Grace Cathedral

O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

– Collect for 2 Pentecost

We mark the passing year in various ways at different points in our lives. The church year begins with Advent. The calendar year is in January. The fiscal year (for many) is July.

This week marks the beginning of summer for many families with K-12 students. Here at Grace Cathedral, the week has been busy with religious services and board meetings. It has also been frantic with end-of-school activities as Cathedral School for Boys students and others graduate or depart for summer.

It’s a well-worn “dad joke” that nothing proves the relativity of time more than the speed with which summer flies by. Increasingly, our young folks are programmed with sports and camps and summer jobs, and summer learning. Even the short “sabbath” of summer growth is shorter.

It is important to remember, metaphorically speaking, that even God rested on the seventh day.

Rest. Time not scheduled with to-dos. Time to recharge. Time for serendipity. Reading into the wee hours and sleeping in late. Time with family and friends in conversation…or just being together. This requirement for rest is part of what constitutes us as humans. (I might add, time spent away from “screens,” whether phones, TVs, or iPads. This is a peculiarly recent temptation that usually leads not to serendipity but distraction and isolation. We need to learn how to “be” without screens.)

Whatever your plans for the summer, I hope they include a lot of nothing. Nothing but time to simply enjoy the time, the world around us, and each other. Because before we know it, summer will have slipped away.

The Rev. Greg Kimura, Ph.D. (Cantab.)
Vice Dean