7 January 2024
The third Monday of January has been dubbed ‘Blue Monday’. It’s been suggested that Monday 15th January has the potential for some to be the most depressing day of the year.
Some NHS Trusts are advising organisations to plan for ways to boost morale and mental health in the workplace to help their employees get through ‘Blue Monday’.
It might provide some comfort to know that many of our rural churches are doing just that and have been for centuries!
Our Plough Sunday services, held in bleak, dark, mid-January, are opportunities to gather, support, care and inspire with God’s love and blessing.
In times past, it was widely understood that farm workers needed something to motivate them back onto the land after Christmas and Epiphany. The Plough Sunday blessing of the plough and ploughmen, accompanied by feasting and festivity, seemed to do the trick.
They returned to the harshness of the winter fields uplifted and inspired by God’s blessing to begin a new year of producing food for their communities.
It’s a tradition that continues to lift spirits for those working with the land in bleak January weather. Farming holds considerable stress and anxiety with levels of depression that contribute to one of the highest suicide rates of any occupational group. But, as the recognition of ‘Blue Monday’ reminds us, remaining well during mid-January can be challenging to us all.
What a gift we can offer to everyone through the provision of Plough Sunday celebrations. Do invite widely to these services. All are welcome to the Plough Sunday Service in Thaxted Parish Church, CM6 2PE, on Sunday 14 January at 11.00am.
Revd Canon Janet Nicholls
Rural Adviser and Agricultural Chaplain