There is something special about local shows.

Grasmere Sports has a rich history, bringing together the life of the community: farming, animals, crafts, food, music, competition, friendship and plenty of stories. They are occasions to celebrate what people have worked hard to grow, make and achieve.

This year, I had the particular joy of winning the first local prize in the Grasmere Sports Fell Race. My son also won the junior prize. We were delighted and, as anyone who has run a fell race will know, perhaps a little surprised too!

A prize like that is certainly worth celebrating. Yet sporting records and local competitions also remind us how temporary achievement can be. Someone else will eventually run faster, climb higher or take the prize. Perhaps that is part of their gift. They allow us to celebrate excellence while also reminding us that our worth is not measured by what we achieve.

That connects, for me, with the ministry of Jesus. So often, Jesus’ attention was drawn not to achievement or status, but to people. He welcomed them, ate with them and made room for them. Hospitality was at the heart of his way of being with others.

That seems particularly appropriate here at Rydal Hall.

Rydal is a place of welcome, but also a place of peace. Among the gardens, water and fells, there is space to step away from the pressure to achieve and simply be. Perhaps, gently, this is one way in which we might become more aware of God’s presence: not necessarily in the extraordinary moments, but in the ordinary gifts of friendship, beauty, rest and belonging.

So I shall treasure the memory of that Grasmere prize: the running, the excitement and the sense of community. But I hope to remember something beyond the result too.

There is joy in striving, joy in celebrating one another, and joy in simply being together.

And perhaps, here at Rydal, there is also a quiet invitation to stop for a while, receive the welcome and find a little peace.