Horizons – July/August 2023

Summer is here! By now, you’ve probably tasted your first corn-on-the cob and watermelon. You’ve had a day or two at the beach and whiled away an afternoon watching a baseball game. You’ve already enjoyed a back-yard barbeque and a big bowl of ice cream. School is out and vacation plans are on the horizon. Summer is a season and a state of mind.

It’s summer in worship, too. We’ve put on our summer outfit. We’re into the green of this church season with beautiful paraments, church furnishings, made by some of you for us here at Santa Monica First. They incorporate the colors and symbols of our region. These beautiful beaded hummingbirds say: “It’s summer, folks!” Tiny little birds, hummingbirds are the symbol of the Holy Spirit in some native Central American cultures. They flit back and forth between the spiritual world and the material world.

Hummingbirds are so very small. The smallest hummingbirds are the smallest birds on earth. Sometimes, there can be hummingbirds right around us, near to us, and if we aren’t paying attention, we won’t even realize they’re there. So the symbol of the hummingbird, you see, is also meant to say to us: “Hey, you! You in your busy, important, fast-paced life. And you who have grown complacent and listless. Stop and look at me! Do you see me? Is there room in your life for me? Is there a moment in your day for me?”

Each summer Sunday, when you walk into church or join worship online and are caught off guard by the beauty of these tiny hummingbirds, or see one of them enjoying the nectar of flowers in your yard, remember to take a breath, pause, notice, make room in your day for the Holy Spirit of God. It’s time for summertime faith.