Harvest Festival
The modern British tradition of celebrating
Harvest Festival in churches began in 1843. Hymns such as “We plough the fields
and scatter”, “Come, ye thankful people, come”, “All things bright and
beautiful” and also Dutch and German harvest hymns helped popularize the
festival idea and spread the custom of decorating churches with home-grown
produce for the Harvest Festival service.
Harvest is from the Anglo-Saxon word haverfest, “Autumn”. It then came to
refer to the season for reaping and gathering grain and other grown products.
An early Harvest Festival used to be celebrated at the beginning of the Harvest
season on 1 August and was called Lammas meaning ‘loaf Mass’. Farmers made
loaves of bread from the fresh wheat crop. These were given to the local church
as the Communion bread during a special service thanking God for the harvest.
In the northern hemisphere, Autumn and
August are closely aligned while for us here at this time of year, Spring is on
its way and the crops of grain are only part way through their growth cycle
with harvest being months away. Despite this, it was felt the essence of giving
thanks for the productivity of the land and for all that we have would be a
most appropriate theme for this year’s Anniversary service of Thanksgiving. It is
also a significant way to mark the beginning of our twelve months of special activities
leading up to celebrating the 150th anniversary of the congregation
on 18th August 2013.
So to keep these customs alive, and also in
recognition of 2012 being designated the ‘Year of the Farmer’, St Paul’s will
be adorned with displays of fresh produce – fruit, vegetables, herbs, grains,
bread, preserves, flowers – as well as pantry items and staples. The
congregation is invited to also engage with this spirit of giving as there will
be opportunity during the service to bring forward their own similar
contributions.
Now here’s the challenge! Families,
couples, individuals are invited to create their own small display for the
church – perhaps in a basket, a box, a vase, a sack, a wheelbarrow, a watering
can, on a tiered plant stand, an old boot, on a mat or cloth ….. using
artificial items, fresh goods, signs, Scripture verses or whatever your
imagination takes fancy to. Displays would need to be placed in the church on
the Saturday. If you would like to participate in this way, we’d love to hear
from you.
If you wish to help, send an email to: events150stpauls@gmail.com
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