A Lifetime in the English Countryside - speak of these Sundays after Trinity in late June, stretching into July and August. In the parish, Sunday congregations begin to decrease from mid-June, as the holiday season starts. Empty spaces in the pews are noticeable. The choir departs, returning in September. Sunday services are now said rather than sung, with a few hymns. When Choral Evensong resumes, we will be well into September. Parishioners wish each other well for travels. It is a good time for the parish. A fallow time. A time to enjoy the quieter, simpler rhythms of these Sundays in Summer. On those Summer Sundays when I am without clerical duties, I enjoy slipping into the back pews of nearby parish churches, hearing the words of Matins, decent hymns, and thoughtful sermons. Sunday Matins is, I think, particularly
