Behold the One who stands before you comes with fire!
So keep his fires burning through this night,
Beacons and gateways for the Child of Light.
Mid-Summer Malcom Guite

At this solstice time we raise our hearts in gratitude for the mystery of the sun, the mystery of light and of fire. Let us be open to receive this mystery with an open heart:

Creator God
You brought fire forth from your burning heart.
You seeded it like yeast
in each atom, plant and animal,
each bird, fish, man and woman.
And you gave us a special star, our sun,
aflame with a life-evoking energy
To make our planet green and fertile,
sun-soaked in your love.
Pierre Teihard de Chardin.

Lighting Solstice Candle (or fire if outdoors)
As we light the solstice candle/fire may our prayers join with all the prayers of our ancestors. They too gathered like us  at this summer solstice time to give praise to the One who holds the mystery of the sun, the mystery of light and the mystery of fire.

So let our prayers join with those of our ancestors as we pray:

Response: Your glory shines through all creation

We give thanks Creator God, for the magnificence and beauty of the earth, for its herbs and plants, for the diversity of its insect life, for the song of the birds.
Response: Your glory shines through all creation

We give thanks Creator God, for the multiplicity of earth’s creatures, for the colour of the hedgerows, for the laughter of our children, for the exuberance of our young people and for the wisdom of our older people.
Response:  Your glory shines through all creation

God of Creation bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction. Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to recognise that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey toward your infinite light.

Response:  Your glory shines through all creation

Reflection on Light

Light is a universal symbol which represents the divine radiance as it pours into the interior place of the heart.  Jesus speaks of this light when he says: “I am the Light of the World”. Elsewhere he says “Let your light shine.”
In his poem Mid-Summer Guite writes:

Sacred is the seed of fire in all that is,
a Fire that reflects the eternal light.
Each heart aflame with a flame of fire.
Each eye reflecting your burning love.

Let us pause to reflect on the light that shines within us and within everything.

Quiet time 

Visualise the light shining in your heart. Imagine the light speading all over your body.
Visualise you whole body aglow with this light.

I now invite you to reflect on who would you like to share the light with.  It may be someone in your family, someone who is sick or some place in our world that is in need of light.

Take time to send light to that person or place.

Blessing

May the fire of blessing glow in our hearts and hearths.
May the fire of creativity ignite our imaginations.
May the fire of this solstice celebration bring protection to our gardens and our fields and their inhabitants.
May the fire of love drive out darkness.
May the fire of passion enkindle in all a great enthusiasm for life.
May the fire of healing soothe and comfort all.
May the fire of God’s passionate, eternal light encircle all.

Music:  Benedictus by Karl Jenkins

Benedictus is from The Armed Man, a Mass by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, subtitled “A Mass for Peace”. The piece was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum for the Millennium celebrations, to mark the museum’s move from London to Leeds, and it was dedicated to victims of the Kosovo crisis

Benedictus music is set to cosmic video. As we listen to the music and focus on the pictures we are reminded of the words of Einstein “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibwxzxER_pY

The Sun:  Mary Oliver    

Have you ever seen
anything
in your life more wonderful

than the way the sun, every evening
relaxed and easy,
floats toward the horizon

and into the clouds or the hills,
or the rumpled sea,

and is gone…
and how it slides again

out of the blackness,

every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower

streaming upward on its heavenly oils,
say, on a morning in early summer,
at its perfect imperial distance –
and have you ever felt for anything

such wild love –
do you think there is anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure

that fills you,
as the sun
reaches out
as it warms you

as you stand there
empty-handed –
or have you too

turned from this world-

or have you too
gone crazy
for power,
for things?

You might like to conclude your celebration of the summer solstice with some strawberries and cream.