It was my turn to host my book club this month and even though we met a week earlier than the summer solstice (today, June 21) I decided on a summer solstice theme to celebrate the day of the year with the most hours of daylight…something I’ve wanted to throw a party for, for a long time…so I took advantage of my captive audience!
The focus was light, of course, and I used a white lace tablecloth with a center white candle, clear glasses and white plates. I turned on the lights wrapped in the deck fence, and gathered lots of votive candles in clear glass to set around.
The weather was in our favor as it was a beautiful, Minnesota summer evening. We were able to sit on the deck until after dark, and then the mosquitoes joined the party.
I served a dessert with a fruit of summer – strawberries – and for a short time we stopped our discussion and read through “A Summer Prayer” from the book The Circle of Life by Joyce Rupp & Macrrina Wiederkehr. After each section we lit a candle and I placed the candles around the deck. It looked so festive and pretty especially as it got darker. (Celebrating the longest day of the year makes it hard to light up the dark with candles at 7 p.m.!)
Here are excerpts from the prayer:
“May the God of summer give us beauty.”
“May the God of summer give us rest.”
“May the God of summer give us joy.”
“May the God of summer give us inner light.”
“May the God of summer give us what we need for healing.”
“May the God of summer give us a sense of satisfaction in the work of our hands.”
“May the God of summer give us shelter when inner storms threaten our peace of mind and heart.”
“May the God of summer lead us to amazing discoveries as we travel the inner roads of our soul (as well.)”
Thank you fellow book clubbers for indulging me in my first summer solstice party…not to be the last!