Newsletter 12th October: Harvest Festival

Harvest Festival is not the most important service in the church’s calendar, but is one of the most loved ones. It gives one such a lift to enter the church, decorated with flowers, foliage, fruit and produce; to give thanks for a successful harvest, and to join in the singing of the old favourite harvest time hymns. We do not live in a rural, farming community, so our harvest may be different. We give thanks for the harvest of the seas, from the factories and workshops, the harvest of science and research, of the arts and all learning. We are so blest, we have so much and it is right we should give thanks to our most generous God and Father.

Celebrating the bringing in of a successful harvest dates back to pagan times; and in years gone by, church bells would be rung each day of the gathering. The horse drawing the last cart of harvested produce would be trimmed with flowers and ribbons. A strong and respected man of the village would be elected as ‘Lord of the Harvest’ and he would preside over the celebration end of harvest feast. Celebrating as we do today, dates from 1843, when Rev. Robert Hawker invited his parishioners to a special thanksgiving service at his church in Morwenstow, Cornwall, to give thanks for a good harvest.

In our area there are not the poor and needy who need food and flowers, so this year we focus on the work of Tear Fund, who are one of the U.K.’s leading relief and development charities. They are addressing a wide range of issues including HIV, water and sanitation, reducing the impact of disasters, economic disasters, economic injustice and climate change. They work in more than 60 countries and are committed to offering hope, providing a meaningful future and speaking out against injustice. Tear Fund is one of the charities that St. Martin’s supports and we pray that all of us will give generously to our collection, which will go to furthering the work of Tear Fund. Any tinned or packaged food given will go once more to the Glebe Centre who do such sterling work for the homeless and needy of our town.

We all have so much. We pray that with Jesus’ teaching in mind we will be able to share our God given bounty with others who are so less fortunate than we.

God Bless. Doreen.