Parish News Article; June 2026
Monthly Message
June 2026
We are now officially in summer, and June is a glorious and busy month. The FIFA World Cup kicks off, and if that is not your cup of tea, there is Wimbledon, or if not, Ascot. If not that, then maybe your local fete or strawberry cream tea will do. The summer solstice, the longest day in terms of daylight, is on June 21st, although Midsummer is the 24th, an oddity probably due to the variations in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The Gregorian calendar, now the most widely used, was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory X111 to correct inaccuracies in the Roman Julian Calendar. This was introduced by Julius Caesar in about 45BC, but with too many leap years in it, so that it accumulated extra days over the centuries.
When the Gregorian calendar was introduced, 10 days were skipped in October that year, but it was adopted first by Catholic countries, and only later in Protestant countries. The new calendar was more in line with the solar year, and ensured that the Spring Equinox would remain on 21st March, and the new year started in January.
As the regions of Judea and Galilee were part of the Roman Empire when Jesus was born, the Julian calendar was in force there officially, but Jesus would have used the ancient Hebrew lunar-based calendar marking Jewish festivals.
Great Britain finally adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, skipping 11 days in September, although Scotland started using the 1st January as the start of the year in 1600. Confused? Surely they must have been! You will have to read up more if you are fascinated by this.
Four countries that still use other calendars officially are Ethiopia, Nepal, Iran and Afghanistan.
We are fortunate in this part of the world to enjoy the beauty of the four seasons. Christians celebrate the wonders of God’s creation throughout the year, even in the depths of winter and ‘shorter’ days.
In the Gospel of John, chapter 8, verse 12 Jesus declares, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
Maureen Bodden
Trinity Church elder