June: Spirit and the Summer Wind
June arrives in full light: long evenings, early dawns, air thick with birdsong. In the Church, we are within the days of Pentecost, the season of the Holy Spirit, breath, fire, courage, and unseen movement. Pentecost is often imagined as dramatic: rushing wind, tongues of flame, bold proclamations. Yet Scripture also tells us the Spirit comes quietly, as a dove, as breath, as a whisper.
This month asks: Where is the Spirit moving now? Not just in revivals or hymns sung loudly, but in softened hearts, reconciled friendships, a neighbour’s kindness, the moment we choose gentleness over anger. The Spirit is not distant; She is already breathing through ordinary things, washing lines in the breeze, bread being broken, someone offering a seat on the bus.
June is an invitation to notice, not force, not strive, but notice where life is gently rising.
From the Earth
The land is full and humming. Elderflower blooms like pale lace along hedgerows, filling the air with a sweet, lemony scent. Foxgloves rise in woodland shade, tall and purple, bells waiting for bees. In fields, grass is cut and baled into hay, releasing a warm, nostalgic smell.
Swifts scythe through the sky, never landing, their cries sharp and joyful. Butterflies dance over open meadows, and wild strawberries hide beneath leaves. This is a month where creation does not hold back: it grows, sings, and breathes freely.
Those Who Went Before
St Boniface (Feast Day: 5th June)
St Boniface, born in Devon in the 7th century, became a missionary to the Germanic peoples. He was not fearless: his own writings show anxiety and uncertainty, yet he kept going. He preached, taught, built monasteries, and translated Scripture. At times he failed, at times he wanted to return home, but the Spirit kept calling him forward.
One story tells of Boniface cutting down a sacred oak worshipped by local tribes. Instead of anger, the people were astonished and listened to his message of Christ. From the wood of that oak, he built a church.
Boniface is a saint of June because he shows that courage is not loud, it is often trembling, honest, and Spirit-led.
A Prayer in Action
Choose a door or gate you pass through every day: your front door, garden gate, or workplace entrance. Each time you open it this month, pause for a breath and pray:
“Spirit of God, go before me.
Spirit of God, stay with me.”
It is a small act, but Pentecost is often found in doorways: the disciples stepped out of a room into the world, and everything changed.
“Not by might, nor by power,
but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”
