SEASONS | RESOURCES

Autumn

The warmth of summer slowly gives way to cooler days, and the landscape shifts into gold and flame. Autumn is a season of turning, where light and dark find balance, the harvest is gathered in, and we’re invited to root ourselves more deeply in gratitude, memory, and the slow work of God.

“Again the air is full of falling:
the fall of the leaves in the weighty season that bring all home again to the lowly miracle from which they came.”

— Wendell Berry

ABOUT THE SEASON

The days grow shorter, yet the light still lingers. The air holds both warmth and chill. The turning of the year reminds us that life comes in cycles: harvest, remembering, beginning again.

Autumn is a season of harvest—a time to gather what has grown, to give thanks for the fruits of our labor and the gifts we’ve received. It is a time to share what we have, knowing that community flourishes when abundance is held together.

Autumn is a season of remembrance. As the year wanes, we remember those who have come before us; our ancestors, mentors, neighbors, and loved ones. We recall their stories, honor their lives, and recognize that we are part of a much longer story. In doing so, we ground ourselves not just in time, but in belonging.

This autumn, may you take time to gather, to remember, to bless, and to be blessed. May you find yourself rooted more deeply in your place, in your people, and in the presence of God who walks with us through every turning season.

Rhythms

RESOURCES FOR AUTUMN

As autumn settles in, so do new schedules. School begins. Routines return. Days fill quickly with driving, working, planning, and preparing. It’s easy to move through this season without looking up. But autumn invites something different. In the midst of busyness, it calls us to pause—to notice what is being gathered, what is worth remembering, and where gratitude might take root. These rhythms are here to help you stay grounded in the gifts of this season: its harvest, its memory, and the quiet, daily grace of being present.

Prayer for Changing Seasons

Our prayer is for this season
Of feeling in-between,
And crossing thresholds.

May we learn from Your world
Where the shift of seasons is patient,
And creation insists on taking its time.

May we relearn the rhythms
Of waking children for learning,
And rearranging our days and driving.

May we notice those arriving,
And whose presence is departing.
May we bless each neighbor, family, or friend,
With whom we share this season.

May we see the beauty of yellow leaves
As a reminder of the mystery and miracles
We only find in being in-between.

May we see the changing seasons
Not as a threat of time,
But an invitation from You
To enter a new grace.

May the roots of our life reach deeper
In this threshold of time,
And in this sacred place.

Prayers

Featured

A Blessing for Tables

God of Welcome,
I dedicate my table to You.
You are kind.
You are good.
You are beautiful.

I ask that I would receive You
In the generosity of kinship gathered around my table.

Noticing & Naming

Father in Heaven,
Our genesis is with Your instruction
To notice and name
And join You in the holy work of nomenclature.

Thanksgiving

Father in Heaven,
Holy is Your hospitality.
May Your Kingdom come today,
To our table and our home,
Our neighborhood and our city
As it is in Heaven.

Give us this day the gift of enough:
Enough courage to invite,
Enough vulnerability to inquire,
Enough food to share,
Enough gratitude to see Your goodness,
Enough honesty to share our unmet hopes.

Remembrance: Julia Greeley

Father in Heaven,
We come before You today with gratitude
For the life of Your servant, Julia Greeley.

We thank You for the protection of her body—
Even through the pain
Of enslavement, scarring, sickness, and struggle,
She endured and carried out the call You assigned her.

Dirt

Glory be to God for Dirt—

For backyard soil
as dark and dense
as the midnight sky.
And for all the creatures
who make this ground
their earthy home—
the wiggly ones
and leggy ones
and the tiny ones
our eyes can’t see.

Students

Great Teacher,
We pray for students of every age and every stage
As they enter a new season of learning.

May they find safe space
To pay attention and process the many emotions that arise.
Would they come to trust no amount of knowledge will matter
If they have not learned how to study the depths of their own emotional world.

Strength to Love

Eternal God,

We thank You for Jesus,
Who calls us to love our neighbors.
And commands us to “Love our enemies.”
His ethic of love is a radiant light
Everywhere and at all times.

Elections

Father in Heaven and King of Kings,
We seek Your Wisdom,
Your Will, and Your Way.

Dark Mornings

Thank You for dark mornings,
Where light unhurriedly arrives.
May rhythms of being rooted
Reform in us as autumn assuredly arrives.

Produce

Thank you for produce,
For the food from the ground,
Growing in it, on it, and above it.

Neighborhood Schools

Father in Heaven,
We pray for our neighborhood schools
And the spectrum of students
Who enter schools each day.

Remembrance: Clara Brown

May we honor our ancestor,
And the life and legacy of Jesus,
As we live faithfully in our time and place,
Filled with Your love and grace.

Forgiveness

May we forgive our neighbors who trespass against us:
For un-shoveled sidewalks and un-mowed lawns;
For late-night backyard parties and loud music

Changing Seasons

May the roots of our life reach deeper
In this threshold of time,
And in this sacred place.

“A neighbor is someone who you share leaves with.” A friend once shared this wisdom with me. It is a helpful reminder a yard covered in leaves is an annual invitation to love my neighbor. Saying a prayer for the wind to blow all the leaves into your neighbor’s yard is not what I’m suggesting. Instead, the yearly work of gathering leaves can be a practice that marks this season of caring for the people and place around you.

Giving a few hours to gather leaves in your neighborhood is a practical way to serve others. Raking leaves may be difficult for neighbors who are elderly or have certain health conditions. Gathering piles of leaves (and falling into them) is the yard work many hold as a cherished childhood memory. The time gathering leaves requires often has outsized outcomes.

The movement to “Leave the Leaves” for the benefit of the ecosystem of plants and animals may not be a realistic option for many homeowners. David Mizejewski, a naturalist and author with the National Wildlife Federation, says “The most important thing is to try and keep them on your property.” He suggests raking leaves into garden beds or scatter them around the roots of plants. Another option is to gather them into a compost pile. Whole leaves can be composted, but shredded leaves biodegrade more quickly. Mulching a light layer of leaves with a mower is beneficial for the soil. The primary goal is to avoid removing leaves in plastic bags to be disposed.

A few helpful reminders in gathering leaves. It’s always easier to rake dry leaves. Wet leaves are like wet newspaper. If the leaves don’t crunch when you step on them it’s probably too wet. If weather allows, save time by waiting until the trees are almost bare. By waiting, you’ll only have to rake the yard once. And, using a tarp to collect leaves can streamline the process. The Rocky Mountain Goods Drawstring Tarp is specially designed for raking up leaves. Rake the leaves on the top of the tarp, then gather the corners of the tarp to move them efficiently to garden beds or compost bins.

Fallen leaves are an annual reminder of who is your neighbor. They are an invitation to care for both the people and place around you.

Practices

“Autumn leaves don’t fall, they fly. They take their time and wander on this their only chance to soar.”

— Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing

Featured

National Good Neighbor Day

Research consistently shows that a neighborhood’s overall well-being and local school performance go hand in hand, and teacher retention plays a key role in school performance. High teacher turnover is linked to lower student achievement, weaker school culture, more disruption, and higher costs for hiring and training replacements. That is one reason we make it a priority to bless our teachers each year with care packages.

All Saints Day

On the anniversary of my grandfather’s death, I called my Mom to ask how she was. She said, “People don’t really mention my parents to me anymore. Maybe they are afraid it would make me sad, but I’m already thinking about them all the time.” I began to reflect on the loneliness of grief and how layered the pain can feel when we have no means of sharing it. Shortly after, I came across the ancient practice of observing All Saints Day—a day to honor all holy people who lived faithful lives in Christ. Not martyrs, but those saintly, hidden lives known only to God.

Farm Share

My family and I joined Monroe Organic Farms’ CSA this past year. Each week, Monroe would drop off a handful of shares at a neighbor’s home, and everyone would come by to pick up their vegetables. Along with getting big bags of beautiful produce each week, I got to know the Monroe family more deeply, along with Mary Ann, my neighbor, who sat in her garage for two hours every week distributing the farm shares.

Block Party

The Kallander family attended their first Flower Street block party before they closed on the sale of their home in the Lakewood neighborhood. That first block party began to build a foundation of community and connection with their neighbors. The next summer, the neighbors who had lived on the block since 1956, passed the baton to Karin Kallander and two other families to organize the party. For the last 16 years, at the end of every August, there is a beautiful block party on Flower Street.

Halloween Hospitality

“Halloween is a boo-tiful day to get to know your neighbors.” says Kristin Schell, founder of The Turquoise Table. There is no other day of the year when more neighbors knock on each other’s door. Halloween is a unique opportunity to show hospitality to your neighbors and neighborhood.

Gathering Leaves

Fallen leaves are an annual reminder of who is your neighbor. They are an invitation to care for both the people and place around you.

Coffee on the Corner

We must know our neighbors to love our neighbors. Only in doing life together do we make visible the heart of Jesus to our neighbors. Coffee Friday might be the practice for you to get to know your neighbors. Or, replace coffee with something else that might unite your neighbors. I bet on coffee.

The Colorado State Fair has been a place where agriculture, community, and celebration converge since 1872. It began as a gathering of farmers bringing their best crops, swapping tips for difficult Colorado soil, sharing the latest seed innovations, and competing for bragging rights. Pueblo’s fair wasn’t just a momentary reprieve; it was a lifeline. A place where scattered communities came together to learn, connect, and thrive. Over 150 years later, that spirit of community celebration endures.

Pueblo’s first horse show in 1869 drew more than 2,000 people, laying the foundation for what would become a cornerstone of Colorado culture. By 1872, the Southern Colorado Agricultural and Industrial Society formally organized the fair. They did so without state funding and little outside support, but with a fierce belief in the power of gathering.

The fairgrounds moved before settling in 1900 on land accessible by rail. By then, Pueblo had grown from a military outpost into a hub of agriculture and steel. A place where people brought cantaloupes and cattle, iron and ingenuity. Each chapter of the fair’s history reflects the resilience of Coloradans. Through seasons of growth, hardship, and war, the fair always returned.

Today, at the Colorado State Fair, you’ll see children learning to milk dairy cows while grandparents reminisce about their first rodeo. Historical buildings, more than a century old, stand beside modern carnival rides and corn dog stands. The state fair is proudly quirky—pig races for Oreos, high dives, and deep-fried candy bars. But beneath the spectacle is a commitment to connection—to food, to land, and to one another.

Ask someone in Pueblo what the state fair means, and they’ll give you a memory. A parade. A handshake. A chili-smothered cheeseburger. They'll tell you how it connects urban and rural communities in Colorado, how it bridges generations and preserves traditions.

The state fair remains one of the few places where recent transplants and long-time Coloradans meet with open hands. Linger in the livestock barns or pause by the quilting demonstrations, and you'll likely meet someone whose family has worked this land for generations. You might hear how Pueblo’s famous green chiles became a point of pride or meet the girl who raised the Grand Champion steer and sold it for a college scholarship. A 4-H kid who learned to program a robot. A Fiesta Day queen inspiring the next generation of Latinas toward leadership.

When the gates open in Pueblo, step through them not just for the funnel cake or fireworks, but for a connection to land, neighbor, and legacy. The Colorado State Fair is a sacred place.

Places

Featured

Colorado State Fair

Farm

Small-scale organic farming in Colorado is demanding. The arid and often unpredictable climate is the first burden, followed by the challenging economics of land, water, and living costs. It is a path only the most passionate take, and a lifestyle few stick with year after year.

Urban Farm

The Table Urban Farm is a unique intersection where people are invited to “feed your body, feed your soul, and feed your community.” The urban farm is a sacred place.

Orchard

Orchards lead us in a liturgy of presence. They beckon us to be fully awake to the seasons of life, to savor the fruits of our labor, to deepen our roots in times of stress, and to rest in God's grace. The orchard is a sacred place.

RESOURCES FOR AUTUMN

Recommended Books

This curated list invites you to slow down, ask meaningful questions, and deepen your connection with God, your neighbors, and the places you call home.