The First-fruits of thy Blessing

We are approaching the season of harvest festivals. I will shortly be taking a harvest festival service for a local primary school, during which familiar hymns such as “All Things Bright and Beautiful” appear alongside the newer, and extremely catchy “Harvest Samba”.

The Church of England has declared the period of Ordinary Time between 1st September and 4th October as Creationtide: “the period in the annual church calendar […] dedicated to God as Creator and Sustainer of all life”. Some Anglican worshippers find this relatively new addition to the liturgical calendar helpful, others not so much. However, regardless of liturgical preference, it is certainly a natural time of year to be praying and reflecting on the fifth mark of mission, namely “to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth”.

At St Mary’s, we will be marking this time in a variety of ways. We will be taking a harvest offering during the 10:30 service on Sunday 4th October. This will be in two kinds: a retiring cash collection for Christian Aid’s Emergency Fund, and donations of goods for the Community Emergency Foodbank. During the Service of the Word, the children will be learning about creation through the medium of Godly Play, taught by Laura in the Old Library.

Then, directly after the service at 12 noon, St Mary’s Green Team will be hosting a special Sunday forum with a screening of ‘The People’s Emergency Briefing’ and a discussion on the climate crisis. This powerful public engagement documentary, directed by Marcus Jones and featuring figures including Jennifer Saunders and Deborah Meaden, has the core aim of bringing communities together to discuss ecological risks and local responses.

We pray that God will grant us strength and wisdom as we do our best, both as a church and individually, to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation during these unprecedented times.