July third is the beginning of Dog Days. It is the time when the dog star Sirius rises in the sky with the constellation Canis (the greater dog) to bring the hottest temperatures of the year.

Dog Days bright and clear
Indicate a happy year;
But when accompanied by rain,
For better times, our hopes are vain.

- The Old Farmer’s Almanac

It was also the time when Mr. Talbert and Mr. Croucher had done all they could do in the fields and retired to the garden to pick beans and cucumbers for canning and pickling. If you stood in the field at night, you could actually hear the corn grow in anticipation of the delicacy corn on the cob. It was also the time of year the Oxford merchants would have big sales. If you wanted to update your wardrobe to last year’s fashions, Dog Days were the time to make the pilgrimage to Oxford.

Here at home Dog Days are not a time of rest. You will find much activity going on during Dog Days. The Fellowship Hall floor has been redone with new paint on the walls and new lights on order for the ceiling, making the room more hospitable and looking bigger. The floor of the narthex has been brought back to its original luster. The stairs to the balcony have returned to its original terrazzo making the climb more enjoyable. And there is more to come. All funded by the generosity of the capital campaign Love First: Faith at Work.

We have much to do to bring the building up to date, but we still need to focus on our love of the underprivileged and marginalized. “They will know us by our love for one another,” Jesus tells us. That work must continue as well.

We need to thank the leadership of our church for being so active and dedicated.

God’s blessing to everyone.

Pastor Mark