“The strange resonant word instar describes the stage between two successive moults [of a caterpillar], for as it grows, a caterpillar… splits its skin again and again, each stage an instar. It remains a caterpillar as it goes through these moults, but no longer one in the same skin… Instar implies something both celestial and ingrown, something heavenly and disastrous, and perhaps change is commonly like that, a buried star, oscillating between near and far.”
Rebecca Solnit, ‘A Field Guide to Getting Lost’
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Image: Luna moth caterpillar, 5th instar, found beneath an American beech tree in Westchester County, New York State, USA
Photo: Maria Wager, 2016, used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International licence.
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In St Mary’s prayer cycle for this month, today we pray for those who feel alone and unloved.
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In these unprecedented times, St Mary’s is reaching out and supporting our community in many ways, especially online. But with activities in our buildings greatly restricted, we no longer receive the previous level of financial support from collections at Services, nor from hiring out the church and hall buildings.
If you can help us financially to continue to offer Christ's love to our community in these difficult times, as those before us have done down the centuries, please consider making a donation by debit/credit card and to Gift Aid it if possible, by clicking this link to 'givealittle':
Thank you!
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If you would like to contribute to these reflections, please do email Katherine Cox at kvcox-therapy@gmail.com