Rogation Days
This Sunday is a quirky little Anglican celebration called “Rogation Sunday.” It comes every year on the sixth Sunday after Easter, and then the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday afterward are called “Rogation Days.” But…what does that mean?
Rogation comes from the Latin rogare which means simply, “to ask.” Since the fifth century, these were days of asking God’s blessing over the land and people and industry of the geographic area of the church. Rogation Days are small, earthy, local. They’re days of walking the land, tending to what’s growing, and calling down God’s blessing. This article gives a helpful overview (it quotes George Herbert and Wendell Berry, so you know it’s going to be good!).
We don’t usually make much of Rogation Days at Incarnation, but in this pandemic season it feels appropriate to ask God’s blessing over what is small, earthy, and local. So we are inviting you to an Incarnation Rogation Celebration, a time to notice and tend and walk and bless whatever little plot of earth on which you find yourself.
Here’s how you can join us next Monday-Wednesday, May 18-20:
Snap a picture of something you’re growing or watching grow (your neighbor’s flowers, baby birds, sourdough starter, a garden...anything). Then email to Amy (amy@incarnationanglican.org) or post on social media and tag #incarnationrogationcelebration.
Imagine, draw, or write down the shops and restaurants you frequent in your neighborhood, and pray for them by name. You may wish to use this Rogation Day collect:
Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ in his earthly life shared our toil and hallowed our labor: Be present with your people where they work; make those who carry on the industries and commerce of this land responsive to your will; and give us all a right satisfaction in what we do, and a just return for our labor; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Walk and bless your neighborhood; Liz has written such a helpful guide!
Ascension Day
Rogation Days end next Thursday on Ascension Day. This is the grand finale of the Easter season, 40 days after Jesus’ resurrection, when we remember his final day on earth and his ascent to heaven from the Mount of Olives. I love the one-two punch of Rogation and Ascension, this shift from small and earthy to glorious and heavenly. Through this progression of calendar days, we get a tiny glimpse of earth and heaven becoming one.
So we’ll gather online on Ascension Day for a community night of guided prayer and contemplation. We’ll pray for earth and heaven to be one, for God’s kingdom to come. It will be restful and worshipful and hope-filled, and you won’t want to miss it! Join from incarnationanglican.org/virtual-worship.
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