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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley

Good morning.

If you have a moment today spare a thought for the celestial object formerly known as the planet ‘Pluto’. Depending on your perspective this is the day when a few years ago Pluto was demoted or correctly classified from planet to dwarf planet. I still have astronomy books from my childhood which confidently declare Pluto to be a planet, but space exploration being what it is means that our knowledge of what lies beyond the orbit of Neptune has been considerably enhanced. On a clear night or early morning, I love to step outside and take a look at the night-sky.

I have an app on my phone which helps me identify planets and constellations, and track the International Space Station. If I see it I always wave; I marvel at the knowledge that human beings are up there going about their day, completing an orbit of the earth every ninety minutes. Dwarf planet Pluto on the other hand takes almost 248 earth-years to complete one orbit of the sun. While I reflect on that, meanwhile here on the ground time marches on.

One of the aspects of the months of lockdown that I noticed was how my diary took on a new rhythm. Gone were the long hours of travel to and from meetings. Trains and cars were replaced with footsteps to my study. I began to notice things around me in different ways, and appreciated the details I had previously taken for granted. Pluto may no longer be the planet it used to be, but in its own way it continues to make progress around the sun.

God of the heavens and earth thank you for the wonder of creation and for scientific endeavour that helps us to understand it. Teach us to value all things, great and small.

Amen.